INNOVATIVE IRRIGATION

I've use them several times in the past with mixed results. They have always been slightly overpriced, but years ago they had generally good service. This time however was different. I signed up for a silver membership which includes a spring startup, and winterization. According to the company’s bill, a spring startup involves, “turning on the main water supply, rewire (connect) the controller, set programming, inspect and adjust all rotors, sprays and/or drip lines.” 1) My controller is a "smart controller" controlled through the internet by computer or smartphone. This company sold it to me a year ago. It was offline and needed to be reconnected. To make a long story short, the techs did not know how to do that. So I did it. Further, some settings have changed and may not be appropriate. They didn't even look at that (“set programming”). 2) The techs looked at the sprinkler heads without suggesting any repairs or adjustments. But, there were a few needed. I had to point them out and individually request that they be addressed. They would have skipped them all. 3) One head needed to be replaced and another capped. They were covering the same area with too much water, and one was putting too much water on the driveway. After two tries at this repair, the new state was worse than the original. At that point they said I'd have to reschedule that work since they had been there for an hour and a half and were only scheduled for a half an hour. (Well it took around that half hour just to get the smart controller connected.) The rest went fairly quickly considering it is an 8 zone system. 4) I was somewhat displeased, so I called to speak with the manager, and that is where it got really surprising. The telephone receptionist insisted that I speak to her. I asked if she was a manager and she said no, but the owner likes her to deal with things. So, I asked to speak with the owner. She again refused. Later I got a call from someone who said he was in charge. It turned out to be the tech that had come to the house. So, as far as I can tell, there is no other manager and the owner is disinterested. My complaint is about the lazy attitude and poor quality of the work. Maybe that attitude flows down from the disinterest of the owner.                                   

Here is the email I sent to the owner. There was no response.                                    

 

I will pay the $125 to settle our business.

And, I'd like to be clear about my complaint. It just seemed that they didn't know their job or care about the quality of the work. I programmed the controller. I pointed out ALL the necessary adjustments and repairs, none of which they seemed to notice. The one head that was throwing too much water on the driveway is worse now after their two attempts at changing it. (If that was beyond the scope of "adjustments" they should have said so.)

So, for $125 they did the following: 1) Found the master valve (in the bushes, not easy to get to. [Thank you]) and verified that it was on, as I said it was.  2) Unplugged and plugged in the power to the Rachio controller. 3) Watched ME program it because they did not understand it and/or have the user name and password (available from your office, since your company installed it).  4) Walked through the yard and found everything working (and missed the one that was not).  5) Adjusted one stuck head (that I pointed out was stuck).  6) Looked at only a small fraction of the drip zone (only the areas I indicated needed work).  7) On the positive side, they did remove and cap one unneeded head. (Again, it was my observation and request.) And they did try to replace the one head in the same area that needs a different style head. (also my request)

What would they have done if I were not involved? This is not the quality work one expects from any company really, but especially one that presents itself as, "a leading company in our field". It was far short of your mission statement.

unknown

Innovative Irrigation always do a good job and very dependable. I've used them now for 15 years.

1. The company sent their Operations Manager, David Dunagan, to evaluate the job and to provide a quote. David's company car indicated quotes were provided on the spot. However, David asked that I provide him with an e-mail address. Our communication ended at the point. David's demeanor was poor from the moment that he set foot on my property. He treated me with a lack of honor and dignity. A competitor visited me prior to David's arrival, and their willingness to walk the property with me, discuss their offerings, provide a thorough quote, and clarify their approach to the job was a stark contrast to Mr. Dunagan. I did not receive the quote from Mr. Dunagan following his visit. Rather, I called him, and he sent a generic quote with a lack of detail in his e-mail message. He honestly acted like he did not want my business.

We moved here about 18 months ago and selected Innovative Irrigation as the company to to winterize, un-winterize and maintain our 2 acre lot's irrigation system. Our system has a very large pump that pulls water from our lake and runs the entire sprinkler system at one time, i.e. no zones, the entire 2 acres gets watered all at the same time.
The company has been excellent on scheduling service and then arriving exactly as promised. Their staff is knowledge, friendly and very helpful. Their price for services provided are reasonable. They carry common need parts on the truck so they can fix a lot of minor issues instantly.
If you are in their service area I recommend you use them, very professional and very good at what they do.

They are okay; they come twice a year. They will call me and remind me that it is time for the service. The price is good and I will continue to use them.

I have been a customer since 2011. On this particular service a lot of things went wrong, however after talking to the owner he apologized and understand what had transpired. They are a local company.

They are very organized, and they get their job done. They are prompt and very neat. They clean after themselves. They come back to make sure everything is right. Their demeanor and customer service are very good.

They answered every question I had. They were very competitive because they were willing to give you the same guarantee that other companies offer. They used a system that didn't tear up the yard that much and you can barely see we had it installed. They were punctual, I just got put back once but they let us know. The price was high but it was definitely worth it because they did a better job than most other companies.