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"We live in an older neighborhood with a unique older sewer system that uses a septic catch basin/tank (~500 gal) that discharges to the main (city) sewer system. Most of the plumbers and other septic companies I spoke with had no experience with this, but A&J has worked in this area before and understood what to look for. We are new owners of the home, but according to our neighbors the tank has not been opened in over 30 years! We provided all the details on the system that we had discovered and even sent photos. We scheduled for a septic pumping, rodding and camera of the discharge line. The septic crew gave us a courtesy call 30 minutes prior to arrival and wanted to make sure we knew there was a digging fee to unbury the tank lid after the first foot…We were not told that while setting up the appointment. We postponed the service and dug up the lid ourselves, which A&J had no problem with. Once the lid was exposed, we rescheduled and again the septic crew gave us a courtesy call. They arrived on-time and were professional but brief. Our sanitary solids were right at the bottom of the inlet, and the septic crew did a decent job pumping and a good job taking care in our yard and keeping their equipment organized. Unfortunately, their power washer was broken and they had to use our hose and water. We had to ask to get my hose cleaned off afterwards – you would think they would do that automatically, as a courtesy, after having to use it. Additionally, we were told we may have a soil bottom and they couldn’t spend “all day” (<1hr) pumping. (Afterwards, I called the city and they said that was very unlikely). If the crew brought the right equipment (working power washer, crust buster or equiv.) then the pumping would not have taken so long. The sewer rodding staff, Kyle, was the star of the show! He called us 1.5 hrs before the appointment to let me know his current job was likey to go long and there was traffic getting out of Chicago, so we pushed the appointment – he arrived exactly when he said he would. He set up his equipment quick and efficiently, the whole time explaining what he was planning to do and asking questions about my system. Kyle noticed our outlet baffle was loose due to its age and looooong neglect, was at risk of breaking during service. Note my outlet baffle is almost 7 ft bgs. Kyle provided us with a few troubleshooting options and explained the risk and benefits clearly. In the end he worked carefully, protected our baffle and had the line cleared all the way to the main in no time. Kyle even saved us a few hundred $, noticing there was a fair amount of sludge on the rodder cable. With the tank still filling (no water discharge) the camera lens would be obscured by the sludge, but we still would have to be charged for the service. He recommended waiting a few weeks to allow the line to clear and either reschedule the camera service then or just monitor the tank and request the service as needed. All in all, A&J did good work, but I was not fully impressed with the pumping service and was considering another contractor next time until Kyle showed up. He was knowledgeable, clear and truthful and got the work done efficiently. That’s how a service should be provided – having the tools to perform the work, well trained, up front and courteous staff."

"REI communication is very good. I texted a photo of my hotwater heater that was ready for replacement (17 years old), and we discussed that I wanted a Bradford White heater as they are highly reputable for home hotwater heaters. From our initial conversation around 8 AM, we had a brand new heater installed before 2 PM. Juan worked promptly and did clean work. The price we discussed over the phone was reflected in the invoice that was emailed to me. Also, the price I paid was not more than what was anticipated given some pricing research."

"John came out on a Sunday to check out the system that went into alarm. It turned out the the pump had broke. John cheerfully found the problem, replaced the pump, made sure the unit was working properly and was pleasant and informative the entire time. Really great, responsive service."