D & T LANDSCAPING & IRRIGATION INC

unknown

Summary: Good product. Customer service and install quality need improvement. Advice to Dand T: communicate with your clients before, during, and after the sale/install; support your product and your work; do the right thing with service calls. If you're going to charge a premium, provide premium service and value-adds like conduit and preferred valve box and head install techniques. And for goodness sake, follow-up after the sale. If you had, you would've received a much better rating because you would have taken care of my concerns, right? Not to mention saving 3 referrals to my neighbors who need irrigation systems and have asked me for a referral. My experience and justification follows.



The process started two years ago (2012) when I requested a bid from Dand T on my project. I received a bid from a second contractor (who installed a neighbor's system) around the same time and solicited a bid from a third contractor a year later (2013). Speed ahead to 2014. I had already ruled out one of the bids and was ready to move forward with the project, so I contacted the remaining two companies for updated quotes, as I assumed prices had changed (i.e. gone up) in the interim.
When I contacted the first contractor (Innovative Irrigation - John), he offered to honor his quote from the year previous. I'm not reviewing his company as I did not engage his services, but I do need to say that he was very focused on customer service. He is a detailed oriented person and I believe his work reflects this (again not based on work performed, but by my interaction with him and his reputation - which is well documented on Angie's List). It is for that reason I should have contracted with him, would in the future, and recommend you do if you need an irrigation system.


While Todd (owner) at Dand T Landscaping and Irrigation has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau's website, I would not rate them as an A+ provider. I chose Dand T at the time over the others because of two factors. 1) They offered a system controller with more features and water management options and 2) Todd professed and appeared to also be focused on service and quality. I am very happy with the system controller but sadly Dand T did not deliver on the service or quality aspects of their value proposition. I will explain.

Scheduling: Dand T did not commit to a specific date or even week for the install. After I signed the contract and paid the deposit, Todd said he'd let me know when they'd be out. There had been quite a bit of rain during that time and so I assumed they were a bit behind - which I can understand. However, I heard nothing from him until I called about 3 weeks later to ask when they would be out. He again gave a general time frame, but nothing specific. When he did call to let me know they'd be on-site, it had been about 4 weeks since I signed the contract. I understand the dependence on favorable weather conditions - but the lack of updates on the project schedule was the first indication of a service issue. It doesn't cost much to call and update your customer; and if it's raining - you're not working, so it seems a simple phone call would be achievable. I could overlook that in isolation, but not with the other service issues.

Communication: I've already alluded to communication above, but believe it deserves its own section. When I spoke with Todd initially, we talked through an initial design of the system. He did do a fine job of flagging the proposed system in my yard and explaining the benefits of the upgraded controller and the irrigation product he uses (Hunter). But that was 2 years ago. When I contacted him to engage his services, we discussed reviewing the design again as I had some concerns and potential alterations. There was no follow-up and they showed up on install day to implement the original design. I expected to have a conversation about some potential changes but was not provided the opportunity. In retrospect I should have forced the issue, but hindsight is sharper. I would have upgraded some rotors (which he would have benefited from - more $$) and changed the zone layout slightly to accommodate the features of my yard. Further, I received absolutely zero post-install follow-up. No one called to see how the system was working, no-one checked to see if I had questions or needed adjustments. They had their money and that's all that appears to matter.



Price/value: Dand T is not a low cost provider. But I wasn't looking for a cheap system. I wanted high quality and high service, and that usually costs more than average. And I'm ok with that, provided I receive value for my money. In retrospect, I did not. I do want to give Todd positive marks for honoring his quote from 2 years previous and including 'upgraded' rotor heads (PGP Ultras). However, the quote from Innovative was slightly lower than Dand T and already included the PGP Ultras and had 3 more zones and 4 more sprinkler heads I paid the normal up-charge for the upgraded controller. So I'm clearly still paying a premium in-spite of receiving the 'benefit' from the old quote. Insult to injury - my lawnmower broke the head off a rotor due to non-retraction, which Dand T charged me $119 to replace about 3 weeks after install. It didn't retract because it was improperly installed (too deep into soil causing sand to impede retraction) and somehow that's my fault. Seriously? This isn't two years after install, it's a few weeks. Not to mention that I could buy the same head on sprinklerwarehouse.com for $9. I would have paid for the part, but the labor should have been free. It cost him $40 at most to do the replacement. But isn't that $40 worth a happy customer and referrals?



Quality: Install quality - 20% of the heads were installed improperly (below grade). 1 of 3 valve boxes installed washed out with rain, causing a sink hole and requiring me to reinstall it. All three had dirt bottoms and were generally untidy. At this price point, the wiring should have been secured and boxes laid on gravel to prevent shifting, animals from entering, and promote proper drainage. The underground wiring from the control box out to the first valve box was not put into conduit. While it's likely rated for that, it would have been better to use conduit to prevent the line from being severed and for the improved aesthetic inside the garage. The cost would have been nominal and I would have paid for it. The hole in my garage wall to the outside wasn't caulked/sealed. Product quality - I will say Dand T uses high quality product. Hunter has the best heads and Weathermatic Smartline controllers are also probably the best on the market. I gave a 'B' rating here to account for that, but not an 'A' due to the install quality issues.



I said I wouldn't hire them again but it was a yes/no question. It would be more accurate to say 'maybe'. I would consider using Dand T again if they resolved my issues. But I would more strongly recommend the aforementioned competitor.

All went well. Have used D and T for several years for startup in the spring, shut down in the fall, and repairs as needed. Always satisfied.

Dand T Landscaping and Irrigation's proposal for an irrigation system states they would install 35 gearhead sprinklers and they only installed 28 gearhead sprinklers. They did not do a blueprint prior to the installation and installed 13 sets of gearhead that are over 35 feet apart. Gearheads should never be more than 35 feet apart. This has resulted in three dry areas in my yard. On the day of the installation, I overheard a workman state they needed a tool to fix the valve box but the person who had it had already left for the day. They knowingly left a leak in the valve box resulting with water running down my bank and did not return to fix it until a week later. This contributed to my excessive water usage of 127,000 gallons/3 months and an exorbitant water bill. I have never used more than 26,000 gallons/3 months prior to this installation. I emailed Todd, the owner of Dand T, regarding the dry areas in my backyard and he said to run the other zones longer and to find another irrigation company to service the system. He refused to address these problems and reneged on a two year warranty.
I have had two reliable irrigation companies do estimates and both of them stated they always complete a blueprint prior to installing an irrigation system and they never install gearheads more than 33 feet apart. The yard requires more gearheads and they need to be placed equidistantly. Two gearheads should not have been placed facing the deck because it causes premature rotting of the cedar.

For $170 they come out every spring and start up our system and every fall they come out and blow out the lines and get it ready for winter. Any replacement parts is extra. I get the contract in the mail at the beginging of the year to select a service package... I often lose it in a pile somewhere and they are always patient and accomidating even when i forget until the night before they are scheduled start ups in our area, they still squeeze us in!! Todd is always professional and friendly, and they are prompt and accomidating. I can just leave my back door unlocked and they come in and take care of everything and when I get home from school/work/kids its all booted up and working. They are brilliant and I don't have to worry about a thing. I would say the quality of their work is EXCELLENT, the house we purchased came with their installed system, and in the 6 years we have been living here we have had only 2 celanoids (spell?) replaced and the randomn sprinkler head we accidently drove over. Their install just works, like its supposed to, all the time...

would highly recommend them!

Everything went really well with this job. We did not have any issues. We called them and they came the next day. They are a little pricey, but they make up for it in every other way.

My husband and I usually blow out our own sprinkler lines every year to save money. This year one of the zones didn't come on, so we called D and T (the original installers of the system) to see if they could come do the repairs and finish blowing out the lines. I called him and he had someone out there 2 days later, even though they were booked solid he fit me at the end of one of the days... the orginal estimate had been for $190 to do all the repairs, labor, and blew them out. When he came and started it all up, the non-working zone magically worked. He put a call into his boss and only charged us a service call of $75.00 to come inspect the system and blow out the lines. Times are hard, and my husband and I truly appreciated their professionalism, punctuality, and the great job they did!

THEIR SERVICE WAS VERY, VERY GOOD. LAST SUMMER WE HAD A NUMBER OF DELAYS CAUSED BY OTHER CONTRACTORS, AND Dand T WAS VERY FLEXIBLE. WE HAD PUT DOWN HYDROSEED AT THE OF LAST SUMMER. WE HAD A PROBLEM THIS SPRING IN THAT THE SEED CAME UP EARLIER THAN EXPECTED. WE WERE NOT SCHEDULED TO HAVE OUR SPRINKLER HOOKED UP FOR ANOTHER COUPLE OF WEEKS. BUT I ASKED Dand T TO COME OUT EARLY BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID THE SPROUTING GRASS WOULD NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT WATER. TODD ARRANGED FOR SOMEONE TO COME OUT *THE SAME DAY* THAT I CALLED AND ASKED THEM FOR HELP. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE RESPONSIVENESS AND FRIENDLINESS OF THE COMPANY.