Rainworks Irrigation Co Inc

Prepaid in January 2020 for the entire years worth of startup, shutdown and backflow test. They did the startup and backflow test. Called to schedule year end shutdown and their phone mailbox is full. Won’t reply to emails. They owe me money or services. Found out in January 2021 they never submitted certification to St. Louis County that the did the backflow test.

Rainworks installed my sprinkler system 3 or 4 years ago. No problems there. They have prob used startup and shutdown every year and do my annual backflow yest. But this year (2020) they’ve been horrible. I paid $200 in January for the entire years worth of startup, shutdown and backflow rest. They did the startup and have disappeared. Phone mailbox is full. Won’t reply to emails. This has been going on for 3 or 4 months. They owe me money or services.

We have used Rainworks for several years, and we have tried calling Rainworks multiple times over the past two weeks to repair our sprinkler system, and they never pick up the phone, their voicemail is always full and they are not responding to emails. They did turn on our system for the season (we have a package), but rushed through the process and did not even check/inspect any of the sprinkler heads. We now have a major leak, and will be calling and using another company that actually picks up the phone.

Well meaning, but poorly organized. Every person has differing opinions on how to set up system. Never solved the leaking problems completely.

When the technician arrived in the spring, I told him I knew one sprinkler head needed to be replaced. After he started up the system, he told me he found two other heads that needed to be replaced. He claimed one head was stuck in the upright position and wouldn't go back down. That really made no sense. He claimed another head was only spraying in one direction. I told him just to repair the one I knew was broken. Of course, there was an additional charge for that service. Throughout the spring/summer/fall the two heads that he claimed needed to be replaced did not malfunction. I believe this company operates on a bait and switch basis. Their low price gets you to call them and then they make up additional work that needs to be done. When I confronted the technician yesterday regarding my opinion, his response was to apologize. He did not claim I was wrong in my opinion.

I have used this company 2x now and will never use them again.  Each time I have used them, they come out and turn the system on, and do the back flow test, but I have gotten a notice from St Louis county EACH time they have come out saying they never received the test they are supposed to send in.  I called each time, and then it finally gets done.  The last time I had to call saying I got another notice, they gal told me that the person that came out to turn the system on was NOT even licensed (ARE YOU KIDDING??), so they had to send ANOTHER person out to do it again, so they could send in the report....NEVER AGAIN....THEN it also takes FOREVER to get an appt to shut the system down...

We had a sprinkler system installed 7 years ago by another company. The system was not installed deep enough and several heads did not reach the plants. After our lawn was aerated and we had to pay to have the sprinkler lines repaired, we looked for another company. Rain works has been great. We call them to turn the system on/off, adjust and replace damaged heads, and to make any necessary changes based on plantings. Jay is our guy. He comes out super fast, does what we need, checks the entire system and does so at a reasonable price. We now rely on Rainworks completely and confidently to maintain our sprinklers.

This company should be out of business.  I had them install an irrigation system last summer.  I paid for a system that had brass nozzles and they installed one with plastic nozzles.  They said that my area had weak water pressure and that the brass fittings would not work.  No refund for the extra we paid for the upgraded system.  We decided to use them for our turn on this spring.  We had to wait three weeks for an appointment.  They finally turned on the system and the very first time that we used it, we had a river of water pouring out of our lawn.  I immediately called and they failed to appear for three seperate appointments.  My wife missed work to be home for the crew.  THREE TIMES THEY FAILED TO APPEAR.  No phone calls to say that they couldn't make it.  They simply failed to appear.  They always had an excuse for the failure to appear.  Pathetic.  They finally appeared today on the fourth scheduled appointment.  Then they had the nerve to ask us for another $90.00 for the call.
Do not use this company.

It didn't go well. Rainworks has a slick marketing program where in they promise to do turn-on sprinklers, test backflow and turn-off sprinklers in fall for one price of around $150. Once Rainworks comes to do their job, they would want to do costly things such as replace backflow, replace entire sprinkler system even when they are unnecessary.

This is the first year we have used Rainworks and plan to stay with them in the future.  Jay, the technician who came out, let me know what needed to be repaired now (sprinkler heads not rotating), what I should keep watch for(slow leak by the backflow check valves), and what my options were on things that were starting to go bad (water pooling by the sprinkler heads indicating seals going bad).  He even gave me some pointers if I decided to do the work myself.
I strongly suspect that many of these things existed last year, but were not brought to my attention.
Based on what he showed me and told me, I know I can trust him.

I don't have enough technical knowledge of the system to verify that the work was needed or that it was completed properly.  I also did not obtain multiple bids so I can't be sure the price was fair.  That being said, I have no reason to believe there was a problem with the work or the price.  My problem is with the service I received when I called the office.
We have used Rainworks for 10 years.  We also referred my mother as a customer a few years ago.   In recent years, we have experienced problems with scheduling and overall service.  Today I spoke to the manager and I found her response bordered on rude.  I'm fed up.   They don't seem to value us as a customer at all.  We're switching next year.
In three of the last four years, Rainworks personnel came to my door on the wrong day for the annual service.  In some cases they came after my service was already completed.  In others, they came when I had a future appointment for another day.  In more than one case, this was a problem because it woke someone up in my house unnecessarily.  In each case, I called the company to complain.  When it happened again this year for the third time, I called and spoke to the manager, who told me that there is more than one customer listed in their system with my last name and that the error occurred because the scheduler didn't bother to verify the full customer name before assiging the schedule.  The tech was supposed to visit another customer with the same last name.
 
I asked why, if this has happened three times in four years, I should trust that they will correct the problem next year.  The manager replied that the problem should be resolved in the future because they have new personnel and because she has instructed current personnel to verify the full name.  When I noted that this did not give me a lot of comfort, she responded that the problem was caused by human error and that she "can't fix 'stupid'."  
I asked why they don't assign unique numbers to each customer.  She said their system does not allow this.  I replied that this is fairly standard business practice and that their system should allow this.  I asked to speak to the owner.   She said the owner would never agree to pay to fix the system, but, at my insistence, she said she would leave the owner a message to call me. 
About a month later, I still had not received a call and I called Rainworks back.  Once again, the manager told me that the problem was due to human error and that she "can't fix 'stupid.'"  I asked why the owner had not called me. The manager replied that the owner really just handles sales and that he would just complain to her that she should have taken care of the problem.   I asked her if this meant she had not passed on my message, and explained that I still wanted to speak to the owner.  She replied that she can't make the owner return my call.   Though she didn't answer my question directly, I suspect she never gave the owner my message.
Is it a "deal breaker" that techs keep showing up at my door each year on the wrong dates?  Probably not.   But the manager's response to the situation is.  When I explained that the unexpected calls had awoken someone in my home who was ill, she seemded unconcerned about the inconvenience and didn't even offer no apology.  She was defensive throughout each call.  Twice she said that she "can't fix 'stupid'", apparently referring to her own staff, which I find demeaning and unprofessional.   She should have just accepted responsibility and promised to fix the problem, and she certainly should have made sure the owner returned my call.  
 
Perhaps the manager handled this issue exactly as the owner wanted her to.  Perhaps the owner has no idea that she is treating customers in this manner and would be unhappy with the manager's performance.  Either way, I am left to deal with the manager, and as I found her to be rude and not at all appreciative of our 10-year tenure as a customer, I've decided to move on.
Finally, today my mother had a problem with this same company.  She had her spring service completed in April, at which time Rainworks made repairs totalling $192.00.  Yesterday (June 20) she turned her system on for the first time.  (This delay was not surprising due to the heavy rains we have experienced in St. Louis.)  Her system is not working properly.  It came on two hours late and one zone is stuck in the "on" position and flooded the street with water.  Rainworks is going to charge my mother for both a service call AND a labor charge to come and analyze the problem.  They insist the system was working when they checked it in April after they made repairs.  They insist the current problem occurred after the spring service visit.   They also noted that they have only a 30-day guarantee on repairs.  
Rainworks may or may not be correct in asserting that the current problems occurred after their April service check.  However, because this is the first time the system was used since the April service check, it seems reasonable for us to expect the system to work.  At a minimum, it seems they could at least forgiven the service visit charge.  They want to charge my mother $86 just to look at this system.  That seems like a lot when she paid them two months ago to verify the system is working.
 
Again, I'm fed up.  I'm switching companies and I've recommended that mother switch as well.

unknown

I received a post card from Rainworks stating that they would do the following for $165 for 1st time customers.
1. Spring Start-up 2013
2. Fall Shut-down 2013
3. Backflow Test 2013
The above is too good to be true (all three services for a total price of $165). So, I called customer service of Rainworks to check whether I would get all three services for the quoted price of $165. The customer service rep confirmed the pricing and then I tried to setup an appointment. I was told that I need to pre-pay complete amount of $165 before the technician is sent to my home. I asked the customer service rep about pre-payment and why it is required. Service rep told me that this price is only applicable if I mailed the check to them before technician's visit. I agreed to mail the check and setup an appointment two weeks later. Right after call, I mailed the check so that the company receives and cashes this check before the technician's visit. I wondered on why this company has such a policy, but didn't think much about it since I was getting a great price (almost savings of 30% over my previous companies). Price totally blinded my common sense.
The appointment date of April 3rd came. The technician was expected to come between 1pm and 5pm. I got a call around 5:05pm stating that technician was getting late and would take one more hour. I was given a choice of either waiting or postponing to another date. I told service rep that I would wait for another hour. Around 6:10pm I got another call saying technician was getting late and he would be late by few minutes. Around 6:20pm, technician showed up up and started his work.. Technician told me that he would finish his work in 20 minutes.
After 25 minutes or so, technician came to me with with his report.
1. BF Failed. Must be Rapaired.
2. Entire System Old, System needs overhaul
$1300 for new valves and heads.
He then went on to describe all zones and issues.
I told the technician that I would think about it and get back to his company Rainworks. He insisted that backflow device failed test so he shut down the system. I would need to get the backflow device repaired or replaced to pass test. I told him that I understood. I wondered on why he had to circle "BI Failed" words in his report.
I have been using the same system for last five years without any major issues. Most of the times, I had few heads that either need to be repaired or replaced. Not a big deal.
I called another irrigation company and explained this situation. This company got all "A" in all categories. The service rep told me that sometimes, backflow devices may leak and those leaks can be easily repaired by technician without waiting for another day. It appears these folks carry gasket kit with them. When they see these type of situation, they pull one of those gasket(or rubber) kit and repair backflow devices. Nothing big deal! 
I am totally surprised by the business model of Rainworks.
1. Send out a post card with unbelievable low price to get customers in.
2. Get total payment before the visit.
3. Scare customers with "Backflow test failure". (Have you seen unscrupulous auto companies failing safety inspection tests on cars to force you to accept repairs that are totally unnecessary?)
4. Charge customers hefty fees for starting the system.
I already paid $165. I had two choices.
1. Pay them $1300 to do repairs, and replace backflow device ($700 additional expense) for a total of $2000 expense.
2. Hire another irrigation company by paying normal fees.
I chose the second option. I lost $165 fees paid to this company. However, I just want to make sure that other members know my experience about Rainworks company. Probably, I would never hire them again!

They are honest, do quality work, and are punctual.

They did good overall.

They have done a good job with annual sprinkler maintenance. I recently used them to repair a few problems and the quality of work performed was average and the final cost was much higher than the estimate given.

Phil who is the sales guy was very good and responsive. He got back with estimates etc., on time and set the right expectations. They gave me an idea of when the work would start but didn't give me a definitive date. One morning I saw people lining up outside my property getting ready to dig and after talking to them I came to know that my work was scheduled for that day. The total time for the work to be completed was 3 days. Overall they followed directions and did an ok job. They did a very bad job back-filling the stuff that they dug up for valve boxes. They did not take enough care to but grass back as it was or at least close to it. I have a lot of bare spots with earth and pits in my yard. I got in contact with Phil and he was accommodating and asked me to call the office to schedule someone to come out and level some of the spots. I did that and a couple of hours later the lady called back saying my appointment was canceled as the owner said that it was not necessary and I should just water my lawn more and things will settle. I wish that was the case. Its been more than 15 days and I decide to take things into my own hand and do my own remedy.

Sales: The salesman Phil was professional and came across as very accommodating and communicated frequently while I was comparing estimates. Work: The major work took about 3 days. The water lines, valves and sprinklers all seem to have been installed correctly. Unfortunately, some trenches for the pipes were not properly back-filled. As a result some parts were too high, some too low. The response 'it will look better when the grass grows' was not what I wanted to hear. Based on that response, I figured I was better off fixing it myself. I had to spend quite a bit of time and effort re-digging and adjusting the grass plugs to make them level with the rest of the lawn. I feel that I shouldn't have had to do this. I did have them come out to fix the worst of the depressions which kept sinking. Otherwise, the system has been working well. There were a few minor issues with sprinkler heads which seem to be now resolved after a few visits. They did come out and adjust some head placements as well ( but I had to wait three weeks ). Once they do come they are very accomodating and eager to please. This was my first dealing with a sprinkler company so I don't know if all of this is typical or not.

They were very competitive and did a great job. They showed up on time to do the work. They showed us how to work the system and came back a few times to work out a few minor problems. They put in a new box at no charge when there was a problem with the first one.

When the water was turned on and sprinklers started water started spouting out of a hole in the pipe in the garage. They quickly replaced the piece of pipe and had the system up and running with no more problems. We plan to use them each spring & fall for startup and shutdown of the sprinklers.