Crews Environmental

I only gave a B for punctuality because there was some confusion over when they were supposed to come inspect the septic tank on a home I am purchasing. When they did not show up on time, I waited about 30 minutes and called the office. Apparently there was a problem with my work order and the crew did not see it? I am not sure but they were able to still come that same day, later in the afternoon despite the scheduling error. Rick and the other guy who showed up on site were great. They explained everything to my husband, as I was not able to be there. The day he was sending me the report he called me directly and explained everything again. Would definitely use them again in the future for maintenance and repair on our septic system.

I asked to be given notice of arrival so I could be on site. Service driver called en route, at site and after. Gave a full explanation and detail of work preformed when finished. Happy with the service. Will use again. The reason for the less than perfect score is the original call was long and drawn out due to the background noise in the office. The call receiver kept asking the he same questions multiple times and had me repeating myself over and over. The driver waited too long to give an eta and I had just left to run to the office. Truck left a set of tracks in the yard due to the difficulty of the location. A quiet area for receiving calls for secretary, longer hose on the truck or boards placed under the tires in an effort to stop yard damage, a discount for Angie list members would allow for a perfect score. When I asked for if Angie's member's receive a discount I was told of a $25 coupon in the paper which was applied.

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This is our first house (owned). I don't know anything about septic tanks. We've rented houses in the past with them, but when something went wrong, we called the landlord. Ahhh, the joys of owning a home. Well, we were used to an alarm sounding and knew it was time to call the landlord. But there was no alarm. We didn't get the tank inspected when we bought the house (more money out of pocket that we didn't have) so we figured that with the age of the house, it was just one of those things that needed to be upgraded. We planned to convert to city sewage, but found out later that isn't an option. Anyway, one night we noticed an awful smell outside and noticed water in the yard. It hadn't rained so we both knew what that meant. The septic tank was backed up into the yard. All I could think about was that Ridex commercial where the guy shows you what can happen when your tank is not properly treated. I had images of a backhoe, whole yard torn up, and the dollar signs just kept flashing before my eyes. I was panicked. What were we going to do?! We didn't have money for those kinds of repairs. So, on went the search for someone who could come take a look at it. I put in a service request to a bunch of different companies and several called me back, but (as a woman) you know that feeling you get when you talk to people? The one that says, this person is going to take you for as much as they can..... Well, being that I didn't have the money nor the time to waste, I was getting very upset. Then the call came in from Crews Environmental. The guy was charming and understanding. He explained that it might not be as bad as I thought it was. He calmed me down and told me that it could be a simple as pumping the tank. He offered to come out that night, but warned that after hours fees would apply. He assured me that (after explaining the situation) nothing terrible or worse damage would occur by waiting until morning. So that is what we did. He sent a guy out the next morning, and since I wasn't here, I had to ask my husband all the details, but he explained that he was unexpectedly surprised by the caring nature and attention to detail this guy provided. He not only dug to the tank (which I didn't even notice the after effects of when returning home) but he explained everything to my husband while he worked. We learned a lot from him. You have to commend these people for what they do. They have a and quot;crappyand quot; job (lol) and they do it to the best of their ability. Many people in the service industry wouldn't take the time to explain things to you, in hopes that you would screw up again so they can come back out and charge you again. We found out that after owning the house for over a year, that the pump was not even running because it wasn't plugged in. He was surprised that this is the first time we were getting the system pumped. He explained that we should get it pumped at least one every other year, if not just to check the tank and operating parts to make sure everything is running smoothly. He showed my husband where the drain field is, where the pipes lead to the house and what to look for. He told him some of the common items that need to stay out of the tank such as grease, sanitary items (tampons) and even wipes (yes, even if they say they are septic safe). He said to be careful of the cleaning solutions that are put down the drain, because they can kill the bacteria that dissolves the solid wastes in the tank. These bacteria live in the tank normally, but it is a good idea to add additional bacteria (such as ridex) via the toilet once a month. Grease cannot be broken down easily and clogs pipes. Big no no. Now that we know, we feel more prepared. Overall, I am VERY pleased with this company. Not the nightmare I thought it was going to be at all.

I put in a request on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, to have my septic tank pumped. I did so via their website at approximately 8:50 pm. I was pleasantly surprised when I received a phone call 10 minutes later from Rick. Fortunately, this was not an emergency; rather, it was only maintenance. Rick quoted the price as normally being $250. However, because I used the website, there was a $25 discount (this was advertised on the website). I was very happy that I didn't even have to ask for this discount. Rick took my address and made the appointment for my requested date and time. I don't think he was going to give a specific time, so future customers should request one. Rick did say that it is important for someone to be home to flush the toilets at the end to make sure that the lid is properly secured. The following day, I received a phone call from a lady in the office confirming my address. The employee arrived within minutes of the appointed time. There was no knock on the door. Rather, I heard noise outside and went to investigate. He found the lid to the septic tank, removed the sod, hooked up his pump, and was pumping without any introduction to me. Upon conclusion of the pumping, he did knock on the door. He introduced himself as Mike and asked if the call were for maintenance or if I had experienced a back up. I think he said he would want to investigate or something if it had been a back up. Since it wasn't, he went back outside and secured the lid. After securing the lid and very carefully replacing the sod, he sat in his truck for several minutes. Eventually he came back to the door to have me sign paperwork and take payment. I had to ask him if there were any problems, since he was somewhat uncomfortable discussing it. However, he was very nice and professional. He did not ask me to flush the toilets though, as Rick had advised on our phone call. Overall, I was very happy with the service I received. I would not hesitate to use this company again (although I may ask for a technician who is more explanatory).