Midwest Excavating Inc.

Steve from MIdwest Excavating was referred to me by Red's Sewer Service out of Belleville, IL. I have used Red's in the past on multiple properties and trust them. Steve came out when I was not home and inspected the problem, which Red's had already scoped with a camera and provided him the information that he needed about what was involved in the repair. Steve quoted me $2100 to repair the cracked sewer line and install the clean-out. I've never had to hire an excavator before, but I trusted Red's referral. Two guys with a shovel showed up and had the line repaired and the clean-out installed in 51 minutes. When my wife asked Steve how much to write the check for in the presence of his two workers Steve was hesitant to say the amount out loud. He said it was on the text. He finally whispered it to my wife when his two workers were out of earshot. She asked $2100 for less than an hour? Steve snapped back, that's what your husband agreed to. She paid him per our agreement. I texted Steve and asked him for an itemized invoice with a complete breakdown of parts, labor, etc. He mailed me a printed invoice that just said $2100 for repairing cracked sewer line and installing clean-out. I texted him back and again asked for an itemized invoice showing how he justifies two people with a shovel working for 51 minutes being worth $2100. No replies after repeated attempts to contact. I will never use this company again, or Red's Sewer Service.

Midwest did an exceptional job replacing our water line. I feared the entire yard would have to be dug up but he was able to complete the job with two small areas dug up. We had checked around and found that his pricing was more then fair especially when he was able to come out the same day. He is definitely the guy we will always call from now on.

Steve Galle of Midwest Excavating, Inc., arrived at my house on July 2, 2019, at about 2:45 - 3:00 and began work. Unfortunately, we did not discuss his rates because he had been recommended to me, and I trusted that Steve would do a good job for a fair price. He worked until about 6:15, less than 4 hours. When he finished working, he told me that my charge was $1,330.00 and that if I used my charge card, there would be an additional charge of 4%. I was very surprised at Steve's charge of $1,330.00. I paid by check, but Steve did not give me a receipt, saying that he would have to mail me my paperwork. Servicemen usually present me with a bill breaking down my charges. I look over it, and then I pay the bill. My charges computed out to about $325.00 per hour with about $30 left over for parts. (Steve did leave my house to get some parts, but this was done during the period that I mentioned above.) I sent a text to Steve telling him that I needed a complete breakdown of my charges when he sent my paperwork/receipt. When I did receive his receipt, there was no breakdown. I sent a text to Steve asking him to call me or let me know when it would be convenient for me to call him. He sent text messages only, no call, saying "What u received is how I do my charges. I stated what I did and charged." I sent a text saying that I felt he had charged me too much, and I needed a breakdown. I told him that I thought he had made a mistake, and that was okay, that he could still set things straight. I told him that I wanted to work things out with him. He sent a text saying that I was on overcharge so I asked him what that meant. He said that it was any time after 3:30 PM. He did not advise me that I would be on overcharge as other servicemen usually do. Also, I cannot remember anyone saying that overcharge or overtime begins so early in the afternoon on a week day. He told me to feel free to check out other companies. Therefore, I checked online and made a couple calls. I found charges to be between $50 and $100 per hour, which includes a backhoe and one operator. I did find a company in my area that charged $125 per hour. During our texting, I also told Steve that I do not feel it is fair when people write bad reviews without giving the business a chance to make things right. It seems to me that Steve would have wanted to at least talk with me and try to arrive at an amicable resolution. An explanation as to how he came up with a charge of $1,330.00 would have been the least of expectations. In addition, Steve did not seem pleasant during my service, telling me that he had already put in a full day prior to my job. He further seemed annoyed, telling me that his assistant/helper had called in so Steve had no help on my job. I wish none of this would have happened and things could have ended nicely. I waited for quite some time to write this review because I wanted to give Steve every chance to contact me after thinking about everything.