STEVEN S DAVIS

He arrived early in the time window he quoted us. He was polite, careful of our yard and driveway. He did what he said he would for the price quoted even when a couple of large stones from in the tank caused his suction pipe to become clogged, I was standing there thinking this twenty or thirty minutes of extra time that is clearly the fault of our system is going to cost me, no not 1 cent more than his quote. He explained what he was doing in checking out each item and how he knew our drain field was working well. As stated he took the time to tell me how to keep things working. I could not be happier, we waited too long to do this and still they made it work.

I contacted Steven Davis on behalf of my landlord on March 25th after we noticed the septic tank overflowing (with gray water) near the tank. I advised him of what I knew of the septic system, and that the tank had not been pumped since the homeowner took ownership of the property 12 years prior. I knew this was long overdue, and asked to have it pumped. I also advised him that my daughter's birthday as well as my own birthday was over the weekend (as well as Easter!) and that the work needed to be completed by Friday since we had many guests coming on Saturday for the birthday party. Mr. Davis said he would come out to have a look. He arrived a little while later and poked around in the dirt for a while to find the tank location. We knew the location of the tank before he got there, however it was under a huge blackberry brier patch and the exact location was tough to make out because of the thorns. Mr. Davis said he would like to bring in a small tractor to remove the dirt and locate the tank accurately because hand-digging in a brier patch stinks. Myself and the landlord agreed to allow the machine for this task. We hired Mr. Davis to come and clear the dirt off the top of the tank and pump it. He was scheduled to arrive the next day. The next day, Mr.Davis called around 1pm to tell me he couldn't make it that day, but he would be there after noon the next day (Friday). Friday morning he called before arriving and spoke to my sister, as I had stepped out for a few hours before he was scheduled to arrive. He arrived about an hour before scheduled and before I got home. When I arrived, the landlord was adamantly instructing Mr.Davis's tractor operator to stop digging around the septic tank, and to stop putting force on the tank lid and walls. Mr. Davis's tractor operator had dug down the outlet side of the septic tank and had destroyed the retention box and perforated pipe leading to the drain field for the septic tank, and was actively trying to break the tank itself as well. Mr.Davis did not instruct his operator to stop, and instead had him dig the entire retention box out of the side of the tank and pile the wet mud up beside the opening of the tank, allowing for it to seep back into the tank. The operator was using the claw of the bucket to try to crack the lid of the tank, and dropping the bucket onto the lid of the tank as well in an attempt to break it. Mr. Davis then led my landlord off to the side and showed him designs, layouts, and pricing for a new septic system he had brought with him. He attempted to convince my landlord that the tank could not be pumped, and that the tank was failed and it would have to be replaced, at which point the landlord told him he would not be doing that. During this time I managed to stop the machine operator from causing any more damage by standing between the machine and the septic tank and refusing to move. Mr. Davis, upon realizing he was not going to be getting the job he came for, packed up and left the property. He left an open hole next to the septic tank where the retention box had been, with raw sewage running out of the side outlet of the septic box and into the open hole and mud on the side of the outlet hole seeping back in, along with piles of sewage-stained dirt and cement blocks all over the place. Later that night, we had two other contractors come to advise us on what to do, and both insisted that the tank could indeed be pumped (without any issue!) and that what Mr.Davis had done was most likely an attempt to land a large job. At a minimum, the work Mr.Davis performed was unnecessary. Both advised that the dirt left to seep into the tank was an emergency, as the dirt in the tank would cause the tank to fail. We immediately set to work moving the mud and dirt in order to mitigate the damage and prevent further damage. The contractors both gave us basic design plans and informed us the best way to handle the damages would be to re-construct the retention box as it had been and re-install the perf pipe drainage system that had been damaged. Neither could perform the work needed before the party the next day, so we decided to do it ourselves so our guests would not have to smell sewage during the event. Both contractors recommended a guy to pump the tank, and we contacted the pump guy that night and scheduled with him for the next morning. That night (Friday night before a birthday party!) my husband and I worked in the sewage-filled hole left by Mr.Davis in order to remove the dirt around the septic box and direct the excess water away from the work site, preventing further damage. The next day we again worked in the sewage-filled hole left by Mr.Davis in order to re-build the retention box and re-install the perf pipe drainage system, filling all of it with clean gravel. The pump guy came that day and pumped the tank, stating that the tank could have easily been pumped at the onset, and that he couldn't understand why Mr.Davis had dug up the side of the tank and the retention box as he had done if Mr.Davis was not purposefully doing so in an attempt to destroy the system in place and land a job for thousands of dollars. Since being pumped the tank has performed perfectly. In closing, we are downright disgusted at the lack of professionalism shown by Mr. Davis, as well as the dishonest work he attempted to bamboozle us into. This man knowingly left us on Easter weekend with guests coming from out of state for a child's birthday party with raw sewage running all over our yard, after he attempted to destroy a working septic tank in order to garner more expensive business for himself. Beware!