The Water Elf

I hired the Water Elf company to repair my sprinkler system before the sod was supposed to be installed in my yard. They came out on 1 August 2024 and performed work on the head-end part of the system. The technician advised me that the head-end part of the system was repaired but there were two zones that had no pressure so he would return to deal with that. We paid $520.50 for the repair and a $99.00 service fee for the estimate. He advised us that he would be back to finish the repair. When he never showed up, I called and asked when he was coming back to finish the job. They said he was not scheduled to come back. I told them that the repair was not complete, and they said he could come back out on the 16th. I told them that was not possible as the sod was due to be put in on the 12th. On 5 August 24, I told them I would look for some other company that could come out sooner. On 5 August 2024, I noticed that my yard was flooded out. I saw the water coming from the same area as the technician had been working. I turned off the valve to prevent further water loss. I immediately called the Water Elf to report the emergency. I called twice (during business hours) with no response. Two days later I called again, and they answered and said they never checked their voice mails. They said that they would send someone out that day after the rain stopped. That did not happen. The manager of the Water Elf called me 9 August 24 and said that they were coming out to pick up a controller the technician left here. I asked them to fix the water leak when they came out. She refused and began yelling at me. She accused me of messing with the system by turning off the valve. I cannot believe that this business could in good faith rip off a Senior Citizen and Disable Veteran like this.

Initially, I found the service to be acceptable however, I ran into a problem with one of the sprinkler heads approximately 2 weeks after the initial service was completed. I called in to request a second visit and the conversation was pleasant. I understood it was the busy season and thus, I was fine with the 2 week wait. 2 weeks passed and my pre-scheduled date had come; I called the company just before 5pm to inquire about my scheduled appointment (as I hadn't heard from anyone the entire day) only to be delivered excuses about personal family issues which had absolutely nothing to do with the business being conducted. I was also delivered the excuse that they only had one technician which again; Is not my problem considering the appointment was made 2 weeks prior! I finally received a phone call around 9pm that night (very unprofessional) from the tech stating he had worked over 80 hours that week but would be at my location "first thing in the morning" the following day (Father's Day). The gentleman arrived at 2pm with no apology for the delay, nor any remorse for his failure (on Father's Day). The technician performed his duties, but failed to confirm his work before departing. When it seemed he was wrapping up, I approached him regarding the invoice of which he stated he needed to write it up and get my signature - so I told him to simply come get me when he was complete. As he was primarily working in my back yard, I left the rear patio door open so that he could get my attention - he went to the front door and knocked but I didn't hear him so, he left the unsigned invoice in my front door for me to discover 15 minutes after we just spoke. At this point, Angela had given me her personal cell number for direct contact which I utilized to notify her that one of the sprinkler heads replaced was not properly rotating, accompanied by a video for proof. She promptly called me back - with the excuse that her technician was 'solo' but would return to fix ASAP. The technician arrived a day or so later, accompanied by the owner who failed to introduce himself to me (unprofessional). They corrected the issue, and installed a riser for one of my sprinkler heads as requested but did a very poor job of ensuring that it was securely staked in the ground. Again, there was no follow-up to ensure the job was done to my satisfaction - they departed with no notice! The following Sunday, at approximately 5pm, I received a call from Angela requesting my payment information as she stated she had failed to charge me for the first service (a month-and-a-half prior) and now needed to charge me for both services (Totaling $1000) simultaneously (unacceptable). I settled the debt and attempted to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. I noticed a new problem approximately 2 weeks later and sent another video in which I stated I had noticed the heads are no longer overlapping or spraying as they were after the initial job had been completed. I sent this message at, or around 5pm. I received a message from Angela from her personal phone around 9:35pm the same night (very unprofessional) accusing me of speaking "down" on her company - something I never alluded to. She also obviously failed to listen to the video as she responded in the context of a previous problem that was in no way mentioned within the video sent in question. The text message is attached. My experience was horrible overall, my Father's Day ruined, and money spent for sub-standard service. I am highly disappointed and disgusted in the level of customer service delivered. I'll stick to larger corporations instead of trying to support small businesses if this is the treatment I can expect.

They were timely and the price was reasonable.

Bob showed up on time and explained what the problem was with my system. He looked around and made an assessment. He said it was going to be a fairly simple fix that would take about 2 hours (could have been longer just to put it out there). Gave me an estimate of $250 but came out to $262 because there was a bit more damage that was initially thought but not a problem. Bob did a fantastic job and got it done in just 2 hours. He was on time, professional and very knowledgeable. Thank you.

I've used them for several years now. They're very good; all A's.

Mr Ross and his crew were able to troubleshoot the issue, which required rewiring controller in garage and 2 valve boxes in the yard and install the sprinkler heads within a few days. He is very reasonable and knowledgable when it comes to providing service for irrigation systems. I would highly recommend using The Water Elf

Great. He was very professional and completed the work very fast

Excellent service. Very friendly and fast. He had a cancellation and was able to come to my house in less than an hour!

I saw all the good reviews here on Angie's List and called their company in July of 2015. When Bobby Ross and his crew arrived, frankly I was expecting an estimate only. Instead they all sprang into action and got everything (and it was a major overhaul of a non functioning sprinkler system) corrected in about six hours time. I was elated. Bobby and his crew are very professional, knowledgeable, and very hard working. I was quite impressed. Bobby is quite good at setting a customer's expectation level. His foreman Greg is very skilled. They made the needed repairs quickly and correctly. In early October of 2015, I called Bobby Ross again to see if he could please help us with extending the now functioning front yard sprinkler system into the back yard. Bobby Ross and Greg came by the next day and spoke with me and the drainage contractor who was working on site. Since the drainage trench was already open, it was more efficient to install the pipes for the back yard sprinkler expansion before the trench was filled back in. Greg rearranged his already busy schedule and installed the needed items right then and there. This flexibility on his part saved everyone a lot of digging and expense in the future. Now we are ready for the back yard sprinkler system to be installed after the grading work is completed. I am happy with Bobby's quote for the back yard sprinkler system. (However, I did not include the cost for this week's work and the future work in this review). I would highly recommend their work and their company.

Very professional, fast and thorough team. From the initial contact with owner to schedule a service date/time, to the pre-arrival confirmation call, punctual arrival and service of each unit/zone of the system. The Water Elf crew ended up having to change 3-4 sprinkler heads and adjust a few others to make the system work optimally. This is the first time I've used The Water Elf and I highly recommend the company to anyone else in the CSRA needing service on a sprinkler system. They have the expertise and supplies to get the job done quickly and professionally.

Fantastic experience. We just purchased home, previous homeowner didn't know anything about the sprinkler system or when it was serviced last. Bobby evaluated (I thought we had a leak under the driveway) and found there was no leak, but just some things that needed updating. The crew was prompt, did great work, and couldn't even tell they had dug anything in the yard when they were done. Highly recommend, would use them again in a heartbeat.

He and his assistant arrived early (before 7:30 am) and was completed by Noon. He took the time to explain what was needed in each zone. He even cleaned the controller in the garage and mounted the power cord so it would no longer hang down. The actual cost of service came in lower than his original estimate, so I was quite pleased. He is very conscientious and customer focused.. He was a pleasure to do business with. I look forward to having him come by in 8 months to do a spring checkup.

This was a very pleasant experience. He humbly apologized for his oversight of r not responding to our initial service call and went right to work doing and excellent job. I look forward to continuing to use his services in the future.

The Water Elf handles all our sprinkler needs and has for years. Recently we had a unreputable company relandscape our yard and this company ruined all the work The Water Elf had done. We called Bobby with The Water Elf and he came out and fixed all our problems. We love The Water Elf and highly recommend their services. Call in advance, ths company stays booked and it can be a week or longer before he can schedule your work.

Prompt, efficient. Would use him again

The system was checked out to see is everything was working as it should. This involved checking the controller. Then he went around and made sure each sprinkler was working and spraying where and how much they should for the area. He replaced a couple of damage heads and make the necessary adjustments. I have used Water Elf for few years now. He is professional and does a great job. I had used someone else and his rates and service are much better.

He did an excellent job, they cleaned up after themselves, set the time, and share the best time to water my lawn, and cut all the roots and busted hoses that were underground and restricting the system from functioning properly.

Mr. Ross was very courteous and professional. He contacted me promptly, told me he would come out today, and he did. After he opened the closed valve, he checked all three of the water zones, pointed out the heads that needed replaced or adjusted, and gave me a quote. It sounded reasonable to me and he proceeded to make the fixes. I appreciate that I didn't have to wait for a future appointment. He said that if I had any questions or something went wrong with the sprinklers, to contact him. I think he's honest and genuinely wants to help his customers. I would not hesitate to use his company again or to recommend him to others.

We discovered a lot of water in our back yard and thought we had a break in the sprinkler system. I called Water Elf from the Angie's list and because our next door neighbor used them. They were prompt and efficient as they went around the entire property to figure out where the water was coming from since it was determined it wasn't a broken pipe. The water was pouring out of our external tankless water heater. The problem was due to too high water pressure in our part of the subdivision. We called the plumber who installed the water heater to fix it and the people from Water Elf installed a pressure reducer on the water meter. They also fix one sprinkler head that was shooting water like a gyser onto our front porch plus replaced two sprinkler heads in the back yard. I was very pleased with their work and professionalism and would highly recommend them.

Very Professional, responded rapidly to my requests. Showed up when he said he would and accomplished the work in a professional manner

They were very prompt and were willing to do the work without my being there as I had another appointment. We kept in contact by phone. They gave me a report of what they had fixed and what the bill would be. I trust their work and would use them and recommend them.

They were very good. They were very prompt and very knowledgeable. They fixed the sprinklers in a record amount of time. Their price was reasonable.

The repaired head works fine. Scheduled the upgrades I wanted. Approx $1600 to $1800. Just realized that he left the system off! I work shift and am not home when the system comes on. Took a week are so to realize my grass was showing signs of drought. You would think he would restore to operable after he worked on it. The origninal date for the scheduled upgrades came. I had to call that morning ...only to find out he was not going to be able to do the work. He had not followed up on the people marking the property for underground utlities (was a two week period, if he had scheduled at all). One issue is that I had to call him the morning of the scheduled date. We rescheduled for the same day, one week later. The property was marked. The scheduled day comes with a text message that morning stating he would be unable to do the work today. Over both periods, we did not have rain delays and each day of work scheduled was sunny! Very nice person. Very professional. The work I had done on the day of suvey was good. but, the main job was cancelled due to inadequate follow up, communication, and work not being performed as scheduled. Could not see scheduling a third time.

I received a call from Mr. Ross concerning my earlier review stating that I had not received a response to my email through Angie list to him. He had not received the email; therefore, could not respond. He was extremely kind and apologetic, even though he had done nothing wrong. He offered to help with my sprinkler system in any way he can, either at my present house or wherever I might move if the house does sell. I was very much impressed with Mr. Ross and regret that my email did not get to him. I will call next time.

.Bobby made an appointment to come out to my house the next day, but when he got a cancellation called me and came right over. He quickly fixed the leak in my system, and spent a good hour working to determine what the prior homeowner had done while installing the irrigation system. He gave me a very good long term solution to a problem (the outside water heater was installed over the irrigation valves), and showed me ways that I could do some of the work to cut down the cost if I wished. Overall it was one of the most pleasant and professional service calls I have ever encountered.