The Lawn Sprinkler Guy

In early February 2011 my family received orders to move from San Antonio to Washington DC by the beginning of March. We placed our house on the market for sale, and since our backyard had not survived the previous summer in San Antonio, we wanted to have new sod lain. Unsure if the sprinkler system was calibrated, we consulted the Lawn Sprinkler Guy to evaluate our system. We awaited his arrival that Saturday morning for our 10am appt, at about 1300 we called to see if he would be coming, he arrive 30minutes later and performed his evaluation. No problem despite the lateness. We discussed how we were going to have a landscaping company lay the sod in Spring (approx March) and how important it would be for him to schedule his evaluation for the same time (to ensure that the system was set up, no sprinklers were obscured by sod etc). 'No problem', he replied 'Here's my card, just call me/email me with the date and I'll do my follow up eval, make adjustments as needed and email you the invoice.' Awesome we thought, everything appeared to be in order. Time passes. My family and I are in Washington DC. The landscapers contacts us to say that conditions in San Antonio are good for laying the sod on 21 March. We email The Lawn Sprinkler guy' almost two weeks in advance, as discussed with the dates and if he would schedule accordingly. "I'll be there on Wednesday (22march)' was his reply. Topsoil and sod were delivered to our house 20March, the landscapers performed their duties on the Tuesday to include hand watering the new sod. The next day (Wednesday), I emailed and called The Lawn Sprinkler Guy' to see how it went. No answer. Friday evening I received a voicemail from the Lawn Sprinkler Guy stating 'I hurt my ankle. I couldn't make it.' That's it. That weekend I asked one of our neighbours in San Antonio to stop by our vacated house and take a look. All the new sod was dead. (I've attached a picture) I emailed The Lawn Sprinkler Guy hoping for something more specific, or at least some type of mea culpa that would make the loss of the $1500 for material and labor less painful. The response was (in email). ' I left a you a message on your phone that i was hurt. I'm sorry that it came out this way' You can see from the picture what a complete mess it turned out to be, and my family and I are still in Washington DC trying to address this SNAFU and sell our San Antonio House. I anticipate spending an additional $2000 to have the dead sod removed and replaced with fresh sod. I would strongly discourage any one from using this business. (This is my first negative review on Angies List, and I regret the necessity - but the lack of professional conduct demands it.)

Overall, we are very satisfied with The Lawn Sprinkler Guy & will call upon him again.

Great experience. Very professional and good deal of expertise in irrigation. He was able to immediately identify problems and able to repair or make suggestions.

I called John during what is likely the craziest time of the year for him. I explained to him that I was putting my house on the market within the week and would like for him to come check the system (I was aware that it had some issues). He advised that he was indeed busy, but would try to work me in. He called back this morning, came out and completed the work for a very reasonable price. He advised me that propsective buyers might request an upgrade on my ancient system but did not try to talk me into purchasing any additional parts or services unless and/or until they were requested. After having dealt with mind-numbing numbers of contractors--all with their own agendas--in the past several weeks, my experience with John was an amazingly refreshing change. He showed me what needed to be done, charged me an exceptionally fair amount for doing it and offered follow-up. What more can anyone ask? I would call him again (and again) and will be recommending him to my friends!

Professional, knowledgeable and friendly!

The price was very fair and less than what I expected for the work done and based on what I have paid in the past for other irrigation work. I would highly recommend this service provider.

This is a one man company and I can't say enough about him. I have had him twice. I have a rain bird sprinkler system. It has 9 zones on it. It's one of the major ones. When I bought this house the inspector also checked that out to make sure it was working, but I didn't know anything about it, there were no instruction booklets or anything. I stared looking on Angie's List and I found him on Angie's List. He came out and just made an assessment and he also went into the garage room and he showed me the box and how the things were set up (just going over things with me) Then we walked around in the yard and he started looking at things and he found a lot of things wrong and they were wrong because we turned them on like I had 2 or 3 busted heads ad I had a lot of heads that needed adjustments made. He looked at all the stuff and then he said I bet your neighbor likes you and I asked why is that and he says one of your lawn sprinklers is on the other side of your fence and it would water their yard and I didn't do this and it was the previous owner. He had a lawn sprinkler system put in and he had put up the fence. This guy came out and tried to figure out. I didn't know about this and he set up all the zones, he replaced all the heads, he adjusted everything and then he took a survey of things that I might want to do in the future. He was really good. (He said a lot of people buy these kinds of machines ... ) He did a lot of work. The sprinkler system was over two feet and dirt and grass over the main water system where the rain bird was out in front and he said he will find it. He put in rain bird sensing units and I paid for it and that's the reason it came to $300. $180 was his fee. It's a wireless sensor that he put on my gutter outside and then it comes into the box here. So if you've got your sprinkler system set out for different zones with different times and the sensor cuts off the system and you don't have to worry. That's a good thing and I got it done. I recommend this guy and he is knowledgeable. I would be calling him soon once it gets warm here. He didn't have 20 trucks or a big business where he goes out. He has a lot of business. He looked at 9 zones. He is not working by the hour or anything. He takes his time when he is doing his job and makes sure it is done correctly. He spent a lot of time with me. I was happy with the price too. His quality was excellent. He was right on time and he was calling to let me know when he was going to be here. He told me to call him if I had any problems.

John was great. Inspected the system and explained the whole time what was wrong with it. Went and got the controller to put in. Did it all quickly. I will use him again in the future if any other problems arise. Thank you, again.

Unresponsive. I contacted this company via email. After not receiving a response for a day or two, I sent another note. He apologized, said he'd been very busy, and asked for my location so he could check his schedule. I replied the same day and never heard back from him. It's been four days. If a company is going to have a web presence that lists an email address, they should be prepared to use it as a means of communication. I might try the guy again if I can't find someone else.

I will have him check the system annually for now on.

Could never get a response back that could lead to anything. Spent a week in a phone tag situation with no apparent desire to arrange any kind of service. Eventually called and got promt service from another provider.

Before the appointment, John was extremely reachable on his business line and was able to offer several (3) specific owner-capable troubleshooting suggestions. He allowed me to decide that the job needed to be solved by a professional, that my system was basically OK, and the fix would be a reasonable cost. Because I was away on business, John even left the bill with my elderly Dad without asking for payment. I sent a check immediately and would call The Sprinkler Guy first anytime I have another problem.

I purchased a big deal through Angie?s List for a sprinkler tune up.

I purchased the Angie's List Big Deal and was very happy that the deal was for The Lawn Sprinkler Guy because several of my neighbors had recommended him to me. I contacted John first via email and he promptly responded and said he'd call. We set up an appointment and he came when he said. He was friendly and very easy to work with. I've now found our sprinkler person that I will always call when we have a problem!

It went well, I guess I was a little put off that he had to go to the supply house for the parts so it turned into a two day job. The sprinkler works once again so I'm pleased.

Great experience! John is very pleasant & completed the sprinker system tune-up promptly & proficiently. I would not hesitate to contact him in the future for my lawn sprinkler system needs. As a matter of fact, I plan to contact him in Feb 2011 for installation of the additional sprinkler head he suggested.

I received a call soon after I left John a message about the Angie's List coupon. After the first appointment was canceled due to rain, another appointment was made. John arrived promptly and when he'd completed his inspection, we chatted about what needed to be done. He provided some possible solutions and explained why certain areas weren't receiving maximum output. He suggested some cutting back of shrubs along the fence line to help with the sprinkler reach. Once all that has been done by me, I will call him to implement his recommendations in that section of the yard.

It went great! I have a large yard and had to pay extra for the extra zones and the supplies to fix the sprinkler problems. The Big Deal was $45.00 and I paid an extra $60.00 for the rest of the repairs. I thought it was very fair. I will definitely use John again!!

Found John through Angie's List Big Deal and was very happy with his work. Our appointment was delayed a couple of times due to weather, etc. He arrived on time and worked about 1 1/2 hrs. doing a complete check of my system, sprinkler heads, valves, etc. He made me a good deal on the repairs and completed the work. I would recommend him highly.

I found John Flores through an Angie's List Big Deal. The house I am living in has a very old sprinkler system & I know it had not been inspected or adjusted in at least the past 2-3 years. I called John a few times while we were setting an appointment because my schedule was changing & he was trying to work around my needs. He returned my calls within 5-10 minutes every time! He was very flexible & pleasant about working around my schedule. He showed up on time & got straight to work on the inspection. He was perfectly happy to have me following at his heels & asking questions---not everyone is! He explained everything he was doing, & I learned a lot of important info about my old sprinkler system & its capabilities. When he found out that I knew extremely little about using the system, he slowed down & showed me how to use it most effectively. I even took notes! He found nothing that needed repairing or replacing at this time, but told me what to watch for so I'll know if something goes wrong in the future. No pushing for sales or upgrades, & none of the pressure that makes me reluctant to deal with so many home maintenance & repair businesses. He will be the one I call when the need arises. I will also be sharing his name with friends! I found him to be a very nice, honest, patient & knowledgeable person, as well as someone with whom I felt comfortable. A positive experience in every way! Thanks, Angie's List!

John was very punctional - called approximately 30 minutes prior to start time to reconfirm. Showed up on time and was very professional in completing the work. Would highly recommend.

John did an outstanding job. Arrived on time resolved the 1st problem that day but had difficulty getting to the inoperable station. It was under brick edging that had been laid several years earlier. Had to replace the control unit as they no longer made it. Took a couple of days and the work was accomplished what I considered in a timely matter considering the problems he encountered.

Even though there was a misconnect at the beginning once we got in touch with each other the service went very well. John was very thorough and professional. He taught me things about my sprinkler system that the builder did not bother to teach me. John went to every sprinkler head, adjusted them and even solved a problem as to my water pressure. I would highly recommend this service.

I recently purchased Angie's Deal for The Lawn Sprinkler Guy to perform routine maintenance of our sprinkler system. That service was completed today as well as the the additional work--replacing broken heads, raising heads, replacing the batteries in the control box, etc. Mr. Flores was prompt, called ahead of time to insure I was at home, worked around my hard man who was getting ready to mow. He also provided recommendations on work which might be required in the near future. A great experience.

I called to set up my appointment, and he asked for my address and said he would let me know if he would come out to my home since its about 20 miles outside of San Antonio. He asked that I email him, and I did and I have yet to hear any response from him. I have left messages and no response there either. I have now canceled this offer, since it seems like he is unwilling to come to my home.