[DanaMac]

Have a client that I picked up this spring. We went out in May and adjusted the system, replaced 2 Toro Super 700 heads with Rainbird 5004+ rotors. He paid and all seemed OK.

Called a few weeks later and said there were some more adjustments to be made plus he put some seed in a natural area and wanted the rotrs adjusted to cover that as well. So I did what he wanted and sent a bill

Called a 2-3 weeks ago and wanted 6 rotors moved about 18" due to seededing some more natural area along the property line. Technician went out, moved heads, replaced one that was broken and adjusted. Sent him a bill. Total for this call and the last (which I only charged him $40 for the 2nd call) totaled $150.

Received a call last week from him saying how disgusted and unhappy he is with our work. The lawn is dead and the heads don't cover anything. Said he would send out payment but wants us to fix it or he will not use us again or refer us.

Now, we are in a serious heat wave of 95+ degrees for many consecutive days, droungt still in effect along with water restrictions of 2 days a week watering with a max total of 3 hours to water the entire lawn. The clients has 8 rotor zones. Well to comply with restrictions his zones would have to run 30 minutes each. Normally rotor zones at 30 minutes would be OK but not twice a week with 95-98 freaking degrees. Plus the system is designed poorly with no head to head coverage and I believe the Toro Super 700 heads are one of the worst rotors out there. I have also talked to the previous company that worked on i, which is the comp. that I bought out this spring, and he had the same problem with the guy last year.

I did not call him back because I just didn't want to deal with him and figured, Oh well. I'll never see the money. No big deal. But today I received the check. I thought about sending it back (or half) and tell him good luck finding someone else.

Should I send him a letter explaining his problems or just cash the check ASAP and be done with him?

 

[GLAN]

Send him the letter


Lay it all out for him. The watering restrictions, the gaps in coverage and so on. Point out all the problems and then detail what would be needed to correct all of, excluding the watering restriction.

Then wait and see what his reaction will be.

 

[SprinklerGuy]

Well....seems to me like the watering restrictions should have kept that smart guy from seeding in the first place or does it only apply to NEW LAWNS?....what a jackass.

How could he think that watering 2 days per week would be enough? Is he not hot and sunburned like the rest of us here in your area? Send him to the fish pond......I'll take care of him.


Seriously though, my first thought is always to rip up the check and write a nasty letter...but as you know, with overhead and employees now....you need to pocket all the money you can.

As soon as you tell him that the rotors need to water MUCH MORE than allowed, he will probably want to know why you or your tech didnt' tell him that to begin with right?

Call him on phone, try to explain it to him...after cashing check by the way....and if he still doesn't understand.....tell him to have a nice day and let him piss off the next sprinkler guy......

 

[DanaMac]

I had already set the guys timer to over 3 hours total. Probably 3.5 to 4. I even set it up to run through one cycle, and have a second directly after the first. Kind of like the cycle/soak feature on the larger ESP timers. If the zones were needing 30 minutes, I set it to go 20 minutes each, then an additional 10 on the second cycle. He is in an area with very rocky, hard soil. A lot of it was just running down into the natural swale of the yard and making a green line through the yard.

I DID cash the check. But I will write him explaining all the problems and tell him it's best for him to find someone else. I don't have the time to kiss this guys ---. There are too many people who actually appreciate our work. One guy sent an additional $10 for my tech that was at his place.

 

[Ground Master]

I set all my timers for 3 multiple cycles. 6 minutes for sprays and 15 minutes for rotors. This has worked very well in all soil conditions.