So-Cal Ponds

Philip, thank you for the review but more so thank you for choosing SoCal Ponds to build your water feature. I know you will have many days... and nights enjoying the waterfall and fire pit. Yours and your wife's smiles and reactions are the reason we do what we do... Thank you!

Mark, thank you for the reply. First let me clarify to those that may be reading this. We quoted 2k for a pump, filter and a full pond drain and cleaning... not just a pump as he states.
Second, I did tell you we could install a GFI outlet and an in-use covers which you did not have.
I believe I told you it would be around $100 or so for the GFI, cover and electrical labor.

We invoiced you for the work completed (pump, filter, full cleaning and labor) since we did not have the cover at the time of the cleaning and filter/pump installation.

We could have waited until the cover was installed and billed you the full amount or broke it into two invoices which is what we did.

Since you have a new pump with a cord and plug, there is no way to run the pump cord through your existing 3/4" conduit without cutting the plug off (cutting the plug end off, voids the pump warranty and would require a new plug end to be installed) which is why the new cord goes over the side of the pond.

At the initial consultation,
I mentioned there would some plumbing and pump cord going over the side of your pond since there was no adequate conduit installed when the pond was constructed. You agreed and were understanding at this time.
Third, the estimate did not include the extra electrical nor did the first invoice, which is why there was going to be the second invoice for 65+75.

We should have had the outlet cover with us at this time and installed it that day. I apologize for that not happening.

We will cancel the $140 charge for the GFI, in-use cover and labor.

Sincerely, Dominic

We are sorry you feel you had an unpleasant experience with our company.
...
Unfortunately, with Yelp not only do you mostly see the negative reviews for companies (as Yelp hides a large portion of the good reviews due to its spam algorithm) but most of the time only one side of the interaction is viewed. Because of this fact, we would like to respond with our perspective or "side" of the story.
We have 3 maintenance crews, sometimes they have 2 technicians in 1 crew. It is possible the client may have seen a different technician but for the most part our crews do the same route each week. And they each do the same maintenance tasks as they were trained to do.

Regarding the maintenance visit duration, unfortunately the client may have had the wrong understanding of our maintenance services as we have never charged by the hour, we charge by the visit. This is noted in our "Maintenance Agreement" that all clients have. Our standard maintenance duration is 30 minutes, so the client was correct in noticing the technician was there for 30 minutes on average.

We have automatic emails for different promotions. When the client received one that mentioned "Spring Clean-Outs" the client requested one via email we responded with the quote and did not get a response for a week. After a week it was resent and only then did we receive a response to try to schedule this appointment. We discussed a few potential dates for the work to be done on, however the client wanted to check with their husband and son to make sure they would both be home at the time of the work. No confirmation was given to us as to which date would work for them.

Over the phone it was mentioned by the client that they wanted the pond fully drained during the clean out, for a specific reason that the husband and/or son knew of specifically (something to do with the configuration of the plumbing in the pond). For this pond we did not recommend doing a full drain however since it was insisted by the customer we wanted to set up a time for one of the managers to inspect the pond and speak with the pond owner since no one was able to communicate why they needed a full drain over the phone.

We do not drain and clean a pond unless it is truly needed. Draining a pond is hard on the ponds ecosystem, hard on the fish and hard on the surrounding landscape so we want to make sure it is needed and the client fully understands what will be performed. With the difficulty in communication we never got the go over the procedure.

The following email was sent in addition to a voicemail left on the primary contact numbers mailbox.
"We will need to have [one of the managers] out to the pond prior to doing the clean out we previously discussed. I understand we previously spoke about scheduling for the week of the 17th, but we just want to come by prior to confirm the amount of time we need to spend and items we need to address."

Unfortunately, we did not receive any communication or confirmation from the client until a day prior to one of the days that had been discussed for the work to be done. The client thought the work was to be done on that day, however that date was not one of the ones discussed, nor had any date actually been confirmed. At that time, it was communicated that the work was not scheduled yet. So, there was no appointment that we did not show up to nor was there any appointment to cancel on our end.

Since we had first began service, we recommended upgrading the filter for the pond a couple times, but this was never approved. Unfortunately, only after we discontinued service did we receive a message that only read, "We would like you to do the filter".
The filter had been in poor condition since we had began servicing the pond. It was no different when we stopped service. We do not feel it is a correct assumption to say that the clients "fish could have died because of the bad filter!!!!! And again, they did not want to fix it". Again, we mentioned multiple times to the client that the filter should be replaced and only after we cancelled did that work get approved.
Due to a number of issues in the pond that the client did not want to address, in addition to the difficulty in communication with the homeowners and that each visit our maintenance technicians were hassled by whoever was on the property, we decided to cancel service. When we finally canceled service with the client, we finished the 2 visits for the month already, and did not charge them for that month of service. Their next maintenance visit would have been 2 weeks from the cancellation notice. We feel they were given a sufficient amount of time to get a new pond maintenance company.

We do appreciate the feedback and are very sorry to hear when a client feels they had a bad experience with our company. We are happy to hear the client has found another company who can provide them with the service they need. We wish the best of luck to the new company.

Suzanne, I am sorry this did work out and you feel I was rude. I admit I was definitely irritated that I had showed up to your house twice, both on time to meet with you and both times you were unable to meet with me.
You forgot to mention in your review, that I showed up on Friday within the window and you called the office to let us know that you were stuck in an appointment and for me to wait awhile or take lunch nearby. I waited for an hour before my office called to say you had canceled the appointment. At that time we rescheduled for 10-12 the following Monday.
Over the weekend I injured my back and was unable to make it over. The office called you at 8am to notify you I would not be able to make it and that we had to reschedule. We rescheduled for Friday with an arrival window between 10-12. I showed up at 11:50 (on time per the 2 hour window) and you tell me you cannot meet with me.
At this point I am bothered that I now have been to your residence twice without actually discussing the work you were Interested in.

ATTENTION readers: when a call is placed for a contractor to come out and discuss a project, it takes time and resources to make that happen. In this case there were several phone conversations, and two site visits. This particular location takes us 20-30 minutes of travel one way. I waited for an hour (the first visit). Two round trips equals 2 hours travel plus an hour of waiting make an additional hour for a total of 3 hours.
I understand things come up and appointments need to be rescheduled. It's common practice to reschedule as soon as you know you will not be able to make it, not the last part of a 2 hour window.
Our time is is important just as yours is, mutual respect goes a long way.