Well repair is expensive; it's a dying business and you can expect to pay by the foot to remove and install a well pump. The rates are more than what a top lawyer charges; in my case, at $2/foot @ 350 feet, it's $700 each way, for 15 minutes of work -- and that's just to install/remove, before any additional parts come in to play. Expect to spend thousands of dollars every time you call a well company; S&L's prices seem in line with the other companies in the area.
What's not in line, however, is the way this company treats its paying customers. This seems to be a two person operation; Steve, (the "S") is the guy who does the work, and Linda ("L") manages the back office. Both of them act like they're doing you a favor to perform service for you (and take your money) and the are extremely rude, unprofessional, and dishonest.
I called S&L on a Thursday late afternoon because I had no well water. I had used them three years ago to replace an old well pump, so my pump was well within warranty. Steve came out to our house and said that while the pump was covered, his "labor" (removing the old pump and installing the new one) was not. He also told me that his truck was "in the shop for a break repair" and would be ready by Friday afternoon or Saturday first thing in the morning at the latest. I told him this was fine and asked him to call me the next day to update me on when we could expect to have him perform the service.
Steve failed to call me on Friday, so my fiance called him; he was extremely rude to her on the phone and insisted that he never said that they'd be out on Friday, that it would be Saturday. On Saturday, I called them around noon because again I hadn't heard from them. Linda answered the phone and told me that "the truck is still in the shop" and that "it's not our fault". She kept telling me over and over that "there is nothing we can do" and that "it's not our fault". I explained to her that I have four children (so there are six of us in the house) and that I need an ETA of when they would be out to perform the service so I could plan around it. She rudely said "well, Steve shouldn't have told you he'd be out today." At this point, I had enough and told her that they need to get their act together; she then accused me of being rude to her (!) and said "well, you can just talk to my husband". Steve then told me that it would be "Sunday" before he could come out, and that "it's not our fault" and hung up the phone on me.
At this point, I started to look for another company to perform the service; while I was in the process of scheduling another company, Steve called me and said he'd gotten his truck back and that he'd be out to perform the service within 15 minutes. Steve spent about an hour and a half at my house and then told me that the pump was fine, but the issue was the electrical wire. He said that he didn't have the wire, and would go to the store in Framingham to buy it and then come out on the following day (Sunday). I asked him how the wire could have gone bad if it was only three years old, and he told me that when he had initially replaced the pump three years ago, he didn't install a new wire. This means that he attached a new pump to a 20 year old wire. Interestingly, on his invoice from three years ago, he claimed to have installed (and charged me for) three wire guides, but it turns out that he never actually did.
After he left, I decided that another day without water was not going to work for me, so I called another local company to come out and perform the service. When the new company came out, not only were they shocked that he would have not replaced the electrical wiring when he replaced the pump, but we found that he had also taken everything with him leaving us with an empty well! That's right - he took my well pump, tubing, and pitless adapter from the well off of my property and left with it. The new well company also told me that the store he was referring to in Framingham was closed on the weekend and that there is no way that he could get the wire on Saturday and do the work on Sunday; best case would be Monday. So Steve actually stood in front of me and lied to my face, and in a vindictive measure decided to try to prolong our time without water for another couple of days.
You have to wonder why he wouldn't replace the old electrical wire in our well originally. Perhaps it's because he knew that it was already frayed and would fail, resulting in another service call for him. I called Linda and told her in no uncertain terms that Steve needed to bring our well pump and all equipment he removed from our property immediately; about a half hour later, Steve showed up and did return it. The new well company had us up and running in about an hour.
S & L Pump & Well Repair Reviews
Well repair is expensive; it's a dying business and you can expect to pay by the foot to remove and install a well pump. The rates are more than what a top lawyer charges; in my case, at $2/foot @ 350 feet, it's $700 each way, for 15 minutes of work -- and that's just to install/remove, before any additional parts come in to play. Expect to spend thousands of dollars every time you call a well company; S&L's prices seem in line with the other companies in the area.
What's not in line, however, is the way this company treats its paying customers. This seems to be a two person operation; Steve, (the "S") is the guy who does the work, and Linda ("L") manages the back office. Both of them act like they're doing you a favor to perform service for you (and take your money) and the are extremely rude, unprofessional, and dishonest.
I called S&L on a Thursday late afternoon because I had no well water. I had used them three years ago to replace an old well pump, so my pump was well within warranty. Steve came out to our house and said that while the pump was covered, his "labor" (removing the old pump and installing the new one) was not. He also told me that his truck was "in the shop for a break repair" and would be ready by Friday afternoon or Saturday first thing in the morning at the latest. I told him this was fine and asked him to call me the next day to update me on when we could expect to have him perform the service.
Steve failed to call me on Friday, so my fiance called him; he was extremely rude to her on the phone and insisted that he never said that they'd be out on Friday, that it would be Saturday. On Saturday, I called them around noon because again I hadn't heard from them. Linda answered the phone and told me that "the truck is still in the shop" and that "it's not our fault". She kept telling me over and over that "there is nothing we can do" and that "it's not our fault". I explained to her that I have four children (so there are six of us in the house) and that I need an ETA of when they would be out to perform the service so I could plan around it. She rudely said "well, Steve shouldn't have told you he'd be out today." At this point, I had enough and told her that they need to get their act together; she then accused me of being rude to her (!) and said "well, you can just talk to my husband". Steve then told me that it would be "Sunday" before he could come out, and that "it's not our fault" and hung up the phone on me.
At this point, I started to look for another company to perform the service; while I was in the process of scheduling another company, Steve called me and said he'd gotten his truck back and that he'd be out to perform the service within 15 minutes. Steve spent about an hour and a half at my house and then told me that the pump was fine, but the issue was the electrical wire. He said that he didn't have the wire, and would go to the store in Framingham to buy it and then come out on the following day (Sunday). I asked him how the wire could have gone bad if it was only three years old, and he told me that when he had initially replaced the pump three years ago, he didn't install a new wire. This means that he attached a new pump to a 20 year old wire. Interestingly, on his invoice from three years ago, he claimed to have installed (and charged me for) three wire guides, but it turns out that he never actually did.
After he left, I decided that another day without water was not going to work for me, so I called another local company to come out and perform the service. When the new company came out, not only were they shocked that he would have not replaced the electrical wiring when he replaced the pump, but we found that he had also taken everything with him leaving us with an empty well! That's right - he took my well pump, tubing, and pitless adapter from the well off of my property and left with it. The new well company also told me that the store he was referring to in Framingham was closed on the weekend and that there is no way that he could get the wire on Saturday and do the work on Sunday; best case would be Monday. So Steve actually stood in front of me and lied to my face, and in a vindictive measure decided to try to prolong our time without water for another couple of days.
You have to wonder why he wouldn't replace the old electrical wire in our well originally. Perhaps it's because he knew that it was already frayed and would fail, resulting in another service call for him. I called Linda and told her in no uncertain terms that Steve needed to bring our well pump and all equipment he removed from our property immediately; about a half hour later, Steve showed up and did return it. The new well company had us up and running in about an hour.