Jladamsinc

I initially called JL Adams to set up an appointment for the cleaning of a septic tank and installation of a riser. I also told them up front that our house was built before 1970, and Laurie (the office manager) said that the price would still be the same: $400 for the cleaning and $350 for the riser.

Unfortunately, it seems that their office is poorly managed.

1)

A) The day they were scheduled to do the cleaning, Austin (the guy who does the cleaning) called me at about 8:30 a.m. and told me that the equipment they needed for the job was at another site—and asked to reschedule. I told him okay.

B) The day before the rescheduled appointment, I noticed that there was a good chance of rain for the next day. So, I called them that afternoon and left a message in which I asked if they were still going to come if it ended up raining. Well, they didn't call me back until the next day—about an hour before the job was supposed to begin! Once again, Austin wanted to reschedule the job at the last minute, because it had already rained that morning, making the ground too wet to deal with.

C) On the day of the second rescheduled appointment, Austin showed up a whole hour early. He did call our home beforehand, but nobody answered because we weren't available. Nonetheless, he decided to just come on over anyway. And when he did that, it messed up my schedule. In a situation like that, the office should've simply told Austin, "Hey, just go to lunch, and then show up at the scheduled time." Showing up a *whole* hour early—without getting permission—is definitely unprofessional.

2) After Austin showed up, he asked me when our home was built. I told him that it was before 1970. Then he told me that the quote Laurie gave me ($750) was *wrong*, and that he'd have to add $210 to the total—and go get some extra material! I was shocked that even though I'd told Laurie up front when our home was built, she still gave me the wrong quote. Austin pretty much admitted, though, that Laurie isn't very knowledgeable in giving quotes. It was also disappointing that he showed up unprepared for this situation, wasting both his time and mine. He had to leave and didn't return for at least 45 minutes.

Anyway, once Austin finally got the ball rolling, things went pretty smoothly. I watched him do the job, and learned a good bit from asking him various questions. He also gave me a helpful tip about what kind of treatment works best for septic tanks—instead of expensive RID-X or the like, just use cultured buttermilk! In addition, he recommended the use of single-ply toilet paper, since he said it breaks down a lot quicker.

One thing I didn't like was that, in our back yard, we had a cover over the faucet on our house to protect against cold weather. Without asking, Austin just removed the cover and screwed his hose onto our faucet. Although he probably didn't even realize it, he should've asked us for *permission* first. He also didn't put it back on like he found it. Again, this all goes down to the office being poorly managed. They should instruct him clearly on the particulars of professional behavior.

Because of a lot of recent rain, the ground was kind of damp, and unfortunately at the very end, the wheels on Austin's truck sank in and made a big hole in part of our back yard. When I showed it to him, he did his best to cover it up, and then offered us a discount of $105, which I thought was very reasonable.

Overall, Austin was likable and did a good job. And even with the hiccups, I was left mostly pleased with the work that he performed. In a nutshell, I would rate JL Adams as follows:

Organization and professionalism: two stars
Actual work performed: four stars

That averages out to three stars. So, I would give them a limited recommendation, meaning that while I think they're worth contacting for septic work, please just use some common sense and caution. And because they're poorly organized, you may have to micromanage them as you expect the unexpected. LOL.

UPDATE: More recently, we called JL Adams to work on a toilet that wouldn't stop running.

The good:

1) We were able to book them for the very next day.

2) They actually showed up—unlike a lot of plumbers, who just stand you up. And they were able to fix the problem.

The not-so-good:

1) Laurie (the office manager) couldn't give us *any* idea what time they would be coming the next day. I mean, do they really expect people to just sit around all day waiting for a plumber to show up?

2) Even though the problem was fairly minor, they charged us a whopping $225. We thought that was excessive.

UPDATE 2: Recently we had a toilet that we couldn't get unclogged. They sent a couple of guys over who fixed the problem, but we got charged $175! I tell you what—this company is not cheap!

During the visit, one of the guys mentioned that they do tree removal as well, which I was interested in. So, shortly after he left, I called the office and talked to Laurie (the office manager). I asked her if they do tree removal, and she said yes. I then asked her if I could see a copy of their Certificate of Insurance to verify that they're fully insured. She said that they don't have a copy, but would have to request it from their insurance company. I asked her if she could do that for me. Unfortunately, she was totally uncooperative. She just said that they don't give out their insurance information "to just anybody." Excuse me, honey? Then she said that they are fully insured. Riiiiiiight. Well, I guess you have to be a member of the royal family or something before they'll show you proof of insurance!

So... she basically refused to provide their insurance information, and she was NOT nice about it. Well, if they don't want my business, that's their loss! Besides, I suspect that they DON'T have adequate insurance, so that's why she wouldn't provide anything.

Anyway, watch out for Laurie—she can be pretty nasty. And forget about their "tree services." In fact, I thought about lowering their rating from three stars to two stars because of Laurie's rudeness, but I'll just leave it for now.