Al Sievers Sprinkler Svc.

Average service. Way way way over priced. He tried to sell me a new Rainbird controller for $1445.00 which is normally a couple hundred. Then he tried to sell me a 2004 Rainbird controller for $795.00. Those prices didn't include the service fee, that was just for the controllers. I declined his service and was charge $285 for less than an hours service. $95 Sprinkler Service Call, $120 Working Time Charged, $35 Test Equipment Fee (?), $35 Gas Surcharge Fee (?).\r \r I called Lewis Landscape Services and got a new Rainbird 2014 ESP-4 Me Outdoor controller for $372.40. And that included the labor too. Much better deal. more

I do not take the writing of this review for Al Sievers Sprinkler Service lightly. I feel a need to inform others to the service pricing practices of this local business. Although Al Sievers does very good work and is upfront with their Service Call Fee and Hourly Rate, what they don't share with you until they show up are all of the overpriced miscellaneous charges and fees associated with their work. They have the customer initial their ""contract"" upon showing up, and if you refuse, you're on the hook for several hundred dollars for giving them the privilege to show up and work. These are the same tactics used by plumbers and are probably why they are not very well liked by the consumer. I will say, I found it educational and enlightening to visit with and assist Al Sievers in my needed repair. I am impressed with Al Sievers work ethic and quality of service. Some things I was not impressed with were a self-described ""fuel surcharge"" of $75, even though Al Sievers publishes a West Side business location and phone number. I particularly found it upsetting to pay in excess of $100 for 1 foot of 3/4"" pvc pipe, 2 pvc elbow connectors and a single 4"" Toro pop-up head - parts I can source at retail prices from Home Depot for under $20. Al Sievers is proud of what they do for the customer, and for smaller jobs you will end up paying about $300/hour for this talent, perhaps more, when all the ""extras"" are added in. I am truly thankful for the assistance I received in getting my sprinkler repair completed as agreed. But, I am embarrassed I paid this kind of money for an otherwise simple task. It is not because of issues with work ethic or work quality that I write this review. I write this review because of the pricing scheme offered by this local business and to provide others information in advance for them to judge how much is too much to pay for a sprinkler repair. Because of their service pricing practices, I cannot recommend Al Sievers to my family, friends or acquaintances. more

I used Al in 2006 and he overcharged at least $290, by wasting time showing me his sprinkler picture booK (not at my request). Charging for the 30 minutes he writes up his bill, Not advising before the job that he has ""tool usage charges"" ($25.00) and charges for his little hand pump ($35.00) and the full bore cost of the two towels (10.00) that he used ( and they got dirty, and he keeps them). He charge for one pint of glue to glue ($16.00) to glue 6 1"" joints together. He had a $20.00 ""miscellaneous) charge with no explaination. A $70.00 charge for two ""slip fix repair coupling. (Retail is $5.00 each). also makes about 8 slow walking trips back and forth to his truck to get something he forgot?? He also arrives early and starts charging at the time he arrives, not the agreed start time. He charged $28.00 for one pop-up sprinkler head! \r Here is what HE DID NOT provide prior to the job. 1) He charges 7-10 times retail for his parts,\r 2) He charges for his saw, shovel, hand pump, towels and miscellaneous, \r \r Here's some other thoughts for AL to generate additional Income:\r 1) Depreciation on his clothes, shoes, truck, tires,\r 2) Job Cost allocation on the nice tool boxes on his truck\r 3) Washing machine charges for washing the towels he charges for\r 4) Job-cost allocation for his work cloths, \r 5) Cost of his lunch to give him sufficient energy to sustain the calories used while performing your screw-job ( er, uh, I mean sprinlker job)\r 6) Cost of the water and soap to take your shower after the job, or the cost of the gas to heat the water in your home water heater. \r \r BTW. When I called the Landscape Contractors Board and said I had a problem, They Asked Me If I Was Calling About AL Sievers. \r \r Warning: He Does Good Work. He Just screws the hell out of you with his charges, which in my case were not advised priot to the job!!!! BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\r \r P.S. Check out his nice home on the web. Fini! more

I have been in business for 39 years. I am licensed, Insured and Bonded in the states of Oregon and Washington. I have many satisfied and repeat customers. I am very upset when I see a negative review. I can assure you that all my prices and services are in writing and accepted by all of my customers before any work is performed. I have never received a negative review about workmanship. This is how I can say ""We do it Right the First Time."" Thank You more

I cannot recommend Al Sievers Landscape-Sprinkler to anyone. If there was a MINUS 10 star rating this business would get this from me. His $220 per hour fee (that is straight time, not holiday, overtime or emergency for his labor and his son's) + $95 per day service charge, + $75 per day truck charge times 2 trucks ... you'll be broke before he turns a shovel. I don't know how this man sleeps at night. I am writing this in hopes that it may save someone from being ripped off by him. You will not get a residential sprinkler from him for under $10K. more

Schedule service with this company only if you have lots of time to wait around for them to show up! more

Apparently he is too busy with all the heat to treat a potential customer right. I called in to get some information about servicing my sprinkler system. I first asked about availability and he told me he is super busy and won't be able to find an opening for 2 weeks. That's fine I understand that, it's supposed to be over 100 degrees F this weekend. Then I asked the next obvious question how much is it. He tells me it will be $95 for a service call and $120 for the first hour. So that's $215 before even doing anything. He mentions additional fees, so I do the obvious and inquire about additional fees. Pros: Answered Phone Cons: Hung up on me, Poor Customer service, doesn't want YOUR business more