Roto Rooter Service

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2016/05/24) */ We have no idea what this customer is talking about in her letterThere is NO flat price for service at our companyOn the first phone call we give a range of estimates for serviceIn Peoria the estimate for a sewer is $110.00-$In Pekin the estimate is $125.00-$for a sewerWe would like to know where she got her flat rate and his or her name To solve this particular problem we sent a service van with a cable machine which is procedure.They ran 130-feet of cable and did not open the lineWe checked with the city of Pekin and they identified the location of the manhole where the sewer ranWe next sent our jetter machine to flush the line and move the heavy waste that had accumulated in the sewerWe also cleaned a short section of the line from the roof vent that had also filled up with heavy wasteI would say our total time spent with travel approached hours She was charged $for the cable truck and $for the jetterWe believe this is a rasonable price for our services and the result was an open and working sewer line which is what the customer requestedThere is no way of knowing the cost of cleaning a sewer until the job is completeAll we can do is ESTIMATE what routine jobs cost This job was not routine Also I don't think we were the customers first choice for serviceWe would be interested to know how much the customer was charged from the companies that did not fix the problem A lot of times customers hear what they want to hearWho wouldn't want the lower price of an ESTIMATEThere is no flat fee at Roto Rooter of Peoria heights and there NEVER has been and the customer was NEVER given a FLAT RATE of $

In response to claim number 12125975,Our men cleaned the main sewer line from the basement cleanout and opened the line on April 4, Our machines carry feet of cable on each reelWe removed tree roots from the line and thought everything was working.We were called again on April 6,
and the line was not working properlyThe men went back and cleaned the line againfeet did not reach the stoppage so they added another reel to go furtherThe cable encountered more tree roots at about feet and was stuck in heavy tree rootsAt that point, we could not move the cable forward or pull it back outWe then sent another man to assist and after some heavy pushing and pulling we did get the cable out and had wrapped up more heavy tree roots on the end of the cable.The men were not aware of the distance between the house and the Peoria sanitary district main lineEven measuring from the house would not give an accurate length because it doesn't take into consideration of the depth and angle the line takesSaying we should know how far to run the cable after the fact is ridiculousIt is easy to second guess after the fact.We probably spent close to two hours on the second tripWe did open the line and feel the time and effort was worth another chargeHad we cleaned feet and opened the line there would have been no charge.The best solution to the customer's sewer problem would be to install a 6-inch riser on the line so the tile could be scraped out with a 6-inch cutter all the way to the main.I would like to cut the charges in half and reduce it to $At least we would get something for our effort and the customer would know we are willing to work with them.William RBabcock

I am rejecting this response because: I still feel it should have been taken care on the 1st visitThey are trained specialists as per there professionThey should have been trained to know they were not out far enoughThey should have been more professional and taken care of the problem before it got as far as the Revdex.com

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/05/24) */
We have no idea what this customer is talking about in her letter. There is NO flat price for service at our company. On the first phone call we give a range of estimates for service. In Peoria the estimate for a sewer is $110.00-$125.00. In...

Pekin the estimate is $125.00-$175.00 for a sewer. We would like to know where she got her flat rate and his or her name.
To solve this particular problem we sent a service van with a cable machine which is normal procedure.They ran 130-140 feet of cable and did not open the line. We checked with the city of Pekin and they identified the location of the manhole where the sewer ran. We next sent our jetter machine to flush the line and move the heavy waste that had accumulated in the sewer. We also cleaned a short section of the line from the roof vent that had also filled up with heavy waste. I would say our total time spent with travel approached 5 hours.
She was charged $150.00 for the cable truck and $295.00 for the jetter. We believe this is a rasonable price for our services and the result was an open and working sewer line which is what the customer requested. There is no way of knowing the cost of cleaning a sewer until the job is complete. All we can do is ESTIMATE what routine jobs cost.
This job was not routine....
Also I don't think we were the customers first choice for service. We would be interested to know how much the customer was charged from the companies that did not fix the problem.
A lot of times customers hear what they want to hear. Who wouldn't want the lower price of an ESTIMATE. There is no flat fee at Roto Rooter of Peoria heights and there NEVER has been and the customer was NEVER given a FLAT RATE of $110.00.

Revdex.com:Concerning service at [redacted]: ID [redacted]Service was performed on 8/2/2016 thru a crawl area opening. We removed rots and tampons. This was a poor place to clean a sewer from as you have no room to work the cable in and out of the sewer.On Saturday Aug. 6, 2016 we...

were called back for the same problem. The tech decided to try and open the line from the stool opening on the main floor instead of the crawl area cleanout. Our men spent about an additional hour and a half cleaning the lines again. They were being paid over time since it was a Saturday. We guarantee for tree roots for 30 days if we have the right size cleanout. We do not guarantee for tampons.The total was $185.00 for two trips to get the sewer open. It was an additional $75.00. That doesn't seem like an outlandish price for two and a half hours of work to make sure the tenants could flush toilets and use water that weekend. I feel we put forth extra effort and time in good faith that we could be treated fairly.I would like Mr. Z to check prices in his area to see if ours are out of line. the opening in the crawl space was the easiest and most obvious place to start from. it did not work out so we tried the next option. The third option was to dig up the yard and put in an outside cleanout which is very expensive.The conversation on Nov. 14 did turn ugly and I should have never let it go there. never did I use the term "slum lord". I did question the amount of rent Mr. Z is paid monthly. I assume it is more than $185.00. I feel we worked in good faith and should be paid for the time we spent. Not all sewer problems are solved on the first try.William R. Babcok