Until this year, we thought Robinson's was a decent business. Now we say be extremely careful verifying pricing and every detail of services Robinson's is to provide. Use your phone to record all conversations and then follow up in writing if you want to avoid getting the run around should a problem arise. When there's an issue, the response is, "You must have misunderstood." Will NEVER call this company again. No longer believe they can be trusted.
Why?
1 -- They don't operate in good faith to honor estimates for repairs.
After replacing our pump, they were to return and install a new crock and repair the alarm which tells us the pump isn't working.
Although the alarm's high water warning light and bell were both working before Robinson's replaced our pump, the bell's ringing was muffled. After pump replacement, the high water light and bell no longer functioned at all. Odd. Arragon, the technician, said the alarm box wiring was faulty, and we probably needed a new alarm and new alarm float switch. So we asked him to estimate fixing the alarm at the time he returned to replace the crock.
After working quite some time at replacing the old crock, Arragon told my husband he'd have to return later to finish the alarm repair. Another customer had an emergency he needed to address.
We were later told our estimate only included replacing the alarm float switch -- not getting the alarm system working again. The alarm repair would be an additional $395. We were also told we "must have misunderstood" -- not only about the alarm repair, but also about there being an emergency. The office told us that was untrue.
None of this makes sense unless the goal was to leave the job unfinished then return and charge more to complete work on a job which was improperly estimated at the start. I hope this wasn't the case, but the mysterious emergency reported by one employee and denied by another is hard to explain, as were the extra trip and charges to fix our alarm. Why would we ask to replace an alarm float switch instead of getting the alarm SYSTEM working again? A working float switch without a working alarm to warn of a potential overflow is of zero value.
Robinson's refused to return and finish the job, so we called in someone else to diagnose and repair the alarm. Turns out, it was only a blown fuse -- no wiring problem, and possibly no bad alarm float switch -- but we had to pay trip and diagnostic fees to another repair service to get it fixed. When we asked that our bill be adjusted, the office said they "doubted it would cost $100 for a blown fuse." They'd estimated $395 for the alarm repair, but a $100 charge was suspect!? Anyone know a repairman who'll show up at your house for less than that, much less make a repair, too?
2 -- They damaged our basement flooring and subflooring.
When the old crock was removed, gravel in the surrounding pit also had to come out for the new crock to be installed. The new crock was not placed in the same position as the old one -- more to the right and much lower down. This resulted in a chunk being broken out of the concrete floor in the pump closet. I don't know whether this was accidental or done purposefully, but our floor was damaged. Rock was also left outside our basement door for us to clear away.
The new crock was installed with its top BELOW the level of the basement floor whereas the top of the old crock was AT floor level. As a result, rock previously there as support for the concrete slab slid into the pit, leaving a void under our slab, both inside the pump closet and outside the door. Had the new crock been installed at the same height as the old one, this undermining problem could have been addressed by simply adding more rock. Because the new crock was many inches lower, a concrete "wall" had to be build to support the slab and keep rock from sliding into the area around the crock or even into the crock should the top need removal for pump or alarm maintenance. Robinson's also refuses to compensate us for the cost of repairs for this damage. read more