DO NOT USE Tri County - I've had shady dealings two times and I'm through. I called Tri County to do a septic pump-out. The lady on the phone quoted me a price that sounded reasonable. When the driver arrived, I discussed the system with him. He said there was a filter between the settling and pump tanks that would need to be cleaned - $40 if they did it, or he said I could simply spray it out with a hose. I told him I would do it. He pulled the filter out and told me the part was no good because there was a gasket missing and it would have to be replaced for $60, but I could order it online and he showed me what to look for (very helpful, right?).
After the tanks were pumped, he told his assistant to spray out the filter. I told the assistant not to, because I planned to replace the broken part as instructed. When the driver gave me the bill I [stupidly] signed and gave him my credit card; I was working from home that day and distracted. After they left, I saw a $40 filter-cleaning charge on the invoice! I called the driver and he said that he had told the assistant to spray out the filter, and I informed him that I told him not to do it; the assistant agreed and the driver said, "oh crap. I'll call the office and have them straighten it out for you."
The office lady called me and I explained the situation. She stated that the driver would NEVER leave a job that way, and that he was a state-certified inspector and always did a professional job! I informed her that I had confirmed with the driver that the assistant had not performed the filter cleaning on my BROKEN FILTER (which would have taken 2 minutes - for $40 - what a joke in itself!). She still denied that he had left it that way and she told me that I would have to go out and UNCOVER MY OWN SEPTIC TANK AND SEND HER PICTURES FOR PROOF!! I said "you want me to get S#!T on my hands so you'll believe me, and you won't take my word for it?!" She explained that I could use a wire coat hanger to avoid getting my own feces on my fingers (it worked great, by the way).
So I go out to the tank, pry off the 100-pound lid, use a wire to lift out the STILL DIRTY filter and take pictures of it, all the while avoiding dropping my phone into the tank, because that would have been icing on the [chocolate] cake. I send her the pics. No response. Later, I call the driver, who said he was coming out in the evening to replace the filter. He comes out in his personal vehicle with a USED FILTER and swaps it out with the old one. Not bad for $40. Oh, and I forgot to say that when they left from the pump-out they dripped black sewage on my flagstone walk and I had to clean it up myself. Nice!
At the beginning of the review, I said I've had shady dealings twice. In 2016, they came out, drove over my flagstone walk (the one they would later spill sewage on) with the pump truck, and cracked two pieces. When I called to pay the bill, they said they had lost the invoice and they would call me. I called back a month later and they still could not find it for me to pay. Another month later, the same lovely lady in the story above called me back demanding that I pay the bill!!
So the moral of the story is that if you want to get ripped off, insulted, have your word questioned, and do extra work yourself after the job, Tri County is the way to go! read more