We originally chose B.W. Layman & Sons because they were flexible with the payment, which we…read moreappreciated at the time. But now, we truly regret going with them.
From the very beginning, we made it clear our timeline was urgent due to selling the house, yet communication was extremely poor. They often arrived without notice or didn't show up at all, including the owner, Phil Layman, who personally no-showed and simply said he "wasn't feeling good" without offering any solution. Afterward, he assumed he could come and go because the door was unlocked -- which was only unlocked because he said he would be there that day. He later scheduled another visit between 8-9 AM, but no one arrived until around 4 PM after multiple calls from me.
We don't live at the property, so I specifically asked for photos of the completed work -- that request was completely ignored. On top of that, they left multiple items and old well materials scattered throughout the yard (as pictured), which should have been cleaned up and removed after the job was finished. It looked unprofessional and created more work for us while preparing the home for selling.
Throughout the entire process, I constantly felt like I had to reach out for information that they should have been explaining. There was zero proactive communication -- no updates, no clarity, and no effort to make sure I understood what was being done on my property.
This is an old farmhouse, and we were under the impression the pipe feeding the outside spigots would be replaced as part of the well work, but no one ever communicated that it required a separate permit or procedure. I only learned this through the Oakland County Health Department -- not from Layman & Sons. Because the spigots still weren't working, I contacted another well company and texted Layman's about deducting incomplete work from the bill, but received no response for days. When I finally reached Phil by phone, he admitted he hadn't looked at my messages and became verbally disrespectful, yelling and calling me "f***ing crazy," which was completely unacceptable.
In 10+ years working in similar service industries, I have never seen customer service handled this poorly -- especially from the owner of a business, who you would expect to want to keep customers informed, respected, and satisfied.
All I wanted was communication and the work I was paying for. Instead, I was met with delays, silence, left-behind debris, unfinished tasks, lack of explanations, and verbal abuse. As a customer unfamiliar with well systems, I expected basic updates, guidance, and professionalism. Half the time they didn't answer the phone, leaving us completely in the dark during an already stressful home sale.
Despite maintaining consistent and transparent communication, our real estate agent was in direct contact with Karen (Phil Layman's wife) regarding the status of our home sale so they would know exactly when final payment would be received, as we had agreed to pay the remaining balance in full at closing. We had originally communicated that we were scheduled to close in December; however, the deal unexpectedly fell through due to issues on the buyer's end -- something entirely outside of our control. Even with that setback, we continued to keep them informed and stayed in contact regarding the updated timeline. Despite this ongoing communication and good-faith effort on our part, we received a letter a few days later stating that a lien had been placed on our home for the outstanding balance. While we understood their right to secure payment, it was surprising and frustrating given the consistent updates and transparency we had provided throughout the process.
As we prepared for closing, we discovered the payoff amount Phil Layman provided to the title company was over $800 higher than both the county-recorded lien and the invoice we were given. When my husband called to understand the discrepancy, Phil said he added legal fees and interest because payment hadn't been received -- charges that were never communicated, documented, or agreed to. We only learned about them the day before closing, which caused issues with the title company, especially since the invoices he had been sending us never reflected these added fees. During that call, Phil dismissed concerns about his prior behavior, called me "crazy," spoke over my husband, accused us of being "irate," and hung up. At that point, we chose to move forward just to be done with the situation.
I wish I had gone with any other company. I cannot recommend B.W. Layman & Sons under any circumstances.
