Confused by my tech

[u/Commercial_Head_1391]

Set up an appointment online to have somebody come and blow out my sprinklers. He never came to the door. I already had the water shut off. He just went ahead and blew out all the sprinklers. But I couldn’t tell if:

1. If Zone two was blown out because it didn’t look like there was any water that came out of zone two. My backyard is pretty small and it’s at a slope so I don’t know if that had something to do with it.

2. He put this red tape on the pipe. I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be indicating something?

3. Is it normal for tech to blow out a sprinkler system and then bill you later? Because I had only booked an appointment online with this guy and have had no verbal contact with him just a Google invite.

I can’t get a hold of them and I’m very confused on if it was done properly how I’m supposed to pay him I know this is nobody’s problem but mine. But if somebody could give me some kind of idea what went on I’d greatly appreciate it.

[u/Suspicious-Fix-2363]

He should have gone into the crawl space because that is where the water shutoff is and also the backside drain would be by the shutoff or on the shutoff valve itself. New property,new customer he should have knocked on the door to check with you. Not a very professional way to do business.

[u/EyesOnTheDonut]

I would say that is not normal, I always knock on the door before I start, mostly because I don't like getting shot at. I'm not familiar with the red tape or what that is doing. I don't know if I would be too concerned about zone 2, that zone may have had very little water in it due to drainage, or just blowing out a lower head somewhere you aren't seeing. I would be mildly concerned about the rest of the situation. It is normal to bill later, but not normal to have zero contact with the customer while onsite. It's possible the tech may not speak English, in which case you would at least expect a text from the company notifying you when they arrive and after they finish.

[u/YamzMt03 → u/EyesOnTheDonut]

Red tape is holding the drain cap

[u/Commercial_Head_1391 → u/EyesOnTheDonut]

I shut off the water in the crawlspace this morning. So I’m sure he knew it was off. It seemed like he was pretty familiar with the neighborhood. But the whole zero contact thing to me is wild. I’m sure he’ll return my message when he wants to get paid 😅

[u/austinthesavage]

I dont knock on the door only if it say “winterize anytime” sometimes property may have a sprinklerlok so we can be able to turn water off from outside.

[u/Amateursprinklerguy]

Eh, depends on the contractor. We can easily winterize sprinklers without talking to a homeowner. Unless there is something you need inside, most prefer to do it and move on quickly. You mentioned you already had the water off, so you’re probably all set.

[u/Packman714]

I’m betting you have a hose spicket somewhere on the property and he didn’t know about it. The supply line was charged with air and he shut off the hose spicket and his air hose after possibly opening each zone manually through the valve boxes and the system was charged with air. If he used the controller via being it being outside or by an app on their work phone you gave shared access from you the air pressure pushed the water back when you double checked it. Call them back leave messages and if you also have a bad zone valve that didn’t open he might of had notes on his paper work that he wasn’t able to open zone #2 it’s a possibility of a bad zone valve or solenoid that wasn’t able to be blown out. Irrigation control valves will allow water to flow backwards hence the reason why backflows are installed.

[u/shovel_operator9000]

Usually I like to set appointments for a meet and greet with a new client, but that's just me. That way I can walk you through every step and address any concerns and assess your controller, valves, backflow preventer, rain sensor. After that, if I don't need access to anything in your home, I can usually winterize without anyone being there as I'm familiar with the system. Assuming the tech knew what he was doing, everything is probably fine.

[u/flimflabber]

This is where my team and I thrive. We call the day before the best we can; a text or quick call before heading over and a post service knock, or text. Yeah a lot of you guys say it’s a waste of time or overkill but it has boosted us to 5 stars with customers signing service contracts for the following year over and over, with pricing that is higher than the average in our region. People in my area appreciate the communication and it builds strong business relationships.

[u/Whole-Cheesecake-523]

I only knock if something is wrong. Talking only slows me down.

Your backyard zone was probably mostly empty if it’s on a slope. The water drains out the lowest head.