HALL OF SHAME INDUCTEE: LANDWORKS - SPRINKLER REPAIR - KANSAS CITY, MO

I should have known there would be a problem when woman on the phone refused to provide a "free estimate" when I called at the end of July, 2013, stating we only do that for "big jobs" even though they advertise free estimates.  She was a bit snotty as well.

Having had no luck finding a dependable, competent, reasonably priced lawn sprinkler company in 5 years (I have gone through 5 or 6 and my system is still having problems), I decided to give them a try.

The worker arrived on-time and spent EXACTLY 2 hours digging up and repairing a leak in one of the lines as well as replacing a head and valve.  He said he was going to inspect and adjust all of the heads, but here it is less than six weeks later and I have more problems than before he arrived.  

I was charged for 3 hours when the bill arrived, so I called to complain and the woman quickly agreed to subtract the EXTRA hour from my bill, indicating to me that they likely inflate bills routinely.  I was also charged $36+ for the head and valve, parts costing $10 at Home Depot and a HUGE MARKUP ... CAN YOU SAY RIP-OFF?  The most absurd charge was for the PVC pipe, $36.81 for something that probably cost them less than $3.00 ... A 1000% MARKUP!  Then they have the gaul to add a $3.00 GAS SURCHARGE even though I was within their service area.

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY AND IF YOU DO USE THEM, ANNOTATE EXACTLY WHEN THE TECHNICIAN ARRIVES AND DEPARTS SO YOU CAN CHALLENGE THE BILL WHEN IT ARRIVES.  $65 AN HOUR FOR A TECHNICIAN WHO IS LUCKY TO BE PAID $15 AN HOUR (400% MARK-UP) AND 1000% MARKUP ON MATERIALS?  I'M OBVIOUSLY IN THE WRONG BUSINESS!

Key Words: Landworks, sprinkler, repair, Kansas City,installation, estimate, rip-off, problem, bill, pvc, pipe, head, Institutional, terrorism, InstitutionalTerrorism, CombatActivist, combat, activist

Great idea … bad product! (Defiant 180° Motion Activated Solar LED Floodlight)

Great idea … bad product!

REVIEW: Defiant 180° Motion Activated Solar LED Floodlight

I purchased a Defiant 180° Motion Activated Solar LED Floodlight on-sale ($79.95) at Home Depot less than a month ago.  I read the reviews beforehand and, although mixed, most were very positive and the rating average on HomeDepot.com was well over 4 out of 5 stars, a pretty good bet!  What do they say about gambling?  The house always wins?  I lost this bet folks.

We have a dark area on the side of our 150+ year-old house and I thought I could save the expense of hiring an electrician to run electricity and install motion-activated floodlights ($150-$200) while being “Green”, saving electricity by utilizing the power of the Sun.  Great idea … bad product!

After reading the reviews, it was imperative that I follow the instructions to the letter.  Almost every reviewer mentioned charging the battery for a full 4 days prior to installation and that was exactly what I did.  I also tested the unit as instructed and everything seemed to work fine, at first.  The installation was straightforward and took about 15 minutes, not difficult.

Since then, the unit only comes on 50% of the time.  I return home after dark and park right in front of the light, so a vehicle the size of an SUV should easily trigger the motion sensor.  Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not.  I tried adjusting the sensors to various angles and changing the shut-off delay between two and three minutes (the only two options), but nothing seemed to work consistently.

When the light does illuminate, it is “adequate”, but being an LED, it has nowhere near the illuminating power of the electric floodlight in the rear of our home.  It is much better than nothing and does provide enough light to help see in the dark, but the light is so dim that it is nearly impossible to tell if the light is on or off when in the kitchen, adjacent to the light’s location.  One of the reasons we wanted the light was to alarm us if someone was lurking on the side of our home, trying to break-in or “peep” through the window.  Unfortunately, the light does not illuminate consistently enough to serve its intended purpose.

Based on the reviews I had read, I had a 70-80% chance of being satisfied with the product.  Maybe I am unlucky, like to 20-30% of reviewers appeared to be, but this product is a non-starter.  It is cheaply made and at $80 plus tax, not a bargain in the least.  The light, when it works, is dim and inadequate and only having worked half the time, a rip-off.  I am returning the light to Home Depot today for a refund a recommend you do not waste your valuable time or money on a product that, while a great idea, was poorly designed and brought to market before being perfected.  I do not know about you, but I do not enjoy wasting hours of my valuable time buying a product, charging it, installing it, testing it, adjusting it, testing it again, removing it, and returning it to the store where I bought it.  All that for $80?  I have better things to spend my time and money on, like an electrician!

Key Words: Home Depot, home, depot, Defiant, LED, motion, activated, solar, floodlight, energy, efficiency, efficient, product, faulty, poor, light, CombatActivist, institutional, terrorism, InstitutionalTerrorism