The visit
Exactly what happens during the twenty minute house call
You are letting a stranger into your kitchen. The least we can do is tell you the whole thing in advance, minute by minute, so nothing that happens is a surprise.
Before the doorbell
How the appointment gets set
You book online or you call. Either way, a person from this office calls or texts you back within one business hour to agree on a day and a window, and you are told by name who is coming. It is Dan or it is Marcus. It is not a subcontractor, and it is not somebody you have never heard of.
The day before, you get a reminder. The morning of, you get a message when we are on the way. If we are running behind, you hear about it from us before you have to wonder about it.
Nobody needs to be home except whoever wants to be there. If two people make the decisions in your house, it is worth having both of you there, only because we would rather answer the same question once in front of both of you than twice through a third party.
Dan does most first visits himself and has been testing Central Ohio water since 2009.
Step by step
The twenty minutes, in order
This is the actual sequence. The timings are approximate, but the order does not change, and neither does what is in it.
At the door0 to 2 min
We introduce ourselves, put shoe covers on and ask where the kitchen is. That is it. No clipboard on the porch, no speech, nothing to sign before we come in.
Drawing the sample2 to 5 min
We run your cold kitchen tap for a bit and draw a sample there, because that is the water you actually drink and cook with. Then we ask you what made you call. Whatever you say shapes the rest of the visit, so answer it however it is true, including "nothing, I was curious."
The tests, on your counter5 to 12 min
Five readings, taken in front of you: hardness, iron, chlorine, pH and total dissolved solids. You are welcome to watch every one of them, ask what a color change means, and take pictures of the vials if you want to.
Nothing goes off to a lab and comes back later with a scary letter attached. The numbers happen here and you keep them.
A look at where water comes in12 to 16 min
Basement, utility room, garage, wherever your main line and water heater live. We are checking for space, a drain, an electrical outlet if one is nearby, the age and condition of what is already there, and whether there is existing equipment that is working, retired or forgotten.
We are looking at plumbing, not at housekeeping. You do not have to clean anything before we come.
Reading the results together16 to 20 min
Back at the counter, we go through your five numbers in plain English and put them side by side with the published figures for your part of the city. You find out whether your house is typical for the neighborhood or unusual, and what each number does and does not mean.
If a number is fine, we say it is fine. That happens more often than you would expect from the way this industry usually talks.
The price, in writingbefore we go
If your results point at equipment, you get the installed price for what fits your house, written down, before we leave. Not a starting-from figure and not a range. The number. If you asked about monthly figures at 0% financing, those are on the same sheet.
That quote is good for a year. Nothing about it changes if you call us in March instead of today.
We leaveon time
You have the numbers, the explanation and the price. What you do with them is entirely up to you, and you will not be sat down at your own table until you agree to something.
Your side of it
What you need to do
Very little, honestly. This is the whole list.
- Set aside about twenty minutes.
- Make sure we can get to the kitchen sink and to wherever water enters the house.
- If two people decide things together, have both of them there if you can.
- If you have a recent city report or well test, set it out. If not, that is normal.
Do not run out for softener salt, do not scrub the basement, and do not stop using the water beforehand. Ordinary conditions give us the most honest reading.
Our side of it
What we bring
- The test kit and the hardness titration, carried in and used in front of you.
- The published water figures for your ZIP code, so the comparison is right there.
- Our installed price list, which is the same list every customer sees.
- Shoe covers, a flashlight and a tape measure.
Nothing else comes out of the truck. There is no equipment sitting in the driveway waiting for you to say yes.
Just as important
What will not happen
Most of the nervousness about an in-home visit is about these six things. So here they are, in writing, before you book.
No price that expires
Every quote we write is good for a year. There is no today-only number and no discount that disappears at the door.
No calling a manager
Nobody steps into your hallway to phone somebody for a better price. The first number you hear is the real one.
No four hour sit down
Twenty minutes means twenty minutes. If you want to keep talking afterward we are happy to, but that is your call to make.
No results without a price
We will never test your water, tell you what is in it, and then make you book a second appointment to hear the number.
No signature required
You can end the visit with a piece of paper and nothing else. That is a completely normal outcome and it is not treated as a failure.
No mailing lists
Your details are used to schedule and follow up on your visit. They are not sold, traded or added to anything.
On the way out
What you are left holding
A results sheet with your five numbers on it, dated, with the address they were taken at. The published figures for your area next to them for comparison. If equipment makes sense, the installed price for what fits your house, good for a year, and the monthly figure at 0% if you asked for it. And the direct number for whoever was standing in your kitchen.
That is genuinely all of it. If you decide to move ahead, you call us and we schedule the install. If you decide not to, you keep the numbers anyway, because you own them. Either way the twenty minutes was worth having.
Twenty minutes, and you know where you stand.
Free, at your kitchen counter, with the numbers and the price in your hand before we leave.
Or call (614) 555-0100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.