rpssolarpumps.com

Heads-up about RPS Solar Pumps

First, I don't much like complaining about things, but in good conscience, I can't allow this company to continue doing business as they are without at least giving people a heads-up.The original 1-star review has been updated based on subsequent interaction with the company (scroll to the bottom to see the update).I purchased an RPS solar system to run the water for our house and garden. The total price of their package was about $3500. It's expensive, but considering we live in the Pacific Power shut-off zone (a scheme they use to shut down large areas to prevent wildfires), I was not overly concerned about the price.The first issue came with the manual. It's probably the least understandable manual I have ever tried to read. I ended up hiring an electrician to install the system because the manual was completely unhelpful, and I could not get a response from RPS technical support.When I called them the first time, the technician was just as clueless as I was, to my surprise. He explained that he was new and that he would have a senior technical support agent call me back shortly. That call did not happen until some 3 weeks later. During those three weeks, I called multiple times, as did my electrician, but no one would answer the phone.When I finally got the call from a knowledgable RPS technician, he informed me that there must be a bad part, and that he would ship it out immediately. The company agreed to pay for my electrician to install it, which sounded reasonable.Now, here is the rub. Because their support team would not return my calls, I hired an electrician, who spend several hours trying to get the system to work, resulting in a hefty bill. When I told the RPS senior technician about that bill and requested that their company pay for it, he said, he apologized for the lack of return phone calls. He explained that the issue was due to a shortage of technicians (someone quit, it seems) and that it couldn't be helped. He then went on to explain that he asked the owner if the company would pay for the electrician that I hired during the time when RPS was not helping me. The owner told him it was not their policy to pay for that.The end result is that I lost a lot of personal time, energy, and money on this issue. Their policy is that they demand their customers to pay for their mistakes.But wait, it gets worse.They sent out the part, which arrived about a week and a half later and they scheduled my electrician to install it at 8 AM this morning (the day of this review). The electrician showed up promptly, expecting to be guided through the installation process by the RPS technician, which was the plan that he detailed to me on the phone in our last conversation.The electrician calls the RPS support line as he was instructed - nobody answers (as usual). Two hours later, the RPS technician calls me to begin the installation process. Why he called me is beyond my comprehension. They are paying the electrician, who they hired to be at my place at 8 AM. Why didn't they call the electrician like any competent person would do?I suspect you guessed it...the electrician was not able to solve the problem and had to move on to other work...I still have a dysfunctional RPS system that I have paid heavily for in time, energy, and money. AND it still does not work.What are the odds that they are going to get the electrician back out here any time soon to solve the issue? If I had to place any money on it, I would bet against RPS.As an owner of a business myself, I know that there is a huge price to be paid for poor service--even if I can't immediately see it. RPS saved themselves a couple of hundred dollars by not paying for the electrician I hired as a result of them not returning my calls, a price that they should have covered if they had any integrity. Their unwise decision motivated me to write this Yelp review. How many potential customers will they lose over the life of this review, nobody knows. But I bet it's going to cost them A LOT more than a few hundred dollars, and that is how it should be.If you want to work with a company that respects and supports you, you would be wise to look elsewhere--avoid RPS Rural Pumps.Update:A few hours after posting the above review, I received an email from RPS apologizing for the many issues. They admitted their fault and ultimately did what they could to rectify the situation, which included a partial refund, sending out parts to correct the issue, and some new batteries (an upgrade). The system seems to work swimmingly now!I feel that this company may have been hit hard by COVID-19 and is suffering from a lot of subsequent disorientation and disorganization. That said, I believe their initial lack of support and poor responses on the phone, made the situation far worse than it had to be. With time, I hope RPS will be a great company.

Date of experience: Aug 26, 2020