Canadian Water Conditioning

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Canadian Water Conditioning reviews (23)

  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 1 out of 5
    Review left on 8 Jul 2015

    New water softener

    My old water softener died after 25 years, it had never needed servicing. I bought a new one from Canadian Water Conditioning 14 months ago. Recently it started to leak. They sent a service man who spent over 2 hours here and found 2 cracked gaskets. The gaskets were no charge but I had to pay for the service call, $211. I noticed another review here with the exact complaint about gaskets and customers having to pay the service call to get these obviously inferior gaskets replaced. This is terrible PR. Note to potential customers, don't buy from this company! Note to CWC, get better gaskets!

    Answer from pro:

    Hi Nancy, As our Accounting Department discussed with you, unfortunately, you are out of your Service Call Warranty. We have reported the Gasket concerns to the manufacturer and there is an ongoing review of this. Ultimately, Canadian Water Conditioning Inc. provided the replacement Gaskets at NO CHARGE. Please review your Warranty certificate and contact us if you would like further clarification.

    Reply created 8 Jul 2015
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 28 Jun 2015

    Water Softener Installation and service

    I bought a new water softener from this company in January 2010. I was pleased with the knowledgeable and friendly staff. I received excellent service - on time, they gave me a great deal, for great products, and provided good advice and an excellent maintenance schedule. I would recommend this company to anyone looking for water softening and filtration services.

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you for the review, Herta! It's always nice to receive feedback like yours.

    Reply created 8 Jul 2015
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 1 out of 5
    Review left on 2 Mar 2015

    water softener

    We bought a new water softener from this company in August 2014. Six months later (February 2015) it began to leak water. The problem were faulty gaskets which even the technician admitted should last for years. The company only provides a 90 day warranty for service and as such charged us a full service visit to replace the defective gasket, although they did not charge us for the price of the gasket (maybe cost a few cents) that was covered under a 5 year parts warranty. The supervisor to whom I voiced my complaint did not get back to me the next day as she promised or even the day after that. I called her back on the third business day and she upheld the decision to charge us the $132.55 service charge which includes a charge to use a vehicle to make the service call. I find the whole experience to be unacceptable business practice and very poor customer service. As such I will not use this company again and I will not recommend it to anyone.

    Answer from pro:

    As we have discussed with this customer at length, there are limitations within the Warranty - much like any purchase. We welcome her to contact our office directly to further discuss.

    Reply created 8 Jul 2015
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 1 out of 5
    Review left on 1 Mar 2015

    Service

    We had a leak on our Water Softner that is a rental with Canadian Water Conditioning and we have had this rental for over 6 years. Today we had a leak and water spraying everywhere we called the 24\7 service line and were were told they do not have any one working and we received a call from the accounting manager. NOT a Technician. She advised us that we had to book an appointment for service and we could do that on Monday. I am not impressed with this service and we will be telling our friends and family!

    Answer from pro:

    Our Service line provides access to a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. All staff are fully trained on the operation of Water Treatment Equipment. This customer was instructed on how to turn her Water Softening System off to stop her leak. The "Monday" appointment was for the following day as our weekend schedule was already full. We are sorry to hear that this customer did not appreciate the prompt response received from our support staff, however, we did aid in eliminating her immediate problem over the telephone.

    Reply created 8 Jul 2015
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 0 out of 5
    Review left on 21 Sep 2013

    Reverse Osmosis system service/repair

    My review pretty much follows suit to the previous reviewer – Canadian Water Conditioning is simply not interested in happy customers but more so in being right. In our case, here is what we had requested: - repair/service of RO system that wasted too much water (10:1 – 15:1 waste to drinking water ratio) - replacement of filter system for RO system (if the repair would work out) - quoted price: around $215 + HST Here is what we got: - RO system that despite two visits still wasted too much water (in a test with the tech being there, we got 200ml drinking water for 6l waste… - A serviced water softener system (not requested) - An additional part for the softener (cost of part not provided to us by tech, I was only told it would require replacing) - A final price of $591 incl taxes. Instead of acknowledging they performed services we had not requested or were quoted, the manager (her name was Kerry or Terry, something like that) said that they could do nothing about the cost because this is what service they would have provided (true, but this not what was requested or even quoted). In addition, the manager suggested this RO system would only produce waste water in a ratio of 2:1 or maybe 3:1. She did not believe us about the much worse ratio we got until her service tech confirmed this to her over the phone – despite basically telling my wife she would be making this up, she didn’t offer even an apology to us. They did offer us something, namely to take the RO system with them to check it at their location. We agreed, but only after having them put in writing that there would be no more labour cost added from further trying to fix our system (they would contact us for parts if required, that we would pay for if we agreed with the repair). Despite that this seemed very wrong, we did pay the full price for their service. Result from this: - system still not fixed - their in-house test found a waste : drinking water ratio of 7:1 - the manufacturer (that was finally contacted by them) even states 10:1 for this system - Their solution: add a permeate pump to our system, which would apparently improve this ratio significantly, for $168. The same pump is available all over the web for around $50-$60 – so upon us asking, she said that they would need to charge for the labour for this……despite the written agreement that their repair of our RO system would not cause ANY further labour cost. Understandably, we didn’t go for this option (her comment: great, then I don’t have to order one in…..). I can only recommend to everyone to NOT deal with this company! If you ever decide you have no other choice, make sure you get a written/signed quote prior to the repair or service! I would like to add that the technician was actually quite nice, except that he could have probably informed us about the cost for the required water softener part. The management and customer service is horrible, however. EDIT on March 11, 2014: You may not actually believe this, but despite the $590 paid for the service of both systems and the attempted repair of the reverse osmosis system, the reverse osmosis system is now leaking - yep, leaking (see pictures - not a big leak, but still a leak). Despite our history we made the effort to call them - on their 24/7 line on a Saturday- not that it was urgent, just to see how they'd react. Their answering machine stated the call was very important to them - that important that it took them 48 hours to respond......and yes, they would give a warranty for their work - for 90 days....needless to say, it's about 5 months later, and they quoted us another $150...... At least we somewhat expected an answer like this, so our disappointment was rather low.....but our point was definitely proven. Another comment regarding their response - the company initially serviced the RO system in June 2011 (acc to the comment, we are customers since 2012 only) - we bought the house in 2010 and the system s came with the purchase. We called them because the sticker on the system indicated they were the company to call for service....just another bit adding to the whole picture. Cannot recommend this company whatsoever - stay away!

    Answer from pro:

    Canadian Water Conditioning Inc. would like to reply to the recent complaint rendered on September 21, 2013. We are a locally owned Water Treatment Company that has been in business for 33 years. We are completely transparent and available to our customers by email or telephone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our longevity is proof of our commitment to our customers and product. The customer filing this complaint has been a customer of our company since February, 2012. On August 27/13, this customer telephoned our office. Their concern was “there is too much waste water from the Reverse Osmosis System”. A Service Call was scheduled for September 4, 2013. The customer was advised during this conversation that their Water Treatment Equipment was overdue for Annual Preventative Maintenance Servicing. Would they like this servicing completed at the same visit? They agreed. Our technician attended the residence on September 4/13 and the servicing was completed. The technician did not detect any problems the Reverse Osmosis Purification / Drinking Water System. It was working perfectly….the customer was not satisfied with this answer as they felt that there was “too much waste water” going down the drain during the production of Pure Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water. After a lengthy discussion with the customer, it was agreed that the unit would be returned to the shop for further evaluation. They were also told that there would not be any additional charges for this review. The charges for the actual servicing of the Reverse Osmosis and Water Softening System were similar to the year before…No surprises there. Upon inspection at our shop, it was concluded that the waste water ratio was actually less that the manufacturer’s ratings. The System was working perfectly! There were no charges billed to them as a result of our analysis. The customer was advised of these findings and it was suggested that installing a permeate pump would improve that ratio as well as the quality of water. The cost of this pump would be $168.50, installed. They declined since they did not want to incur any additional costs. Our company did not originally sell or install this Reverse Osmosis System. It is unfortunate that this customer did not feel that they received good value or attentive customer service. We certainly used our expertise and knowledge to help the customer understand and resolve what they felt was an important issue. I cannot emphasize enough that the RO system was not broken. We addressed their issue and responded to this customer very quickly. It is disappointing that their review to Home Stars is so negative and one-sided. If anyone has any questions regarding our Pricing, Preventative Maintenance Servicing or Technical information on any product or service that we perform, they are always welcome to contact us at anytime!

    Reply created 8 Oct 2013
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 0 out of 5
    Review left on 22 Apr 2013

    Carbon Filter Installation & Water Heater Rebuild

    I believe that a company should not be judged by doing what was requested of them but rather by how they deal with the unexpected things that can happen- the essence of customer service. In my case, with what was asked of them, they did a fine job in installing a carbon filter (as well as rebuilding a water softener). However, their technician made an oversight that I was not aware of until about 90 days after the job in that they put the carbon filter ahead of the lawn sprinkler system (the line had a labeled tag hanging from it six inches from the unit indicating such.). When I called to inform them of this requesting that they correct it, I was told that some customers want it this way (LOL). When I pressed them indicating that I was not given the choice, they again lamely made the argument that some people want it this way. They then agreed to send a technician out to look at it and they did. They took the time to drive out, draw a schema and do a write up and then call me back only to tell me that it would be a full service call to change it. They had already spent 50% of the cost or more defending their asinine position but could not find a way to help the customer. They never offered to discount it (I probably would have compromised given they could have argued that it was partly my fault) but to spend all that time to defend themselves with no effort to working with the customer tells me what kind of company they are. (The job once on site was no more than 45 minutes to reroute the lines). They could have had a happy customer and they would have avoided a bad review but rather than do that and cover their costs, they absorbed a service call and then told the customer no luck. I will never understand the short sightedness of some companies and wonder how a culture like this can get created and defended but unfortunately it does. The irony is that it might not have cost them anymore than it did but I sure hope it will now. My recommendation - DO NOT do business with this company.
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 24 Oct 2012

    Water Softener Install

    I was looking for a new water softener, ours had called it quits... The water here in Kitchener is really hard and was ruining all my appliances. I called Canadian Water and received exceptional pricing and the girl in the office explained how water efficiency was important to me. They came out to install the following week and the plumber arrived within the time window, was clean cut and professional. I have no complaints, my customer service experience was extremely positive and I would recommend Canadian Water Conditioning to all my friends and family.

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you! We appreciate your business!

    Reply created 8 Jul 2015
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 4 out of 5
    Review left on 23 Feb 2012

    Water Softener

    I called this company because my water softener was broken and too old to fix. I didn't realize how expensive a brand new one was! They offered me a rental option which is awesome because now soft water and small payments! The rental option is great because they will always fix it for free! I like this because I'll never a repair cost again! Thanks for the help Canadian Water Conditioning!

    Answer from pro:

    You're welcome! We're always here to help!

    Reply created 8 Jul 2015
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 10 Feb 2012

    Softener Service

    My husband and I move into a newer home with a water softener in it already from a DIFFERENT company, we had several red flags pop up (white stains on our faucets, film on our glassware, etc.) which led us to believe the softener wasn't working... And we couldn't manage to get in touch with the company that installed it, they disappeared! We called Canadian Water Conditioning, they book us an appointment for later in the week with a time frame of 1-5pm... Initially I was hesitant because of this large window, to my surprise the technician was very punctual, arriving at 1:20pm. The quality of the service was superb! The technician was so respectful of our home and was very efficient and knowledgable. He even took some extra time to explain the system and proper care to us. Not only did Canadian Water repair our water softenener they followed up the next week to make sure we were still doing good. I'd highly recommend Canadian Water and when we're in the market for a new one you bet I'll be calling them again. We also liked that they're local with over 30 reputable years in business... Not a national chain. VERY HAPPY!

    Answer from pro:

    Thanks for the review, Lauren and Simon! We're here for you 24/7 so please give us a call should you need anything further! Otherwise, we'll see you in 18 months for your next preventative maintenance Service Call. :)

    Reply created 10 Feb 2012
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 1 out of 5
    Review left on 13 Dec 2010

    Water softener

    I was quite disappointed in the service that I recently received from CWC. I was told that my low water pressure problem was due to “degraded resin” in my conditioner and that the warranty did not apply as the high levels of chlorine in the Cambridge area had damaged the resin. During the process of purchasing and replacing the resin myself, I talked to numerous plumbers and sales people about this problem with basically the same opinion, that resins should not degrade in that short amount of time. I can’t help but think that if it is high levels of chlorine damaging the resin, wouldn’t I have (along with my neighbours) had this happen on my previous water softener, which I had for 15 years. I believe that CWC should have handled this concern more effectively. Not only do I think that my problem should have been covered under warranty, but that the $159 that I was charged to find out the problem is too much, especially since I did the resin change myself for less. Bottom line is that water softener resin should last longer than 4 years and that CWC should honour its warranty.

    Answer from pro:

    Mr. Woods, as we discussed on the phone with you, the chlorine levels have changed since you had your last Water Softener. As well, we reminded you the warranty on our Water Softening Systems is five years on parts and labour against defects in materials and workmanship. Resin degradation is not under warranty because it is not a defect in materials or workmanship. Any “reputable” Water Treatment Equipment service provider would agree that this is an ongoing problem with all makes of Water Softeners in our region. As we also mentioned we are members of the Water Quality Association and the Canadian Water Quality Association. We encouraged you to visit their websites for further information. They too can assure you that chlorine has a huge effect on Water Softeners. Did you contact the Region of Waterloo Water Works department to let them know your concerns about your incoming water? Your situation is unfortunate but not uncommon contrary to your other “opinions”. We have been in business for over 30 years providing accurate and reliable service to our customers.

    Reply created 16 Dec 2010
Get in touch