A well and septic company out of High Shoals.
317 North Lincoln Street, in a mill town of a few hundred people on the South Fork Catawba.
Two categories, one company
The Google listing carries two categories: Septic system service and Well drilling contractor. That is unusual and it is the whole argument for this company on a rural property, because out past the municipal lines water arrives through one hole in the ground and leaves through another, and both were usually put in at the same time by the same person.
In practice most people find this business through septic work. Septic tank pumping is far and away the most discussed thing on the listing, with Google counting it as a topic in thirty separate reviews.
What the reviews actually say
Four things come back over and over. The price was better than the other quotes people got. The technician found the tank without turning the lawn over. He explained what he was looking at. And several times, he told somebody they did not need to spend the money they were braced for.
The technicians get named individually, which is not a common pattern in contractor reviews. Gabe, Andre, Chase, Chris and Nick all show up by name, repeatedly, from customers who have no reason to remember them.
The part of the record that is not five stars
There is no point pretending otherwise on the company's own website: the rating is 4.0, and it is 4.0 because 57 of the 245 reviews are one star while 179 are five. That is an unusual shape and it is worth understanding rather than hiding.
Read the one stars and they are almost never about the work in the ground. They are about money that was not discussed in advance: a trip charge on a visit where the tank could not be found, an hourly rate that ran longer than expected, an invoice somebody had to chase. Almost none of them describe a bad repair.
The fix is on the phone rather than in the field. Ask what a visit costs, ask what happens if the tank cannot be located, and ask for an itemized invoice, before anybody drives out. Those three questions head off nearly every complaint in that column.
What 245 homeowners said
Every quote below is a real review, word for word, from our Google profile.
I called Ray's back at 8:50PM Friday night, and not only did they answer they talked to me for 10 minutes and methodically went through what to check. We discovered over the phone that the pump float had fallen off the pole and wasn't activating the pump. He described how to fix it over the phone and saved me a lot of money not having to have an emergency response. Unbelievable customer service, most folks would have charged me the service fee.
Andre came out and he was absolutely amazing. Very kind and honest. The prices they have are great but we would honestly be willing to pay more for the customer service. We were told by another septic tank company that we had to replace our entire system, we called Ray's and that was not the case at all. Just needed a pipe cleared.
We've gotten pump outs from another local company every 7 years for the 26 years since we built our house. This time we contacted Ray's Septic. What a difference. The price was substantially less than several other companies and our usual vendor. Andre was without a doubt one of the most customer service focused people I've ever met. He performed the job, cleaned up the work area and was extremely professional.
We used Ray's to pump our ancient tank from the 1930's. Andre was our technician and he was nothing short of spectacular. Found our septic tank, didn't make a huge mess digging, pumped it efficiently, and gave us great tips for taking care of our tank moving forward. All for a very reasonable price.
They sent the most knowledgeable and polite technician, Andre. After he pumped the tank he explained I still had water dripping into the septic tank due to a faulty flapper in the toilet tank, that you could not hear running from inside. I called my plumber to come out and repair, he said Andre was right, bad flapper.
I asked around for a good priced knowledgeable and honest pumping service, most answers were Ray's. I had my pick of any day. Gabe showed up, very knowledgeable. I had just purchased my house so I didn't know where my tank or lid was, but I had the environmental diagram so Gabe found the lid in no time, pumped my tank, and took time to help me understand more about it.
Why 179 of them are fives.
179 people gave this crew five stars
Out of 245 reviews on the Google listing. The names that come up over and over are the technicians: Gabe, Andre, Chase, Chris and Nick.
Well and septic under one roof
Most companies do one or the other. On a rural property that has both, this is one visit and one set of decisions instead of two contractors discovering each other's constraints on site.
Somebody answers at nine at night
The listed hours are 7 AM to 9 PM, seven days. One customer called at ten to nine on a Friday about an alarm and was walked through checking the float on the phone rather than sold a callout.
Diagnosed before it gets replaced
A customer was told by another septic company that their entire system needed replacing. It needed a pipe cleared. Ask for the reasoning behind any replacement, here or anywhere.
The lid gets found without wrecking the lawn
Google's own review summary lists finding the tank lid as a recurring topic. County records first, probe rod second, shovel last.
You get told how your own system works
Informative staff and personable staff are two of the top topics Google pulls out of these reviews. One customer wrote that the technician was teaching and showing while he worked.
Septic and wells across Gaston and Lincoln County, seven days a week on the phone.
Tell us what the house is doing.
Septic or well. Give us the address and the symptom and we will come back to you.