Canadian Water Conditioning

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

I just recently moved into a home that came with a water softener and reverse osmosis. I was having problems with both units and since I have never dealt with either system I had no clue what I needed to do. I called Canadian Water Conditioning and they came out to fix it all for me. It turns out nothing was really wrong with the equipment, it just needed regular maintenance done. The tech that came out was great he told me what each unit did and what I needed to do to on my own to keep the units running. The best thing is that they are going to call me every year to remind me I need my annual servicing done! It's great to know I have one less thing to remember! Since the servicing both units have been working great, I have soft water and my drinking water tastes amazing! I have already told many of my friends that they should be dealing with Canadian Water Conditioning too! I will definitely be having them back in next year!

My wife and I purchased a Water Softening System and Reverse Osmosis System from this company. From my first telephone call to the installation, we were 100% thrilled with their service and equipment. Nothing negative to say about this company. 24/7 Service too which is great! Prompt, reliable and Canadian owned - everything I'm looking for in a service company.

Purchased new water softener which never worked. They had repair men come visit 4+ times already and are now suggesting taking our softener from our house to repair vs providing us a new one which I requested after their 2nd attempt to visit. They also said that the normal time for repairs once they have the softener in their warehouse is 14 days (although we would be put as a high priority but no one would commit to a time we would be without a soft water) which I said there's no way we could live without soft water for 14 days plus it would begin to damage our dischwasher/washing machine etc.. I paid for it and will not have them remove it from my house as I then have no idea when it might return. I live in the country with very hard water and young children. They also commented that technically your 3 months warranty has expired however we will honour...I guess so seeing it never worked. Here is what they have posted on their website...We stand behind our Water Treatment Equipment 100%, as proven with our price guarantee... ask your Customer Service Representative for details! I guess the key word is how do they stand behind their equipment...they'll take something you bought and paid for that was never working.
Lastly, this is extremely frustrating as I have spent hundreds of dollars on water test strips as I test our water daily plus have gone through 2 kettles because of the hard water damage.