Advanced Drilling

Please be advised - Do not get involved with this business, Advanced Drilling LLC, or with its owners; Rob and Pam Laymon at 11530 School Land Rd SW, Rochester, WA 98579, (360) 347-1189.
In 2004, we purchased a 5 acre parcel of land from these people with the stipulation and written guarantee included in the actual Title/Deed for the land purchase; for them to drill a water well within 60 days of notification that we had a site prepared. The agreement states it will survive closing. Since that time 18 years ago, we have attempted time after time to make arrangements to have this company fulfill its contractual obligation. Each time, we cleared and prepared a suitable well site but each time, this company would offer excuse after excuse as to why they could not drill even going as far as to ignore our emails and scheduling attempts. We have 18 years of emails on file that clearly demonstrate the dodging of responsibilities from this disingenuous company of shysters. We did not realize there was a statute of limitations when it comes to holding business accountable for contractual obligations. We allowed this statute of limitations to expire in hopes that our trust in them had not been misplaced – our mistake! We should have sued them before 2011 had we known they would be THIS kind of business.
Being good hearted people, each time that we were confronted with an excuse as to why they could not fulfill this obligation we gave them the benefit of the doubt that in good faith they would get the job done. We endured such excuses as “The ground is too soft this time of year and we should wait till the summer; then when summer came, it was the busy season and they could not find the time. Other times, Rob, the owner and driller, was very ill and could not do business. Another time, we were told they had damaged their well drill rig and had to get the engine rebuilt. The owner even came out to review our sites and told us to email to get a date scheduled. They even submitted an Intent to Drill form with the county. After we agree to the site(s) they proposed and prepared it to their specifications and location, they then ignore all attempts to actually get a date scheduled to actually drill.
We now have 18 years’ worth of emails and replies recorded (mostly from us to them) should Advanced Drilling LLC wish to contest what I say here. The most recent correspondence was our reply to their stipulation for us to prepare yet another site and us saying we had prepared it after personally meeting with Rob at the actual well site and deciding what the best location would be. We sent it to them on Thu 5/12/2022 10:56 AM to which we never received a reply.
BUYER BEWARE!
These people are not on the level and they have clearly demonstrated they have no intent to honor their contractual obligation(s). (If you are fortunate enough to actually get a response from them).
Do yourselves a favor and find another, reputable well drilling company to deal with.
We regret trusting these people and wish we had read the negative reviews for the company first. Read on, and learn why you should stay away from this sad excuse for a business. Do some research on other drilling companies and you will clearly see what a derelict company this one really is.

VIRTUALLY NONEXISTENT COMMUNICATION

Pam Laymon, who performs the duties of business coordinator, secretary, customer service rep and who knows what else, consistently demonstrates an inability or unwillingness to answer phones or respond to messages. We would go weeks to months without a reply or update, even as we continued to reach out to try and get something scheduled. Phone calls go unanswered and voice messages get no responses, no return calls even when requested. No actual dates arranged for the project even though requested numerous times. Sporadic or no responses to emails even when we are meeting and responding to requirements they themselves stipulated. There is a general feeling of being ignored by them. Perhaps because there is no money involved but judging from other reviews, it seems that this is ‘par for the course’ with these people.

LACK OF CONCERN FOR CUSTOMERS
As I stated, we have 18 years of examples filed away to substantiate our claims:

It really appears that Pam Laymon is not one for customer relations, and shouldn't be in this line of work It may seem like a very negative thing to relate but it is true none the less.

UNRELIABLE EQUIPMENT

Pam and Rob Laymon own a single, almost antique, drilling rig which had caused them to not be able to drill on one date we tried. If that rig goes down, you are just out of luck until they finally decide to repair it and parts are hard to find for that rig. There is no backup option.

This can be added to the never-ending litany of excuses and no contact we have endured.

BOTTOM LINE

Research the other negative reviews. Stay clear of this defunct company! There's nothing "advanced" about them. Companies

We hired Advanced Drilling to dig a well for our new home based on a referral. We regret it, and wish we had read the negative reviews first. Read on, and learn why you shouldn’t touch this company with a 100-foot drill pipe!

UNRELIABLE EQUIPMENT

Pam and Rob own a single decades-old drilling rig. If that rig goes down, there’s no backup option. Finding parts for this aging piece of equipment was apparently getting hard even before the pandemic, and they hadn’t planned for problems by keeping a stock of key replacement parts.

This delayed our drilling project by over a month. Their failure to invest in backups could spell disaster for you, if you have a deadline like we did.

POOR/NONEXISTENT COMMUNICATION

Pam’s inability or unwillingness to answer phones or respond to messages seemed pathological, or suggestive of literacy issues. We would go weeks without a reply or update, even as our project deadline approached, and their hunt for machine parts continued. In any project, communication is important. When there is uncertainty or a time crunch, clear and timely communication is crucial.

Pam’s poor communication skills made a tough situation much more stressful. She is not cut out for customer relations, and shouldn’t be in this line of work. If you go with Advanced Drilling, expect sporadic communication, a slim chance of making contact by phone, no explanation of what to expect or how the process will work, and a general tone of indifference from Pam and Rob. Which leads to . . .

LACK OF CONCERN OR EMPATHY FOR CLIENTS

It’s a harsh thing to say, but it really seems true. Examples follow.

Our well needed county approval by May 18 to avoid a price hike of almost $40,000 by the home builder. We signed our drilling contract on January 24, leaving about 3 months to do the job. We missed our deadline.

Pam knew about the looming price hike. Once it became clear that a major delay was happening, one might expect some regular updates from the business owners. Perhaps some words of reassurance that they were doing everything they could and were sorry for the extra trouble. Some expression of concern or empathy as part of basic customer relations. Instead, when I actually got any replies, Pam left my questions unanswered. Weeks went by without an email response or answered phone. When I finally sent a message politely asking for weekly updates, Pam ignored that request entirely.

Indifference.

Another example from Rob: Drilling started on Thursday, four days before our target date. Work went as follows.

*Day 1* About 2 hours of drilling. Rob stops to go fill a tank truck up with water because he “didn’t bring enough out.” No more work that day.

*Day 2* Drilling done in 4-5 hours. Rob leaves with a promise to “come back tomorrow” to finish up.

*Day 3* The rig sits. No sign of Rob. At noon, I call the company. Two voicemail boxes are full (as usual), and there’s no answer at the other number (as usual). I send an email, asking if Rob will be coming that day. In desperation, I drive to their home office. Pam tells me that “Rob didn’t realize it was a Saturday. He’ll be back on Monday.” When reminded of our target date and price hike deadline, she seems entirely unconcerned—even irritated that I would presume to expect Rob to show up as planned.

*Day 4* The rig sits.

*Day 5* Rob moseys in at 10 and by 10:30 gives me a well log. By then, he has put in about 7 hours on-site over 3 work days. Today took only a half hour. Why couldn’t he have done this Friday, or during a quick drop-in on Saturday? He only lives about 20 minutes away….

In the end, we got our county approval exactly 3 days late. I had told Pam earlier that with this tight schedule, even one day’s delay could make the difference. I just wish she and Rob had taken that to heart and at least showed some concern. But I guess that’s not how they roll.

BOTTOM LINE

Read the other negative reviews. For quick jobs & simple fixes, reviews lean positive. For anything else, steer clear! There’s nothing “advanced” about this company.