I am very pleased with the service I received from Jeff Castro and his team. Their expertise and the care they took to get the job done right was commendable. The entire team had a great attitude even in 90+ degree temperatures and a tight Michigan basement. Thanks again for the help.

-- David B., Ypsilanti (August 2, 2011)

Website looks great - very clear and attractive. The folks on the phone were also very helpful. Bravo!

-- John E., customer via email (August 28, 2009)

I would like to take this time to say THANK YOU to the staff at YCUA. My wife and I were very impressed with the excellent service we received during a recent sewage backup at our residence. YCUA staff was nothing but professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. I can only assume that this behavior is a reflection of the entire department. It is a pleasure to know that there are still businesses that treat the customer in such a courteous and respectful manner.

Everyone involved in assisting in our problem, from the first phone call through the resolution, helped eliminate the anxiety and inconvenience that this situation produced. We would like to personally thank Joyce Pillera, Ben Amrhein, Lee Humbarger, and Mike Shaffer. Also, a special thank you to Ben Amrhein. Ben was very sympathetic to our circumstance and helped put us at ease. We wish everyone had an attitude like Ben’s: ”we work for you.”

-- Senate Avenue Resident, Ypsilanti Township (May 27, 2009)

We are writing to commend four of your employees who showed compassion for one of our residents in a time of crisis.

(An Ypsilanti Township resident) phoned yesterday to express her gratitude for their assistance. Her car slid off the road into a ditch and almost flipped over. These employees stopped and helped her free her car. Their consideration for her plight impressed her so much she asked their names, and wanted to make sure we knew about their chivalry.

Please pass along our gratitude to: Greg Howard, Sean Knapp, Chris Richards, and Aaron Young. Our township is fortunate to have such kind people in our midst.

-- Supervisor Brenda L. Stumbo, Clerk Karen Lovejoy Roe, and Treasurer Larry J. Doe, Ypsilanti Township (January 30, 2009)

My family and I thank you for the excellent customer service consistently provided by your team. Our every contact with the YCUA team has been professional, courteous, and thorough. Even my call to your emergency number during the Christmas / New Year period was handled exceptionally well. Add to this today's call to ensure all was well with our account, and it is clear to us that you have a very special customer service team. Kudos to you and your team!

-- Milt J., Ypsilanti (January 26, 2009)

Thank you for working with my husband. I know it was difficult at times to hang in there with him! I'm glad you were patient. You have gone the extra mile for customer service.

-- Local home owner, Ypsilanti (July 2, 2008)

Yesterday afternoon, I noticed bubbling water coming up through the cement as you entered the lot (of my business). I called the police, who called YCUA. It seems that the pipe that goes to the fire hydrant had burst. Things were a bit touch and go for a minute. In the end, they went above and beyond and NO business (was) lost. For that, I am truly appreciative. Thanks to the YCUA crew who worked late last night and made sure that every building, business, and apartment had water today. Ya gotta LOVE our city and the extra effort by those who work outside doing a tough job!

-- Local business owner, Ypsilanti (December 19, 2007)

This is a wonderful reflection of the customer service culture throughout the Authority. Thank you to all of you for realizing the importance of taking care of your customers!

-- Janel B., Ypsilanti (December 19, 2007)

Mr. Ben Amrhein, thank you and your crew for the timely and professional manner in which you replaced our sewer line last week. We appreciate the prompt and quality service.

-- Daniel H. and family, Ypsilanti Township (August 29, 2007)

I am writing to express my gratitude for your recent assistance in resolving an issue with my residential sanitary waste discharge line. In short, the discharge line from my house to the main at the street had become obstructed with roots from a large maple tree at the sidewalk / street median. I contracted with a local plumbing / sewer maintenance / repair company to address the problem. Suffice it to say that they were less than helpful, telling me that the sanitary line was broken and that they would need to excavate and replace the line. Suspecting that this might not be the case, I contacted YCUA and asked for advice. Your staff was very helpful and a YCUA crew was sent to my home to assess the situation. The crew determined that my sanitary line was sound and cleaned out tile root mass at no charge to me.

Once again, I greatly appreciate your professional and timely assistance in the above referenced matter. YCUA has demonstrated its commitment to the citizens of its service area and I will not hesitate to seek your advice on any future sanitary or potable water issues that may arise.

-- Mary R., Ypsilanti Township (July 20, 2007)

Thanks to the efforts of Terry Shaffer and his crew, the repair work to the brick sidewalk in front of our church has been completed and looks really GREAT. Please give them my thanks for a job well done.

-- Byron S., Ypsilanti (June 27, 2007)

So often these days when we have problems, we are greeted by recorded run-around phone mazes or service people that forget the meaning of service. It is rare to find the quality of people that you always seem to have working at YCUA. Through the years, I have always experienced cheerful and helpful people any time I have called YCUA. Currently, we are getting new water lines in our neighborhood. I have had to call YCUA for assistance. I have been helped by Carla in the Service Center, Sheri in Engineering, and Jeff Castro with his “Ace Technicians” Jill and Sean. I just want to express my appreciation for the helpful and cheerful attitudes I have encountered with YCUA employees. Thank you for the “service with a smile” that YCUA provides for all of us.

-- Barb B., Ypsilanti (June 27, 2007)

We received a call from a resident on Campbell Street who had work done on her service lead. She called specifically to compliment Ben Amrhein and the YCUA employees on his crew who worked on her problem. She wanted to let us know that she “really, really, really appreciated them and the work that they did…they were so helpful and so good at what they do."

Great job Ben, Tim Neal, Ryan Stetler, Raasch Williams, Jerry Evans, Steve Collins, Don Tackett, Eric Sizemore, and Anthony Hatfield! What a great impression you have made to have a resident take the time to make a call for the sole purpose of complimenting you and your work! Thank you for your outstanding professionalism!

-- Campbell Street Customer, Ypsilanti (January 31, 2007)

Being in the service business myself, I know the importance of motivated, caring employees (like yours).

-- Paul S., Ypsilanti (November 29, 2006)

Thank you for the many years of service at my home. May God bless you and all the YCUA employees that do their job so well.

-- Sam C., Ypsilanti (October 6, 2005)

I was impressed with the efficiency of the YCUA system, the procedures, and especially the people involved. Thank you YCUA.

-- YCUA Customer, Ypsilanti Township (November 24, 2004)

The YCUA area should be pleased and rewarded for YCUA's participation in the rebuilding and upgrade of the (wastewater treatment) system.

-- Jean S., Ypsilanti (August 9, 2004)

I would like to thank the YCUA employees that worked on a sewer pipe that broke near my property. The men that worked that job were so professional and did a great job for me as a resident and homeowner.

-- Rolland S., Ypsilanti (October 24, 2003)

I just had to contact you about the great service your staff provided me September 11, 2003. I am having construction work done on the front of my house, so it's safe to say I'm overwhelmed. My fiance and I arrived home from a seven-day trip yesterday and found that the construction on the house wasn't complete and we didn't have any water.

It was 6 o'clock in the evening and I was getting a bit irritated. I called the YCUA number. I didn't get the gentleman's name, but he was pleasant and very helpful. He instructed me to speak to the construction workers in the neighborhood and find out if they had turned the water off. They had, but they also said they had turned it back on. I called YCUA again and the same helpful gentleman said he would send someone out. Now, my fiance lives in Columbus, Ohio and he told me there was no way a city public works department was going to send someone to my house after hours and I was probably talking to some anonymous answering service in another state anyway.

Five minutes later a woman from YCUA showed up at the house. Again, I didn't get her name, but she was very professional and pleasant. It took her less than two minutes to discover that the road construction workers hadn't turned the water back on to the house. She was great!!!!

I called my fiance on the cell phone and he was floored!!!! We have talked often about where to live after we're married and I continue to impress upon him why Ypsilanti is such a great community. Your staff was great yesterday, on a day when not very much else went right. Why would anyone want to live in Ann Arbor? Keep up the great work!

-- Angela S., Ypsilanti (September 11, 2003)

Today, I had a sprinkling meter installed. I thought I should write to compliment the YCUA staff that visited my home. Greg was the installer.

While he was here, his supervisor, Ralph, also stopped by to give him some paperwork. Both Greg and Ralph were very professional, friendly, and showed great concern for my home. They went out of their way to insure they didn't track any of the mud and mess from outside into the house. The meter was installed and tested quickly.

Thanks for maintaining such high standards of customer service in the field.

-- Brian Westphal, Ypsilanti (March 14, 2003)

I wanted to take this time to commend (YCUA) and your (meter) department for your vigilant efforts in protecting the integrity of your water distribution system through cross-connection control and backflow prevention. I have personally tested, repaired, and replaced backflow preventers in your jurisdiction and I know that most of your customers find it comforting that the Ypsilanti (Community Utilities Authority) is taking the quality of their drinking water very seriously.

With so many water main breaks and cross-connections occuring, the chances for contaminants getting into the water system are even greater. It is impressive to see that your water distribution system is being protected by a cross-connection and backflow prevention program as proactive as yours.

-- Russell Adams, Adams Plumbing, Dundee (March 11, 2003)

Deepest thanks ... credit is due for the outstanding job that was above and beyond the call of duty in solving the problem in my water main yesterday. This appreciation is for the dedication of Jeff Castro, for being so prompt in coming to our aid, and to the supervisor and crew that worked so diligently to restore service. SUPER JOB!!!

-- Lee Tonda, Ypsilanti (January 16, 2003)

I am writing to commend the service crew that worked on my home's sewer line. We moved into (our new home) at the end of June and had sewage backing into the house on our first day there. We assumed that it was a sedimentary problem that would correct itself with normal plumbing usage, but it happened again on the second day. Our plumber suggested that we have the sewer line snaked and the serviceman found a blockage problem on the city's side of the easement line. I was told to call YCUA.

After YCUA determined that a major problem did indeed exist, I was told that a service crew would be out in about one week. In only a few days, we awoke to the sound of a backhoe trenching our front yard! The entire service crew was eager, extremely pleasant, hard working, and patiently answered our questions and concerns. The supervisor walked us through th entire repair process, showed us the problem, explained our options, and recommended future strategies. Upon completing the repair (the joint between the house's Orangeburg line and the city's clay tile line had become clogged with tree roots and had to be cut out and replaced), the service crew backfilled the area, clean and raked the surface, and left as cheerfully as they had started. Even though it was very hot that day, they never wavered from their attention to detail in completing the repair process correctly.

It became clear to me that the work performed by your service crew could easily be difficult, stressful, and unpleasant. Yet, the service crew that worked on my home remained professional and courteous the entire time. My wife and I were extremely impressed with the timeliness of the dispatch, the general attitude of everyone involved, and the service crew's obvious respect for both our feelings and our home. Our rewarding experience with YCUA, and particularly your outstanding service crew, was most appreciated.

-- Steven M. Balke, Sr., Ypsilanti (July 17, 2002)

I am the Plumbing Foreperson at Eastern Michigan University. Thanks to you and to your staff for the prompt and excellent service we received on campus. We were having a problem with water coming into the tunnels but within two hours, Scott Martin, Martin Jeppesen, and crew had located the water main and were repairing it. If it had not been for Scott and Martin, we would have gone through several sump pumps and countless hours looking for the main. So, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone on the YCUA staff for a "GREAT JOB."

-- Dennis Paul, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti (May 2, 2002)

I would like to express my appreciation for the tremendous assistance I received from one of your employees. His name is Jeff Castro. I was in the middle of a hot water heater disaster and was in need of some technical, and more importantly, some physical expertise. Jeff went out of his way, I felt, to stay a little longer to help me. I also want to thank you in general for quick telephone help when I called as well.

-- Charles Wesley, Ypsilanti Township (April 18, 2002)

I want to thank you very much for your prompt service. Several weeks go, we had an emergency water service break at Green Oaks Golf Course. As a joint effort with the Township to restore service, we uncovered the water main to find making the connection was more than we were capable of doing. Your "troops" arrived to save the day.

The whole crew was as professional as I have ever seen. I've been in this busiess for thirty years and have done projects in the mutli millions of dollars. In my position, I know when tradesmen have it together or not. Our whole crew was so impressed with the way your guys handled the situations and made a hard job look so easy. All those guys had a great attitude, got down to business, did the job, and got on to their next task. Bada bing bada boom!

Whoever their supervisor is, he's doing something right. That same supervisor should thank his lucky stars for that crew of guys who are giving 100%. These days it's a rare combination. Thanks again for the help and making it a pleasurable experience.

-- Michael Gross, Ann Arbor (September 19, 2001)

I am writing today to thank YCUA for their prompt and courteous service during the repairs of my sewer line last week. I am a new resident of Ypsilanti, as we moved here less than two months ago. Once we settled in, we immediately discovered a problem with our sewer line and tried a few different methods to remedy the problem. We then found the problem to be in the main line under the street, so I called YCUA looking for solutions. Right away, I was impressed with their quick response and friendly attitude. They sent a representative over, followed by a plumber, to verify the problem. Once it was determined that the problem was under the street, YCUA started digging.

Throughout the proces, I was given updates on the status and kept in the loop as far as what they planned on doing. They continued to be friendly and finished the job that night, lesss than 15 hours from my first call. Since I had no service, I greatly appreciated the speed at which they made the repairs.

I am truly grateful for the service I received and I hope that everyone else that has a similar situation would agree, I just wanted to let you know (of) my appreciation. Thanks again.

-- Dan Schippers, Ypsilanti (April 30, 2001)

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