Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/04) */
We did do a job on this house and were aware of this customer's complaint and we too are unhappy about the outcome.
Originally the customer contacted us via a promotion we were running that was good for 1 technician for 2 hours for $65. The...
customer's job required 2 men due to height restrictions and company policy, this was a job that was being completed mainly from a ladder. We did run late completing job as other jobs went over, we repair things and remodel things, often times we go on repairs and only have part of the information and don't exactly know how long it will take. We did understand this job was needing to get completed for the home to be placed on the market. The customer herself was never there for us to fully explain everything or for them to see how extensive the damage was, we actually dealt with a family member (a parent I believe) who never seem displeased as the customer was out of state.
The original conversation the customer said the repair was one awning board and she would provide the paint to paint the new board. Unfortunately there were 3 boards that needed to be replaced which was 3x what she thought. Not only was the repair needed on the lumber more extensive we also ran into a infestation of wasps. Also, the paint provided had gone bad but made helpful for a paint match. We didn't even charge for the wasp spray we had to purchase to be able to complete the job but did charge for the time.
As the home was needing to be placed on the market we did the work necessary to pass [redacted] as we understood was the end result. We did discount the job $62 as an offered a promotional price on labor, waived a service call fee, as well as not charging for the wasp spray. As no one was home, we left the invoice on the door and had no one to discuss with.
Soon we received a phone call from the customer's husband (whom we had never spoke with) who was upset he left a message with me for [redacted] to call. [redacted] called them to discuss and they did not answer, then her husband called [redacted]'s cell phone. The husband was very irate and vulgar. As they were trying to work it and [redacted] was trying to explain why the price went up or see where any miscommunication might have happened, the husband eventually called [redacted] a M[redacted]r, [redacted] told him they were at that point done working anything out if he was going to speak to him that way. That same day, the husband sends a text to [redacted] with photos and asked how many hours they were they at the house, [redacted] explains again and responded: 5 hours total on job $65 per two techs for 5 hours = $325 $85 materials Grand Total. Husband then sends a text with a quote from our website and more of his complaints as well as saying he had a different company quote him the same job for $160. He also later texts that he should pay only $165 for labor and $85 for materials ($250) would be a fair price and that we never gave him an estimate at all. He also said the problem was miscommunication and misleading advertisement. Then, the following day he asked via text what forms of payment we accept and address for payment. He tried to pay through PayPal which we do not offer. We told him a check would be fine with the address and what it should be made out to. Eight days later (April 28th) we informed him payment hasn't been made, he said check is in mail but refused to tell us when it was mailed. Shortly after I received a text from customer saying not to text him and communicate only with her. At this point, we have dealt with the customer, to the parents, to the husband and now back to the customer.
Now today, 6 days later (18 days after job was completed) we receive a payment for $150 with "final payment" written in the memo line assuming we will wipe the rest of the debt after they said they sent the payment. The check was written on April 27th, the same day she opened this case.
[redacted] is a very honest man and looks for the best in all the does. He and [redacted] are both veterans and men of integrity. We have been in business for 5 years, [redacted] has been with us for 2 years of that, and this is a first for us. I truly believe they took the appropriate measures to make sure the house would pass [redacted] to sell and they both work closely with realtors and home inspectors of a regular basis doing exactly that. We work in a number of ways, on smaller handyman jobs, such as these, we work on an hourly rate plus materials. On remodeling and decks we give bids.
I dislike that the job was more than the customer originally expected from talking to [redacted] on the phone and handling business from Georgia. I don't think she even knew the extent of the water damage herself. I am sorry that it was more costly, but it helps sell the home and that area will pass [redacted] upon selling. We would of happily worked more with them on a payment plan or something prior to [redacted] being called curse words. I feel maybe the customer misunderstood in the original conversation. We do pride ourselves on integrity and helping others, we even recently were on the news for helping a single mother who was given a raw deal.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/05/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
A price was discussed of $65.00 for 2 hours of work. If it was going to be more we should have been notified beforehand and we would have called someone else. We were never notified of any changes. My husband never called [redacted] a Mother[redacted]. He did say one curse word and that was it, but never called anyone names. He said your f'ing business needs to be managed better. Although not right, my husband was very upset of being taken advantage of. Lying is not a good way to run a business, but you keep on doing. We contacted an attorney and he informed us to pay what we thought was right and since the cost we spoke about was $65.00 plus materials, I paid $150.00 and we were told to mark it paid in full and to contact him again if this is pursued any further. You can state all day how you are an honest veteran business, it still doesn't make you look legitemate when you take advantage of people who live out of town and are unable to control the situation. All that needed to be done to avoid all of this was for them to notify us, but they took it upon themselves to do whatever they wanted. You just don't do that, it's not right. They took advantage of the situation.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/05/11) */
I know who we are as people and why we started this business. I truly know [redacted] is a good man and fought for his country in very hard situations and because of that handles things in a very fair and civil manner. In 6 years we have never had this type of problem and work with many people who live out of state or even country and own rentals here locally and do not take advantage of anyone. I am sorry that the home was in need of this repair...but it was in need! It is absolutely not our fault the home had a pest problem and that took up so much time. I am sorry that while they were running from wasps they didn't call, they were focused on getting the job completed and not being stung as one is highly allergic to wasps. They worked hard and house is now on the market which was the end result. I would expect someone to be grateful that we went above and beyond to help them and maybe be kind to the fact that they were fighting your wasps. I wish the customer herself had called to discuss instead of having her husband call and belittle and curse at us his words were explicit and his behavior was shocking. It truly saddens me knowing these men ([redacted] and [redacted]) and what they have done for so many, not because of their war time served, but because I watch them help so many people from building ramps for elderly at no cost to helping uninsured homeowners for free after storms all off the clock and in their own free time. They are in no way out to take advantage of anyone and in no way deserved to be called names or cursed at. That is also not the way to work out a problem. We have never ever had to place a lien on a residential property, people are understanding and appreciative when we go above and beyond to help them get homes ready to place on the market. We gave them a discounted rate and free insecticide. Bottom line they hired us at $65 an hour. It took well over an hour due to they paint issue (not our fault) and the pest issue (not our fault). $65 an hour was an over the phone estimate, based on customers description of one bad board, not 3 with a pest problem and having to go buy paint that was said to be provided.
I would never speak to anyone they way her husband did, in fact I would be apologizing that they didn't know about the wasps and ask if anyone got stung and if they are OK and they try to understand why the lumber replacement was needed but he did not, he just yelled and cursed.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2015/05/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I called six contract companies to come and do work and had no problems with their estimates, just yours. I should thank you for charging me $124.00 for fighting wasps, when someone should have called me to inform me of the situation? I had the house sprayed the day before and was unaware that there was a problem. I have never received any kind of an apology for what you have called a misunderstanding, in which there was non. I don't appreciate being taken advantage of, I don't appreciate you constantly stating untruths about my husbands character and I don't appreciate your lying. He did not just yell and curse. HE SAID ONE CURSE WORD! STOP WITH THE LYING! I was never told of any adjustments to the original price that was given. That is your fault that you took it upon yourself to do work that would cost more, again not mine. I originally told [redacted] that it was one to two boards and we had paint. The day they came out to take a look at the work, they never stated that there were any problems. [redacted] told us, by the way, we were both on speaker with him, not just my husband that five boards had been replaced, now you say three. You still can't get your stories straight. Like my husband said to [redacted], you need to run your business better. One person doesn't know what the other person is doing. We did not get an itemized bill for the materials, though we sent you what you charged for those, $85.00. You're ridiculous in your over dramatic speaking. We would like to see a receipt for the materials. [redacted] never went to our house and had no clue of what was going on at the house, my husband had to send him pictures. Oh, by the way my husbands a veteran too, so is his brother and his father. Still doesn't mean you can get away with being dishonest and messing people over. Stop with it already! Our lawyer stated if this is pursued any further, he will contact you and I will pursue a lawsuit for defamation of character for your continual lying about my husband. Also show me the signed contract were I agreed to pay more than was originally quoted.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/04) */
We did do a job on this house and were aware of this customer's complaint and we too are unhappy about the outcome.
Originally the customer contacted us via a promotion we were running that was good for 1 technician for 2 hours for $65. The...
customer's job required 2 men due to height restrictions and company policy, this was a job that was being completed mainly from a ladder. We did run late completing job as other jobs went over, we repair things and remodel things, often times we go on repairs and only have part of the information and don't exactly know how long it will take. We did understand this job was needing to get completed for the home to be placed on the market. The customer herself was never there for us to fully explain everything or for them to see how extensive the damage was, we actually dealt with a family member (a parent I believe) who never seem displeased as the customer was out of state.
The original conversation the customer said the repair was one awning board and she would provide the paint to paint the new board. Unfortunately there were 3 boards that needed to be replaced which was 3x what she thought. Not only was the repair needed on the lumber more extensive we also ran into a infestation of wasps. Also, the paint provided had gone bad but made helpful for a paint match. We didn't even charge for the wasp spray we had to purchase to be able to complete the job but did charge for the time.
As the home was needing to be placed on the market we did the work necessary to pass [redacted] as we understood was the end result. We did discount the job $62 as an offered a promotional price on labor, waived a service call fee, as well as not charging for the wasp spray. As no one was home, we left the invoice on the door and had no one to discuss with.
Soon we received a phone call from the customer's husband (whom we had never spoke with) who was upset he left a message with me for [redacted] to call. [redacted] called them to discuss and they did not answer, then her husband called [redacted]'s cell phone. The husband was very irate and vulgar. As they were trying to work it and [redacted] was trying to explain why the price went up or see where any miscommunication might have happened, the husband eventually called [redacted] a M[redacted]r, [redacted] told him they were at that point done working anything out if he was going to speak to him that way. That same day, the husband sends a text to [redacted] with photos and asked how many hours they were they at the house, [redacted] explains again and responded: 5 hours total on job $65 per two techs for 5 hours = $325 $85 materials Grand Total. Husband then sends a text with a quote from our website and more of his complaints as well as saying he had a different company quote him the same job for $160. He also later texts that he should pay only $165 for labor and $85 for materials ($250) would be a fair price and that we never gave him an estimate at all. He also said the problem was miscommunication and misleading advertisement. Then, the following day he asked via text what forms of payment we accept and address for payment. He tried to pay through PayPal which we do not offer. We told him a check would be fine with the address and what it should be made out to. Eight days later (April 28th) we informed him payment hasn't been made, he said check is in mail but refused to tell us when it was mailed. Shortly after I received a text from customer saying not to text him and communicate only with her. At this point, we have dealt with the customer, to the parents, to the husband and now back to the customer.
Now today, 6 days later (18 days after job was completed) we receive a payment for $150 with "final payment" written in the memo line assuming we will wipe the rest of the debt after they said they sent the payment. The check was written on April 27th, the same day she opened this case.
[redacted] is a very honest man and looks for the best in all the does. He and [redacted] are both veterans and men of integrity. We have been in business for 5 years, [redacted] has been with us for 2 years of that, and this is a first for us. I truly believe they took the appropriate measures to make sure the house would pass [redacted] to sell and they both work closely with realtors and home inspectors of a regular basis doing exactly that. We work in a number of ways, on smaller handyman jobs, such as these, we work on an hourly rate plus materials. On remodeling and decks we give bids.
I dislike that the job was more than the customer originally expected from talking to [redacted] on the phone and handling business from Georgia. I don't think she even knew the extent of the water damage herself. I am sorry that it was more costly, but it helps sell the home and that area will pass [redacted] upon selling. We would of happily worked more with them on a payment plan or something prior to [redacted] being called curse words. I feel maybe the customer misunderstood in the original conversation. We do pride ourselves on integrity and helping others, we even recently were on the news for helping a single mother who was given a raw deal.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/05/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
A price was discussed of $65.00 for 2 hours of work. If it was going to be more we should have been notified beforehand and we would have called someone else. We were never notified of any changes. My husband never called [redacted] a Mother[redacted]. He did say one curse word and that was it, but never called anyone names. He said your f'ing business needs to be managed better. Although not right, my husband was very upset of being taken advantage of. Lying is not a good way to run a business, but you keep on doing. We contacted an attorney and he informed us to pay what we thought was right and since the cost we spoke about was $65.00 plus materials, I paid $150.00 and we were told to mark it paid in full and to contact him again if this is pursued any further. You can state all day how you are an honest veteran business, it still doesn't make you look legitemate when you take advantage of people who live out of town and are unable to control the situation. All that needed to be done to avoid all of this was for them to notify us, but they took it upon themselves to do whatever they wanted. You just don't do that, it's not right. They took advantage of the situation.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/05/11) */
I know who we are as people and why we started this business. I truly know [redacted] is a good man and fought for his country in very hard situations and because of that handles things in a very fair and civil manner. In 6 years we have never had this type of problem and work with many people who live out of state or even country and own rentals here locally and do not take advantage of anyone. I am sorry that the home was in need of this repair...but it was in need! It is absolutely not our fault the home had a pest problem and that took up so much time. I am sorry that while they were running from wasps they didn't call, they were focused on getting the job completed and not being stung as one is highly allergic to wasps. They worked hard and house is now on the market which was the end result. I would expect someone to be grateful that we went above and beyond to help them and maybe be kind to the fact that they were fighting your wasps. I wish the customer herself had called to discuss instead of having her husband call and belittle and curse at us his words were explicit and his behavior was shocking. It truly saddens me knowing these men ([redacted] and [redacted]) and what they have done for so many, not because of their war time served, but because I watch them help so many people from building ramps for elderly at no cost to helping uninsured homeowners for free after storms all off the clock and in their own free time. They are in no way out to take advantage of anyone and in no way deserved to be called names or cursed at. That is also not the way to work out a problem. We have never ever had to place a lien on a residential property, people are understanding and appreciative when we go above and beyond to help them get homes ready to place on the market. We gave them a discounted rate and free insecticide. Bottom line they hired us at $65 an hour. It took well over an hour due to they paint issue (not our fault) and the pest issue (not our fault). $65 an hour was an over the phone estimate, based on customers description of one bad board, not 3 with a pest problem and having to go buy paint that was said to be provided.
I would never speak to anyone they way her husband did, in fact I would be apologizing that they didn't know about the wasps and ask if anyone got stung and if they are OK and they try to understand why the lumber replacement was needed but he did not, he just yelled and cursed.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2015/05/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I called six contract companies to come and do work and had no problems with their estimates, just yours. I should thank you for charging me $124.00 for fighting wasps, when someone should have called me to inform me of the situation? I had the house sprayed the day before and was unaware that there was a problem. I have never received any kind of an apology for what you have called a misunderstanding, in which there was non. I don't appreciate being taken advantage of, I don't appreciate you constantly stating untruths about my husbands character and I don't appreciate your lying. He did not just yell and curse. HE SAID ONE CURSE WORD! STOP WITH THE LYING! I was never told of any adjustments to the original price that was given. That is your fault that you took it upon yourself to do work that would cost more, again not mine. I originally told [redacted] that it was one to two boards and we had paint. The day they came out to take a look at the work, they never stated that there were any problems. [redacted] told us, by the way, we were both on speaker with him, not just my husband that five boards had been replaced, now you say three. You still can't get your stories straight. Like my husband said to [redacted], you need to run your business better. One person doesn't know what the other person is doing. We did not get an itemized bill for the materials, though we sent you what you charged for those, $85.00. You're ridiculous in your over dramatic speaking. We would like to see a receipt for the materials. [redacted] never went to our house and had no clue of what was going on at the house, my husband had to send him pictures. Oh, by the way my husbands a veteran too, so is his brother and his father. Still doesn't mean you can get away with being dishonest and messing people over. Stop with it already! Our lawyer stated if this is pursued any further, he will contact you and I will pursue a lawsuit for defamation of character for your continual lying about my husband. Also show me the signed contract were I agreed to pay more than was originally quoted.