I guess I'm not understanding Mr***'s complaint about short bursts of workWe have been delayed due to weather, but Mr*** has been made aware of this issue and agreed that he understands the delayI would like to state for the record that his project has and always will be of the highest concern for usHis project has many challengesBecause it is positioned in a rather large swale, it has been very difficult in terms of access and use of equipmentIt also remains wet and any precipitation hampers our progress
Because we are so concerned with quality and installation procedures we have been spending extra care to make sure the process is up to industry standardsI never recall stating that this project would take two weeksThis wall is over feet and in some areas five feet tallThis being said, I am committed to making Mr*** happy and to make sure that his project looks amazing.
We have made great strides this week and last despite the weather and will continue to do so until it is completeI fully expect to have this completed before the end of the season
Warm Regards,
*** Jacques
I am considering this a learning experience and passing it along to anyone who will consider the following. When dealing with Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design, Inc. located near Greenfield Indiana, Let the buyer beware. Let me be clear that I fully accept my responsibility in our situation and will use the lessons learned when dealing with any design professional/contractor in the future.
We recently removed an above-ground swimming pool and decided to convert the area into a paver style patio that incorporates a stone fire pit. We decided to try to support local vendors and approached Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design to get ideas and see what they had available in their overstock area. They showed us several types and styles of pavers and even came to our home to offer ideas and measure the area that we were renovating. After narrowing down ideas for the area they indicated that they would work with us cost wise and gave a quote that was within our price range. Afterward, my wife went to their site and looked more closely at the stock and met with the owner. My wife was shown what was indicated by the owner, pavers that would work for our area. We took this to mean that there was sufficient stock to do the area in question. After all, they had come out to measure the area. We were also shown a fire pit that had been used in a display and they indicated that they would sell it to us for their wholesale cost. I did not recall hearing the cost quote for the fire pit. We had the agreed upon stock delivered and this is when things began to change.
The amount of the stock seemed to be lacking and after I measured each size of block and did a complete inventory of what was delivered I discovered that there was not enough to do the affected area. Also, the fire pit was complete with the exception of the cap stones as they were of a different quantity and configuration. They worked with us to try to rectify the capstones but some of the type and size were in fact missing and other stock had to be modified to finish out the fire pit. This was acceptable to us. Upon receiving the first invoice for the material, only the pavers were listed as a lump sum and were at the rate used to figure the area in question. I called and they claimed that the amount they said was for what they had in stock, not necessarily, enough to do what was required. This caused confusion between what was meant by “this will work for your patio area” as the stock delivered only covered 2/3’s of the area needing to be done. When I called to clarify the difference I was treated as if I were going to try to withhold payment. I was not. Then we were informed that the first invoice was indeed incorrect as it did not include the cost of the fire pit and that a second invoice would be sent and that payment was due immediately. Upon receiving the second invoice, we noted that the so-called wholesale cost of the fire pit was nearly $700.00. We have since learned that we could have purchased this particular fire pit kit for $575.00 retail. To make matters more stressful, we started receiving daily calls regarding when we would be making payment on the invoice. When we inquired as to using a widely accepted credit card for payment we were informed that the purchase percentage fee that the card issuer charges would be added to our bill. This was not built into their billing rate on the original or the so-called corrected invoice. If you are considering using Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design Inc. for your landscaping project make sure you get all labor and material quotes in writing and note all inclusions or exclusions. Make sure that you are fully aware of how much material is delivered to your project site and that it matches what was ordered. Finally, fully review the invoice and make sure that all associated project and billing costs are represented.
It is my hope that Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design Inc. would go to greater lengths with the clients that contract complete project oversight to them. However, for the DIY’er, cover all of your bases thoroughly. I know it would have made for a much better experience in our case.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The short bursts of work that I referred to pertained to the
short burst of work in June that removed the railroad timbers from the old
retaining wall, the short burst of work in early September that performed the
excavation and now the construction of the retaining wall.
Yes there has been rain during the nearly six months since
we signed the contract with Brower/Jacques but there were many consecutive sunny,
dry days. I’m sure Ms. Jacques is aware
of the different seasons and the amount of rain to be expected during each
season. We are in a season where periods
of rain can be expected and we have had rain many days. However, during the past month there have been
sunny, dry days where little or no work was done on the retaining wall. In September, a path was built, and
reinforced with crushed stone, to allow access of machinery to the retaining
wall. This was supposed to allow work to
be done during rain and with water in the drainage ditch.
In a letter sent on April 25, 2014 from Ms. Jacques e-mail
account a portion of the letter stated in part “…… 4. We will have a 3-5 man
crew working on your project that should take no more than 2 weeks, as long as
weather permits.”
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.We are not looking for exact replacements of the trees that have died and are open to substitutes. We would accept another spruce in place of the weeping Cyprus and a weeping cherry in place of the Japanese maple.We removed the weeping Cyprus that was placed in hole that was barely larger that the tree's root ball in heavy clay. The hole was water logged and did not drain. Part of the planting process was to amend the soils before planting to ensure good root growth. This was not done as we have replanted many of the panting this summer that were struggling only to find similar situations with plants stuck in small hole backfilled with heavy clay material.Plantings near the patio were found to be in a mixture of sand and gravel only on top of clay. Although it was a tough winter plantings that were in amended soils survived the winter fine. We planted many new plants after the completion of the project and they also made it through the winter fine.Regards,
[redacted]
We have been in contact with [redacted] regarding his installation process. He is aware of the delays and the frustrating spring we've had. We were totally unaware that the homeowner as so upset. We are in the process of completing his project and hope to complete within a week or two. He has been...
on vacation and we have been sending him pictures of our progress and updating him. We hope for sure want to make him a happy client! We will do what ever it takes to resolve his issues and make him happy.Warm Regards,[redacted] Jacques
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
If [redacted] would have accepted or returned any of my telephone calls,
she would have been aware how upset I was with having 39 pallets of construction
blocks in my yard and a 22 foot long dumpster in my driveway for three months
waiting for the completion of a 2-week project.
I believe both [redacted] and I wish we had the present crew working on
the project from the beginning. With
weather permitting, I believe the retaining wall can be completed in two weeks
and restoration of the drainage ditch and yard can start. With the retaining wall completed and the ditch and yard restored, I would consider the complaint resolved.
We fully intend to honor Mr [redacted] replacement issue. I have not been able to find what I had hoped to be a suitable replacement that met the standards of the original plant yet. It has also been an extremely rainy spring, actually an unprecedented rainy season that's had our...
crews backed up for quite some time. The [redacted] have been very patient and we plan on honoring our warranty even though it appears after my initial inspection that the plant died from winter damage which is clearly not covered under our warranty.We feel in light of honoring this replacement even though not technically covered under our warranty, once replaced, we should have this matter cleared. I don't want to haggle as the [redacted] are very nice clients and wonderful people. Funny, my project manager Scott and I have been slowly and meticulously working though our punch list of replacement plants and many have waited a similar amount of time with no complaints.They are very happy and have understood the back up due to weather. The [redacted] were up to bat as well as a few others.Warm Regards,Cheryl J[redacted]
I guess I'm not understanding Mr***'s complaint about short bursts of workWe have been delayed due to weather, but Mr*** has been made aware of this issue and agreed that he understands the delayI would like to state for the record that his project has and always will be of the highest concern for usHis project has many challengesBecause it is positioned in a rather large swale, it has been very difficult in terms of access and use of equipmentIt also remains wet and any precipitation hampers our progress
Because we are so concerned with quality and installation procedures we have been spending extra care to make sure the process is up to industry standardsI never recall stating that this project would take two weeksThis wall is over feet and in some areas five feet tallThis being said, I am committed to making Mr*** happy and to make sure that his project looks amazing.
We have made great strides this week and last despite the weather and will continue to do so until it is completeI fully expect to have this completed before the end of the season
Warm Regards,
*** Jacques
I am considering this a learning experience and passing it along to anyone who will consider the following. When dealing with Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design, Inc. located near Greenfield Indiana, Let the buyer beware. Let me be clear that I fully accept my responsibility in our situation and will use the lessons learned when dealing with any design professional/contractor in the future.
We recently removed an above-ground swimming pool and decided to convert the area into a paver style patio that incorporates a stone fire pit. We decided to try to support local vendors and approached Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design to get ideas and see what they had available in their overstock area. They showed us several types and styles of pavers and even came to our home to offer ideas and measure the area that we were renovating. After narrowing down ideas for the area they indicated that they would work with us cost wise and gave a quote that was within our price range. Afterward, my wife went to their site and looked more closely at the stock and met with the owner. My wife was shown what was indicated by the owner, pavers that would work for our area. We took this to mean that there was sufficient stock to do the area in question. After all, they had come out to measure the area. We were also shown a fire pit that had been used in a display and they indicated that they would sell it to us for their wholesale cost. I did not recall hearing the cost quote for the fire pit. We had the agreed upon stock delivered and this is when things began to change.
The amount of the stock seemed to be lacking and after I measured each size of block and did a complete inventory of what was delivered I discovered that there was not enough to do the affected area. Also, the fire pit was complete with the exception of the cap stones as they were of a different quantity and configuration. They worked with us to try to rectify the capstones but some of the type and size were in fact missing and other stock had to be modified to finish out the fire pit. This was acceptable to us. Upon receiving the first invoice for the material, only the pavers were listed as a lump sum and were at the rate used to figure the area in question. I called and they claimed that the amount they said was for what they had in stock, not necessarily, enough to do what was required. This caused confusion between what was meant by “this will work for your patio area” as the stock delivered only covered 2/3’s of the area needing to be done. When I called to clarify the difference I was treated as if I were going to try to withhold payment. I was not. Then we were informed that the first invoice was indeed incorrect as it did not include the cost of the fire pit and that a second invoice would be sent and that payment was due immediately. Upon receiving the second invoice, we noted that the so-called wholesale cost of the fire pit was nearly $700.00. We have since learned that we could have purchased this particular fire pit kit for $575.00 retail. To make matters more stressful, we started receiving daily calls regarding when we would be making payment on the invoice. When we inquired as to using a widely accepted credit card for payment we were informed that the purchase percentage fee that the card issuer charges would be added to our bill. This was not built into their billing rate on the original or the so-called corrected invoice. If you are considering using Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design Inc. for your landscaping project make sure you get all labor and material quotes in writing and note all inclusions or exclusions. Make sure that you are fully aware of how much material is delivered to your project site and that it matches what was ordered. Finally, fully review the invoice and make sure that all associated project and billing costs are represented.
It is my hope that Arcadia Nursery/Brower Jacques Design Inc. would go to greater lengths with the clients that contract complete project oversight to them. However, for the DIY’er, cover all of your bases thoroughly. I know it would have made for a much better experience in our case.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The short bursts of work that I referred to pertained to the
short burst of work in June that removed the railroad timbers from the old
retaining wall, the short burst of work in early September that performed the
excavation and now the construction of the retaining wall.
Yes there has been rain during the nearly six months since
we signed the contract with Brower/Jacques but there were many consecutive sunny,
dry days. I’m sure Ms. Jacques is aware
of the different seasons and the amount of rain to be expected during each
season. We are in a season where periods
of rain can be expected and we have had rain many days. However, during the past month there have been
sunny, dry days where little or no work was done on the retaining wall. In September, a path was built, and
reinforced with crushed stone, to allow access of machinery to the retaining
wall. This was supposed to allow work to
be done during rain and with water in the drainage ditch.
In a letter sent on April 25, 2014 from Ms. Jacques e-mail
account a portion of the letter stated in part “…… 4. We will have a 3-5 man
crew working on your project that should take no more than 2 weeks, as long as
weather permits.”
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.We are not looking for exact replacements of the trees that have died and are open to substitutes. We would accept another spruce in place of the weeping Cyprus and a weeping cherry in place of the Japanese maple.We removed the weeping Cyprus that was placed in hole that was barely larger that the tree's root ball in heavy clay. The hole was water logged and did not drain. Part of the planting process was to amend the soils before planting to ensure good root growth. This was not done as we have replanted many of the panting this summer that were struggling only to find similar situations with plants stuck in small hole backfilled with heavy clay material.Plantings near the patio were found to be in a mixture of sand and gravel only on top of clay. Although it was a tough winter plantings that were in amended soils survived the winter fine. We planted many new plants after the completion of the project and they also made it through the winter fine.Regards,
[redacted]
We have been in contact with [redacted] regarding his installation process. He is aware of the delays and the frustrating spring we've had. We were totally unaware that the homeowner as so upset. We are in the process of completing his project and hope to complete within a week or two. He has been...
on vacation and we have been sending him pictures of our progress and updating him. We hope for sure want to make him a happy client! We will do what ever it takes to resolve his issues and make him happy.Warm Regards,[redacted] Jacques
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
If [redacted] would have accepted or returned any of my telephone calls,
she would have been aware how upset I was with having 39 pallets of construction
blocks in my yard and a 22 foot long dumpster in my driveway for three months
waiting for the completion of a 2-week project.
I believe both [redacted] and I wish we had the present crew working on
the project from the beginning. With
weather permitting, I believe the retaining wall can be completed in two weeks
and restoration of the drainage ditch and yard can start. With the retaining wall completed and the ditch and yard restored, I would consider the complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]
We fully intend to honor Mr [redacted] replacement issue. I have not been able to find what I had hoped to be a suitable replacement that met the standards of the original plant yet. It has also been an extremely rainy spring, actually an unprecedented rainy season that's had our...
crews backed up for quite some time. The [redacted] have been very patient and we plan on honoring our warranty even though it appears after my initial inspection that the plant died from winter damage which is clearly not covered under our warranty.We feel in light of honoring this replacement even though not technically covered under our warranty, once replaced, we should have this matter cleared. I don't want to haggle as the [redacted] are very nice clients and wonderful people. Funny, my project manager Scott and I have been slowly and meticulously working though our punch list of replacement plants and many have waited a similar amount of time with no complaints.They are very happy and have understood the back up due to weather. The [redacted] were up to bat as well as a few others.Warm Regards,Cheryl J[redacted]