Dakota Pools, Inc.

We have been back to this job numerous times to repair or fix issues that *** *** has complained aboutAll issues have been addressed to our satisfactionThis has been going on two to three times a year since we have built the pool/patioThe latest issue of the wall and column being 1/4" out is
not any reason to tear down a wall and columnThe one year warranty is been long overWe went back many times after the warranty was overNow there are new complaintsWe cannot go back and that is what I explained to ** ***We can no longer do business with him

With regards to the above mentioned case, I would like to offer a resolution to this issue.  [redacted] and I did discuss the broken paver under the column.  I am not willing to return to this job, as we have been back several times and we cannot agree on a resolution. I am willing to offer $750 for [redacted] to hire another contractor to take down the column and replace the paver that is under the column.  Hopefully this will satisfy [redacted] and put this to rest.  There is an outstanding balance of $220 owed to Dakota Pools for a pool closing we did for him in 2014.  So in fact, we would then offer to pay $530 towards the contractor. In closing, we hope this satisfies [redacted].  Feel free to contact me with any questions.[redacted]
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Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
There are several problems I am having with the work done. 1) the corner of the retaining wall that has settled and moved, both [redacted] and I agreed needed to be addressed and [redacted] TOLD me it would be repaired. Now that he has changed his mind I have no alternative but to complain. The corner supports a 2000 lbs pier which also has a broken paver under it and cannot be changed because the pier was built incorrectly on top of the bricks. 2) The pier by the rear door of my home is also sinking. I also told [redacted] that the sand on top keeps leaching out of the bottom of the wall and now the pavers are sinking and the pier is moving. 3) The pavers that run along my home are all sinking and I was asked by another contractor if flashing was used along my sill plate which will prevent rotting. I don't believe it was used and if the sill plate rots my home will need MAJOR repair. 4)There are 2 other areas by the top of the stairs and by the pier across from my rear door that losses sand and sinks. The pavers by the stairs sank enough to where my dad almost tripped and fell 3 feet which is when I called steve for repair last year. He has mentioned how he has come back many times to address my complaints.....how is that my fault? The upper patio is settling and according to a masonry contractor I used on my garage, he told me that the upper patio was built wrong. Everything he told me to expect to go wrong is starting to happen and [redacted] has the nerve to act like I shouldn't complain. I would like to remind you that this is only 2 years old and its only going to get worse.        [redacted] has told me on more than one occasion that I have a 10 year warrantee on brick work and now its over according to him. All I want is my patio and retaining wall to look like the picture [redacted] used to show me when selling me this job. NO more or less.....Flat, level , and matching.        5) On the retaining wall [redacted] didn't use any corner bricks so on every corner one side of each brick is coarse and the other side flat with a hole because of its ability to interlock. If you use the corner pieces like displayed in the picture [redacted] showed me the wall will be uniform. On the corners it is looks "checkered" with holes exposed. It looks like mice might live there.       6) The lower patio was cleaned by [redacted] after the spring, post work. There were masonry marks covering the ENTIRE lower patio and I called [redacted] to fix this issue. [redacted] came back as agreed and choose to use acid to clean the new brick. This brilliant method destroyed approximately 25% of the lower patio. He literally boiled my patio, the workers were looking at each other dumb founded. I didn't over react and [redacted] then came back to replace the damaged brick. I had know problem with this as inconvenient as it was but to this day the brick does not match and there are still acid stained pavers at the base of my stairs that need to be fixed, I WANT A MATCHING PATIO. Now why should I have to settle for all of this??? I have been a faithful and loyal customer to [redacted] and almost every time paid him in full in advance. I think I am a dream customer. I ONLY WANT WHAT WAS AGREED. Even after this nightmare of an experience I still continued to purchase a $5000 heater, $3500 cover, $1100 robot cleaner, and open/closing of the pool. This patio and retaining wall is NOT FLAT, does NOT MATCH, and is NOT STRAIGHT. In the Cambridge pictures [redacted] showed me when selling the job, the patios were all matching, there weren't any corners/sections bulging out, and the corners all had beautiful matching uniform bricks.
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

This is funny, my last response had very direct questions to be answered. Not one answer! Consumer affairs will be seeing this  shortly and we will be going to the next level. If he added a zero to his proposed amount he wouldn't be close. This pathetic job wasn't built correctly and I intend to see it to the end. Now that the snow is melting the patio has shifted in sections along with all other issues....$750??????? This guy is hallucinating.
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

In July 2015, I contracted Dakota pools to do a complete renovations of an old gunite pool that had not been running in some time in a rental property I own. The job consisted of replacing the existing tile around the pool, installing a new stone coping around the pool, marble dusting the pool, installing a completely new filter system with new piping and a building a waterfall. The job started great and Steve the owner was on site on day two of the project. Unfortunately that was the only day he was on site for my job. The Marble dusting and tile work was given to a sub contractor who never showed up when he said he would, used two different batches of tiles, then tried to talk me into believing they were the same even though I had the boxes which were labeled differently (they were similar but not the same color). The first attempt at building waterall was done in all cement and made it look very un-natural, when I asked for more rocks to be added, they came and broke up the whole waterfall and simply placed the same rocks on top of each other with out cement. I then asked them to secure the rocks but they told me it was "good the way it is". I had to have my Mason re-do it in order to make it safe with no falling rocks as it served as a diving rock and I was affraid small children could be injured by grabbing onto loose rocks that were never secured. The pipes for the pool were not burried deep enough in the dirt and when running electric for the pool the pipes were hit at only 6 inches deep! The stope coping (which I was charged extra for ) was never sealed with Polymeric sand (to prevent water from freezing underneth it) either. When the job was done I requested Steve the owner to come look at the job, since he had not been there since the second day, (so much for owner operated, as per his site) and he proceeded to curse me out and call me a "pain in the [redacted]" customer and that I had complained too much about their shotty work. After that phone conversation, Steve did agree to come do a walk though on the job so I could explain my issues with the work to him but he never showed for that either. Steve did not give my project the attention it needed and on top of that he forced my to go with another pool company to do my loop lock cover, heater and salt conversion as I will not give more business to a company who treats their clients so poorly.

This is the first time that I have ever had to use a professional company to install additional brick work at my residence. Being a mason/bricklayer's daughter, I have a keen eye on detail and desired outcome of the work I require. Dakota Pools did a fantastic job on the 1st job-(rip out and replace deteriorating stoop and front patio add walkway to back of the house) that I contracted them to do a 2nd job-tear down my back deck and build a stoop and install a patio. The owner was always onsite for the start and much of the duration of the 2 separate projects. At the end of each day, I would access the workmanship and relayed any changes or deviations from plans that I wanted to the owner. The owner, Steve, was responsive and accommodating. The staff members that were onsite for both jobs were professional and didn't mind me hovering over them as they worked through the hot days (I am big on attention to details so that was a huge plus).

Laying bricks is labor intensive. Pricing/Cost are aligned to market rates.

I highly recommend Dakota Pools workmanship.

Review: This company built a patio for my home in the winter of 2012. Half of the patio is on ground level surrounding the pool and half is raised approx. 3 feet. 1) The lower half had concrete spotting all over the entire patio which I noticed the following spring when the patio was dry. The company came back to fix it and they used acid to remove the concrete spotting which then took the color completely out of approx. 1/4-1/3 of the area. They replaced most of the destroyed brick but now I have 2 different colors of pavers on a brand new patio which was supposed to be the same brick. It looks ridiculous. 2) The upper patio was fine up until this year. Now the patio has started to settle and I have a corner bulging out and failing which is supporting a 2000 lb. pier. There are a few other areas along the bottom which are starting to do the same. They also did not use corner blocks on most of the wall which looks terrible and there are other blocks chipping. They also put pavers up against my basement outside entrance. The cement is up against the bilco doors and when I opened the doors the welds snapped.Desired Settlement: Repair upper retaining wall and install proper supporting with footings which it does not have. It was explained to me by 2 other contractors that the wall is failing due to the excess weight of the piers. There wasn't any footings used anywhere. I want the lower patio to match like the picture in the book he used to sell his service which was promised to me. I want my bilco doors replaced and cement fixed. The doors are 3 years old.

Business

Response:

We have been back to this job numerous times to repair or fix issues that [redacted] has complained about. All issues have been addressed to our satisfaction. This has been going on two to three times a year since we have built the pool/patio. The latest issue of the wall and column being 1/4" out is not any reason to tear down a wall and column. The one year warranty is been long over. We went back many times after the warranty was over. Now there are new complaints. We cannot go back and that is what I explained to [redacted]. We can no longer do business with him.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

There are several problems I am having with the work done. 1) the corner of the retaining wall that has settled and moved, both [redacted] and I agreed needed to be addressed and [redacted] TOLD me it would be repaired. Now that he has changed his mind I have no alternative but to complain. The corner supports a 2000 lbs pier which also has a broken paver under it and cannot be changed because the pier was built incorrectly on top of the bricks. 2) The pier by the rear door of my home is also sinking. I also told [redacted] that the sand on top keeps leaching out of the bottom of the wall and now the pavers are sinking and the pier is moving. 3) The pavers that run along my home are all sinking and I was asked by another contractor if flashing was used along my sill plate which will prevent rotting. I don't believe it was used and if the sill plate rots my home will need MAJOR repair. 4)There are 2 other areas by the top of the stairs and by the pier across from my rear door that losses sand and sinks. The pavers by the stairs sank enough to where my dad almost tripped and fell 3 feet which is when I called steve for repair last year. He has mentioned how he has come back many times to address my complaints.....how is that my fault? The upper patio is settling and according to a masonry contractor I used on my garage, he told me that the upper patio was built wrong. Everything he told me to expect to go wrong is starting to happen and [redacted] has the nerve to act like I shouldn't complain. I would like to remind you that this is only 2 years old and its only going to get worse. [redacted] has told me on more than one occasion that I have a 10 year warrantee on brick work and now its over according to him. All I want is my patio and retaining wall to look like the picture [redacted] used to show me when selling me this job. NO more or less.....Flat, level , and matching. 5) On the retaining wall [redacted] didn't use any corner bricks so on every corner one side of each brick is coarse and the other side flat with a hole because of its ability to interlock. If you use the corner pieces like displayed in the picture [redacted] showed me the wall will be uniform. On the corners it is looks "checkered" with holes exposed. It looks like mice might live there. 6) The lower patio was cleaned by [redacted] after the spring, post work. There were masonry marks covering the ENTIRE lower patio and I called [redacted] to fix this issue. [redacted] came back as agreed and choose to use acid to clean the new brick. This brilliant method destroyed approximately 25% of the lower patio. He literally boiled my patio, the workers were looking at each other dumb founded. I didn't over react and [redacted] then came back to replace the damaged brick. I had know problem with this as inconvenient as it was but to this day the brick does not match and there are still acid stained pavers at the base of my stairs that need to be fixed, I WANT A MATCHING PATIO. Now why should I have to settle for all of this??? I have been a faithful and loyal customer to [redacted] and almost every time paid him in full in advance. I think I am a dream customer. I ONLY WANT WHAT WAS AGREED. Even after this nightmare of an experience I still continued to purchase a $5000 heater, $3500 cover, $1100 robot cleaner, and open/closing of the pool. This patio and retaining wall is NOT FLAT, does NOT MATCH, and is NOT STRAIGHT. In the Cambridge pictures [redacted] showed me when selling the job, the patios were all matching, there weren't any corners/sections bulging out, and the corners all had beautiful matching uniform bricks.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

With regards to the above mentioned case, I would like to offer a resolution to this issue. [redacted] and I did discuss the broken paver under the column. I am not willing to return to this job, as we have been back several times and we cannot agree on a resolution. I am willing to offer $750 for [redacted] to hire another contractor to take down the column and replace the paver that is under the column. Hopefully this will satisfy [redacted] and put this to rest. There is an outstanding balance of $220 owed to Dakota Pools for a pool closing we did for him in 2014. So in fact, we would then offer to pay $530 towards the contractor. In closing, we hope this satisfies [redacted]. Feel free to contact me with any questions.[redacted]

Review: On June *, 2015, Dakota Pools came to install an exact replacement pool pump in my system, since I was having trouble getting the right fittings to do the job myself. I had been told it would cost $135/hour + tax. I agreed and figured I would have them do a pool opening while they were at it. That would cost $230+tax, which I thought was pretty steep, but I had read that that was the going price, and agreed.

I had been told that the pool cover should be free of most water and debris before they came. Since they were coming a day after a rain storm was predicted, my wife and I removed the pool cover and stacked it neatly at the edge of the pool.

The service men took almost an hour breaking down my old pump housing, so they could use one of the fittings that had been glued to it for the new pump. For the other fitting, they found a used one in their truck and used some tape dope that "I" had to provide as a seal.

For the pool opening, the only service they provided was to roll up the cover, drop a ladder and handrail that was next to the pool into the fittings, add a small amount of D.E. to the skimmer (which I was asked to provide, at first, but didn't have to), and poured some powder from a bucket retrieved from their truck into the skimmer. Their final service was to turn on the pool switch. This service took less than five minutes, for which I was charged $230+tax.

After I complained on the phone to their representative, [redacted], she got back to me several days later and said they would give me a discount of $30 as a senior citizen. I complained again that I was simply being charged too much for the pool opening, since they didn't have to remove the cover, or assemble the filter and chlorinator (as they weren't disassembled in the first place). I asked [redacted] to confirm this with the service men and to explain it to her supervisor. I expected another reply but instead found the charge on my credit card over a week later.

I expected a pool opening would at least allow the pool to be used at the conclusion, but the pool was not cleaned of some left over leaves, nor was the water balance checked, and the pool cover still had to be cleaned, by me, of all the leaf debris.

The following is from Dakota Pools on line website:

" Remove the pool cover and store if requested.

Assemble, test and start up the filter, heater or chlorinator.

Install pool cleaner, ladder and any other equipment.

Add needed chemicals to make the water balanced and ready for use"Desired Settlement: In lieu of the amount to service I received, the pool opening should not have cost more than $100+tax which to me seems to be the fair market value for the work done, and I am requesting that my charge account be credited accordingly.

Business

Response:

Customer contacted us on Thursday 5/**/15 to make an appointment to hook up a new [redacted] pump he had purchased elsewhere, and to schedule us to open his pool the same day. We told him what the opening would include and that it costs $*30, and that the pump install would be charged at the cost of parts + labor at the rate of $135 per hour. He stated in his complaint that our price of $*30 for an opening was the going rate, so he was okay with it. We scheduled it for Tuesday, 6/*, and called him to confirm on Monday, 6/*. During both conversations (the initial contact on 5/** and when we confirmed on 6/*), we told him that the cover should be free of water and debris. He never told usthat he had taken the cover off during either of these two conversations, NOR did he ask if doing so would reduce his bill, and if so how much.We sent our technicians to his home as scheduled, on 6/*/15. The customer had cut the old pump plumbing out. We thought it was still intact, which would have made it a lot easier. If he hadn’t cut the plumbing, it wouldn’t have taken us “almost an hour” (as he states in his complaint) to break down his old plumbing. His fittings are very difficult to find (as he mentioned in his complaint, not being able to find the right fittings was why he contacted a professional pool company in the first place). We just so happened to have one of the fittings we needed on our truck, so we supplied him with it and did not charge him for the part. Our techs spent over an hour trying to get another one of the old fittings free from his plumbing sowe could use it. We could have tried to find the part from one of our suppliers and come back another day, but we would have had to charge him for another service call to come back again.He is complaining that he had to clean the debris off his cover, but I told him that on the phone twice. Our pool opening includes the following (as he mentioned, this is what it says on our website as well):Remove the pool cover and store if requested. – The cover was off when our guys went there to open his pool. Customer informed me of that when I called him for his credit card a few days AFTER WE HAD ALREADY SENT OUR GUYS THERE to open his pool. Assemble, test and start up the filter, heater or chlorinator – our technicians performed these functions. His filter and chlorinator were there, but we made sure everything was working (which he couldn’t have done ahead of time since they wouldn’t have worked without the pump we installed while we were there).Install pool cleaner, ladder and any other equipment – our technicians performed these functions.Add needed chemicals to make the water balanced and ready for use – our technicians performed these functions. They installed DE and added shock to the pool. If the customer thought the only thing we did when we opened a pool was take the cover off, and he had already done it, why didn't he cancel the opening when we called to confirm on Monday 6/*?Upon completion of the above services, our technician presented a copy of the bill to the customer, who told him he wanted to pay by credit card. He signed our copy of the work order, confirming the price we were to charge his card, and that the work was complete. We understand we make it look easy, but that is because we are a professional company with top notch mechanics. Some jobs take longer than others. Our rates are competitive, and we are licensed and insured.When we called the customer for his credit card information, he told us he thought he deserved some money off because he had already taken the cover off, and because he was a senior citizen. We told him we would ask the [redacted] and see what we could do. The [redacted] told us we could take off $30, so we called the customer with this information. He still didn’t seem happy, but we told him it was what the [redacted] said he could do.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

• Paragraph 1: I was told that the pump install would cost $135 per hour - no mention was made of parts + labor. I did not receive a call from them to confirm the scheduled appointment on 6/* (see my telephone call history excerpt below - their number is shown under the "outbound call Nos.22 and 23 which shows that I called them on 6/* to ask if they were still coming on that day, as there was a chance of showers. I also told them at that time that I had removed the pool cover due to the rainstorm forecast for the evening before (which in fact did occur) since I was told that the cover would have to be free of water. It is impossible to have it completely free of all debris, which is normally hosed off after removal of the cover. They did not suggest to me at that time that I should probably cancel the pool opening since, as is now apparent, the major component of their pool opening was to remove the cover (and not hose it off). I had to call twice because the first call was "too early"; they didn't open until 8:30 am. • Paragraph 2: I had called upon Dakota Pools, Inc. to affect the installation of a new [redacted] pool pump (the same model as the old one) because they are one of two businesses in my area that were listed as authorized [redacted] repair services. I assumed they would have the necessary plumbing components to connect the pump to my system, that was my problem - not being able to determine those components or where to get them. Instead, they took most of the hour to physically chop away at the material on my old pump housing to get one of the connectors off of it, and scrummaged around in their truck to find another used part for the other, which they could not get off the old housing. They even used my own tape dope for the new connections, as they didn't have their own. The company was aware of my problem (that was the reason I called them) and should have been prepared with the necessary components to connect the pump. In any case, my complaint is not really about the pump, since they did finally manage to connect it. But it certainly didn't seem as professional a job as I had expected! • Paragraph 3: I did not complain about cleaning the debris off the cover before it was removed; I had already taken off as much debris as I could, using a rake and broom while it was still on the pool. There was still residual debris that adhered to the cover and could not be removed while the cover was still on, but only after hosing it off after removal (which I eventually had to do by myself – and not a 10 minute job to say the least). • Remaining paragraphs: I informed them during my second call on 6/* (before they came) the I had removed the cover the day before, because of the then-coming rainstorm. They installed the ladder and handrail by dropping them into slots that were 2 feet from where I kept them, and tightening two screws each, in less than 3 minutes. They added some DE, after first asking if I had any available (which I did not give them), and added a little shock. They never checked the balance of the water. And the pool was NOT READY FOR USE when they left. The pool still had some debris in it from over-wintering, and the pool cover still had to be cleaned. I did not ask for some money off simply because I had removed the cover. I asked because I still can't believe that I was charged $200 for the pool opening portion of the job that was accomplished in less than 10 minutes (not counting the pump replacement). I would not have complained if the cover was cleaned and the pool vacuumed to make it ready for use. I am thankful for the small favor that they took $30 off for being a senior citizen (I was still charged tax on the full $230)! I do understand that in this life, all too often someone will try to take advantage of another, and I'm prepared to just let it go and consider it a lesson learned. It's just sad that this type of thing happens to so many of us under the guise of "ethical businesses ". Sincerely,