Schopp's Home Maintenance

? Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
This is very disappointing yet not entirely surprising considering the way they have handled things from so early on
*** strongly advised me to not go with a solid color, but insisted either transparent or semi- transparent was the way to gYet now he is insisting he advised me to go with a solid and not a transparent.? Fortunately I have emails that indicate this
I am unhappy that the work they promised they did not deliver and that they were seemed to not really care about the quality of the work or respect for my investment, my things or my time
*** had promised they would tighten the loose panelsHe said the divided are from the original deck and the addition could not be addressed as it would require sanding that would diminish the wood and would not be something they could address ??" which both myself and my friend understood and acceptedHe stopped by to make sure I was not going to be any further taken advantage of due to any assumption that as a woman I may not be familiar enough to recognize what is requiredAnd he only agreed with what *** said about the divideBoth he and I were in agreeance about the splotchy results and were under the impression that *** had offered a solution of seeing if wet sanding would possibly correct the end result appearanceWe were both also under the impression that the loose wood panels would be tightened
The gentleman that came out was not prepared with the right tools not to address the divide which we had already concluded with *** could not be addressed other than covering it with a rugThe guy said he need the right tools to tighten the wood from underneath for a portion of the areas *** had promised to have tightened (near the Jacuzzi area.)
And it was my roommate that originally saw the end result and she insisted I have another professional look at our pictures of the end result
It is amazing that *** would actually say they have endlessly tried to contact me to resolve this and I have not responded as even more upsetting than the incomplete and unsatisfactory work that I paid for, was how dismissive and uninterested they were in my concernsIt took so much time to constantly contact and bug them for finally *** to agree to come outI have so much record of thisThis has been Just so upsettingThe quality of the work and the unmet promises of that work are very disappointing, and the lack of customer service and blatant disregard ??" has been absolutely appalling.? And in addition the dishonesty on how things happenedVery upsetting
Sincerely,*** ***

? Communication- As mentioned earlier she did not raise concerns regarding her deck until October? This is our busiest time of year as we install Holiday lighting beginning the first week of October? I may not have responded immediately, but I did respond and when I did, she then didn't respond, in fact I made several calls and emails prior to getting her to respondthe later in the season the busier my schedule got, but I still attempted to address her concerns? Come Spring we called for months in an attempt to address the wet sanding, she waited until July when we presented the final invoice to respond?
? Timing - as mentioned earlier she was pushing for resolution in October, the weather is too damp and inconsistent to address at this time, she was told this but continued to press for resolution, yet when the weather was finally agreeable she refused to respond
Deck repairs - There are two issues here? a) She was told we could not address the uneven seam on the deck (she even admits to this) yet she is not acknowledging to pressing the crew to address this when they showed up to tighten down some boards? b) If there are boards that are still not screwed down tight it is because they are warped and the ends are split from many attempts (prior to us) to screw them down? Short of replacing those boards this cannot be fixed? The problem with this part of the repairs is that communication broke down at this point and I have not been back to take a closer look?
The overall finish? I know what was said, as this is a conversation I have had many times with many customers in the past, why would I change now? ? She says she has emails stating otherwise, I have read over all our correspondence and this is not true? I would challenge her to produce such emails
Resolution - I see no potential for resolution? We have made many unanswered attempts to come to a resolution? This discussion is unproductive

1.  Communication. - As mentioned earlier she did not raise concerns regarding her deck until October.  This is our busiest time of year as we install Holiday lighting beginning the first week of October.  I may not have responded immediately, but I did respond and when I did, she then didn't respond, in fact I made several calls and emails prior to getting her to respond... the later in the season the busier my schedule got, but I still attempted to address her concerns.  Come Spring we called for months in an attempt to address the wet sanding, she waited until July when we presented the final invoice to respond.  
2.  Timing - as mentioned earlier she was pushing for resolution in October, the weather is too damp and inconsistent to address at this time, she was told this but continued to press for resolution, yet when the weather was finally agreeable she refused to respond
3. Deck repairs - There are two issues here.  a) She was told we could not address the uneven seam on the deck (she even admits to this) yet she is not acknowledging to pressing the crew to address this when they showed up to tighten down some boards.  b) If there are boards that are still not screwed down tight it is because they are warped and the ends are split from many attempts (prior to us) to screw them down.  Short of replacing those boards this cannot be fixed.  The problem with this part of the repairs is that communication broke down at this point and I have not been back to take a closer look.  
4. The overall finish.  I know what was said, as this is a conversation I have had many times with many customers in the past, why would I change now?  She says she has emails stating otherwise, I have read over all our correspondence and this is not true.  I would challenge her to produce such emails
5. Resolution - I see no potential for resolution.  We have made many unanswered attempts to come to a resolution.  This discussion is unproductive

Frustrated would describe my reaction to this comment.  I feel like I am talking in circles with her.  We mentioned initially that if we were able to strip all of the stain off of the deck that a transparent finish would be very attractive, however we would need to re-evaluate that after...

we had cleaned it.  After cleaning we actually advised to NOT go with the transparent finish, but she wanted us to proceed.  She was advised it would not cover the remaining stain, but she insisted it is what she wanted.  There was a brief mix up on how many boards were repaired and the billing was adjusted as soon as she brought this to our attention.  She complained about the final product and after multiple unanswered emails and phone calls we set up a date a month later to meet her on site.  I met her and her roommate and discussed that aside from starting over, there wasn't much we could do to adjust the finish that she chose.  Her roommate seemed to understand this but I felt as if I had to restate myself multiple times in the conversation.  After she continued to press for some sort of solution I told her that we could try to wet sand an inconspicuous part of the deck when the weather was favorable (it was now mid October and deck season was over).  I made no guarantees that this would work.  This was offered as a cheaper solution than a total restoration, but due to her choice in stain was not our responsibility.   She also pointed out a few boards that were still twisting and cupping.  I told her we would send out a crew to screw those down and we did that as promised.  At this point in the conversation she also pointed out an area of the deck where a line of boards was higher that the adjacent boards.   It was obvious that the deck had been expanded at one point and they used thicker boards, thus leaving a lip to catch your toe on.  Up until this point this area was not discussed.  She insisted we remedy the issue.  Again the roommate seemed to understand the conversation, even at times trying to help me explain it to her.  I told her aside from tearing apart her deck or an aggressive sanding (In October on a freshly stained deck) there was no simple or immediate solution.  I also told her this was not part of the scope of the original work and that we would not be addressing this.  On the trip to add the additional screws as promised, she pressed the crew to fix this area that I just mentioned.  This is why she was told they didn't have the equipment nor were they aware of this being part of the work they were to perform.  It's as if she isn't listening, I all but threw up my hands at this point.  We then sent her a final bill the following month, she still insisted that we come complete the wet sanding before paying... In frustration we put in on hold until Spring.  We made multiple attempts in March and April to contact her to schedule the wet sanding and did not receive a response.  Finally now in July, we sent the final invoice.  I cannot see a solution that will work for her.  It feels like she is just trying to find a reason for not paying the bill.  After the last interaction with her we both agreed we were done trying to resolve this issue.  We did everything we set out to do.  My biggest regret is that I didn't stick to my guns and follow my regular process and insist that we would not put the transparent finish on her deck.  Though I still feel she would have found a reason to not pay.  We do hundreds of deck restorations every summer and have been doing so for over 20 years.  We know our process and our business.  I am confident that I have done all that I can to remedy this situation and she will be the first customer in 23 years that I will have to take to collections.