Spartacus Construction, Inc

I am writing to clarify a set of issues which were recently brought against me regarding a client ** CID: [redacted]. In March of 2017 I met with ** and we discussed her needs for her home projects. During this initial interview with each other she stated that her main concerns was the roof as well as...

the siding. I explained the process of both, what my company can do for her and what she can expect. At the end of our initial meeting she had asked me to write up two separate quotes, one for the roof and the other for the siding work. I told her to give me a few days and I can email her the quotes. She insisted that we drop them off as she does not do email and that it would be easier for the hard copy to be handed to her. I told her that this would not be an issue and we can certainly drop off the paperwork and the samples to her home. We talked about a start date and now we just go through the horrible wind storm that damaged many homes. I told her that we were in fact backed up and booked out at this point. Weather permitting, we would be able to start her home around the 24th of April and she was ok with this time frame. During the end of March, ** and I were in contact trying to schedule a time to get together and sign the contracts. This was difficult to schedule because ** was traveling back and forth from Rochester to Buffalo to help take care of her mother. She explained to be that she is usually in buffalo a lot. A couple times we had appointments to get together and unfortunately, she was either at the doctors with her mother or in Buffalo. We ended up signing the contracts on April 8th, 2107 roughly around 10:00am that morning. The actual contract date was on April 4th as we were supposed to meet then as well. ** asked if she owed any money up front and as the contract stated we did not require a deposit but that when the roof was completed we would expect payment in full. She did not have an issue with this. On April 20th, 2017 I contacted ** via phone and explained to her that we are still behind due to the constant rain and repairs from the wind storm. She had asked me when a realistic time frame would be to start so she can coordinate between Buffalo, doctors and her mother and I told her that we would be looking towards the middle of May at this point and I apologize for the inconvenience. At this point she told me not an issue because I am processing for a loan and that the money would not be transferred to her account until end of May as it is. I then suggested that we wait until she was in possession of monies as our contract states we will be paid in full on day of completion. She agreed with me and we scheduled for the week of Memorial Day. Furthermore, as we got to the week of Memorial Day there was still rain in the forecast and ** feared that there could be a possibility that her house may be damaged from tearing off the roof and not finishing. I explained multiple times that we will be O.K. and that we always cover the roof back up. She had asked that we do not continue her home or at least start with the garage first as the rain will not damage anything in there. I tried explaining to ** that we cannot just do the garage and come back at another time because my crew can have the entire job done in three days and did not make sense to bounce around. At this point she was getting irritated that would not do as she asked and that the client is always right, and this is her home. I then agreed with ** and said that we can have the garage started but that we would have to return to do the main house when she felt it was ok with the rain. She agreed to this statement. On June 12th, I had my manager, AB call ** and explain that we were just finishing the job we were and that we would be able to start the 19th of June. ** was frustrated with the delay and we apologized, and she said the 19th was O.K to start. ** also inquired about Windows at this point and asked what our pricing was. I personally called ** back and told her that our pricing did not change from the first time we talked, and it was roughly 2200.00 to replace the 6 windows upstairs. She told me that this was too expensive and that she will hold off.             I received multiple calls over the next 5 days from ** about the windows and start dates and when she needs to give me a check. Every time I explained to her that the price of windows stays the same and she would need to sign a change order or contract for the windows and that we were still planning on starting the 19th in which I would have the dumpster delivered and material as well. I told her that the day we finish she needs to pay in full. She said she wanted to make sure that we started because she was already paying back the loan she had taken out.             On 19th of June the dumpster was delivered, and the material truck was sitting outside ** home. She calls me around 7:30am that morning as we were packing up to head to her home to start and she demanded that we remove the dumpster and she never asked us to start. She said she had to move her mother and go to the doctors. I explained that I had already paid for material and dumpster and that we can start. She told us no I want them gone. I have receipts and dates from dumpster company and the supply house for those dates and I was also charged fees from them for the returns. A week goes by and she calls me again asking why we are not there. I explained that you told us to remove everything until you are ready. She said that she thought we were starting the next day and that she does not understand why we are not there. She also says that she wants us to install the 6 windows and our pricing is fine. I agreed and said I will order the windows, but I must get inside and remeasure the windows. We schedule a start date for July 10th as we had the holiday the following week and finishing a job. At this point I have incurred almost a grand in fees and wasted payroll due to the client rescheduling. As a result, my ledger suffered dramatically.             I spoke to ** on July 12th and told her that we were done with the garage and the main house roof and that we needed to meet to proceed with the siding. We scheduled a meeting in which she paid in full for the roofing as well as giving a deposit which was equal to $15,480.00 in that 9,445.50 was for the cost of the roof and the extras for the roof. We then ordered the material which was a week out to deliver. Once the material was delivered we scheduled a time for the 26th of July for the Siding to commence. ** accepted this time frame and said it was O.K. to proceed. On the 27th of July ** stated that she wanted to change the color of the siding and wanted a darker green. I explained that changing the color at this point would be an additional fee for the restocking, delivery and material upcharge because she is choosing the premium colors. She told me that it was unprofessional to do so and that I should do it because of the delays and that I need to make the customers happy. I explained that this is not how it works and that we have not only been delayed because of weather but also for her scheduling. She at this point said she will call the Revdex.com if I did not and complain. I told her that I would in fact change the color at no charge, but I wanted it in writing of the color change. She said she would not have time to sign anything because she was in buffalo. I decided against my better judgement to proceed with siding to just get it done. I told her that it was a 10-day process for the siding. We completed the siding on August 12th, 2017 and I had called her for the remaining payments. She told me that she would not pay until the windows were in. at this point there was no contract for the windows, but they were sitting at my shop. I told her that I would not charge for the windows and just wanted this to all be over. I was not going to waste anymore frustration, time or money on this job. She agreed to have the windows installed for free. We showed up and attempted 5 various times to install the windows and she kept blowing us off and not letting us start the windows without warranty paperwork. I gave her the manufacturer number and supply house number. My guys showed up again in the morning to meet while I was in Hawaii for vacation and they called me saying she will not let them in. They then put her on the phone and she is telling me that she will not let them in without warranty paperwork and without me there. I told her that will not happen because I am not even in the state. She argued with me and I did, must get strict with her and told her she can take the windows and have someone else install them as this is now a waste of my time and we have been more that considerate of her scheduling and requests. At this point she told me that she was calling the Revdex.com and I would not be happy with the review. I did tell her to go ahead.             The next month in September we installed all the windows and spent 2 full days walking through the entire property with ** and did work that had nothing to do with our contracts. I finally had to tell her that I am not continuing anymore work on her property with exception of the shutters to be installed. ** paid me everything but $489.00 at this point. She called me earlier this week to install the shutters in which we did and patched in yet again a few more open areas. She asked me what she owes me, and I told her nothing. Keep the money and lets all move on. She was happy and thanked us for the hard work and we both apologized for the hassle. Obviously, I know that no one is perfect and there is always something to learn on every job and to ** I am truly apologetic for the delays we did have but also for any frustration from us both directly or indirectly. I fully intend continue to learn and per my last conversation with ** and the amount of work and service we gave her with no charge she told me she was grateful as well. She even referred us to a few other individuals in which we have meetings set up. I do feel that most of this could have been avoided by both parties throughout the process. I am a responsible professional and will absolutely do the right thing. That said, part of being a professional is standing up against what I view as unjust and want to make sure that this can all be resolved accordingly without and negative repercussions on ** or my company. The right thing at this point is to provide an accurate representation of events as they actually occurred.