Loc Tite Interlocking

This has got to have been the worst experience I've ever gone through in terms of contractors over 10 years and 2 homes.

Let me begin.

I had 4 quotes. Loc-tite was probably the second most pricey on the list. The one I wanted to go with was honest and said he couldn't get me the job done in summer, and that I'd have to wait til October. How ironic. (read on)

So Foti comes over and gives me a quote. We do the normal haggling of services and he finally reaches the agreement for services for front 'patio' (six patio stones infront of steps to house), backyard 17x27 (ish) patio, kidney shaped...plus to lock down the deal, he would get the guys to fix my garden bed (the stones I put in were sinking and uneven) while there. Done deal. Deposit paid mid may and digging expected to be done within 6 weeks.

I can't recall correctly but I'm pretty sure the digging did not happen til about 8-10 weeks out. (july) From what I was told (mother was present at digging time), the digger they brought was NOT functioning and they dug by hand. No skin off my nose, it's their time. When I get home, I look to see that the depth is about 3 inches, IF that. Foti (the salesperson) told me 6-7 inches was what they would do. When I see the depth, I immediately called Foti. After several attempts (take note of this comment) of calling, he finally gets back to me, noting that gregg, the owner, was there, and says it was done correctly, and not to worry, that it'll settle enough. I express my concern however I trusted that it would settle.

On a related note, the equipment that loctite placed on the road infront of my house has left permanent impressions on the street. Large gashes from the feet of their bin.

I've informed the town that loctite caused this damage, and made that point very clear.

Many weeks pass, with no sign of my stone, and zero contact from loctite. Yes, I called foti several times. Never picks up, and rarely calls back until much later (days/week). Whenever he does call back, it's always an excuse that he needs to check with the installer and get back to me.

Communication has been brutal since booking.

Weeks pass, and the sheeting still has not settled any further, depth is still minimal and NOT what was promised at signing.

I again, call my concerns into Foti's answering machine, again promised later that it's fine.

Stones are dropped at my house in september. (yes, I booked in may with a 6 week start time) No calls were made to me to let me know, nor was any call made to book a time. So again, I have to call to chase them down to get information. When I get a call back, i'm told it's not going to be done as the stones are not all there. Lovely.

So it sits there for a week, when the city comes knocking at my door, letting me know that I'm violating by-laws by keeping this stuff on the road, especially unmarked (no pylons). I call foti and tell him the situation, and the city rep was very nice. She notes that it needs to be marked, and moved...or else the city will confiscate it. I supplied her Foti's contact information, and notified him at the same time. She thanked me for co-operating.

She noted that the contractor should know better than to do that. I agreed.

Three days later, the city marks off the stones with pylons. A week later, no contact with loctite (surprise), and the stones are taken away by the city. I inform foti. Calls start coming into me from him and Gregg who are frantic.

Basically they have to pay a fine to get the stone out. (well, I do, but I'm withholding the fine amount from loctite, until I get billed from the city). Foti calls and says don't worry, they'll buy new stones...it's Gregg's fault.

October rolls around and finally stones arrive at my house. No calls either. Couple days later, someone shows at my house ringing the bell. No notice. Lucky I was home. He proceeds to lead off with a joke: "We've come to take your stones back. Gregg says your job isn't worth it."

You could guess my face now.

The guy starts laughing (btw, did not introduce himself at all) and asks me to open the garage to store their stuff.

Now I must admit, the installer did great (ryan), and worked with me to ensure things were done to my liking.

Problem from the moment he got there was that he had no contract so didn't know what he was doing (the front and back sizing/shape). Every other comment was "let me call gregg" or "you need to call gregg." But I digress. He did a good job while there.

Now here's where it gets interesting. When he's almost done, he notes that I need additional metal edging because the patio wasn't dug down deep enough, and that he'd be back to have to repair it in a few months. Of course I try to get them to throw the edging in, because i was assured several times that it would settle and not be a problem. So why is their installer, who is onsite looking at the actual jobsite, saying otherwise?

I end up having a call with Gregg that night. All he ever said during the job was that if I'm not happy, don't pay until I am. Seems that what I need to make me happy is going to cost me additional money, and there's no way around it. Of course, the call does not go well, and I have to say I don't enjoy being called "bro" from a company I'm paying to do a job for me. Nor do I like having conversations with companies with cursing every so often. Even less, I dislike having someone I'm paying raise their voice at me. (Further to calls, my wife had a call with him in the same fashion, where gregg ended up hanging up on her because "he was driving". Classy.) In the calls, I don't particularly care how you feel about Foti giving too much and that you're not making enough on the job. That's not my problem. I, as a consumer, should not be hearing about inter-company nonsense such as this. This is just another instance of many, how Loctite is unprofessional.

In any case, I try to pin the issue on him as I told them from the beginning that I wasn't satisfied or comfortable with the depth, and his call that the patio would be fine despite what his guys onsite say (note, gregg had mentioned earlier in the call he can't remember my property, yet he's able to override the guy who is onsite?). But he would not give me the edging to keep it together. So I'm out another 200 dollars for something that never should have been required in the first place if it was done properly and as initially promised.

At the end of the job, the installer becomes more friendly and actually tells me his name. That was just before he asked for a big tip. Excuse me? Tip is based on experience. I told him to 'talk to gregg'. That turned me off entirely.

Also, the additional stones, which probably equalled about 60 bricks or so, were taken back quickly. Apparently even though I bought them, the additional are not mine. Again, an arguement with Gregg.. By the way, the additional stones that he notes they SHOULD have left me, which he promised he would drop off two weekends ago, still have not found their way to my house.

Wow, gregg didn't deliver on his word...again.

So now, it's october. Patio is done. I had to pay for additional sand to sweep into the many gaps between the stones. I had to pay for additional metal edging...and I also had to pay for additional soil because of the 3 inches OVER the grade of my lawn the patio has been set.

I don't believe this was done properly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't give me any issues. If it does, you can be damn sure I'll be paying another company to fix it. Guarantee or not, I'm not letting loctite anywhere on my property again. I'd rather pay someone to do the job than get it free from Gregg.

You can be sure that I will never allow anyone I know to book or even entertain loctite services.

The communcation is terrible. The attitudes are terrible. The promises are flimsy. Confidence on the durability of the patio is moderate only because Ryan suggested the metal edging as necessary.

Find someone else, other than loctite, at all costs.

You would figure for the service I got, it was the cheapest option, but I'll guarantee you, this simply was not the case.

EDIT:
I stand by my comments above. To say there was miscommunication on MY side is outrageous. It was all poor communication on the part of loctite and loctite only.
Given the comments of the poor impressions you've left with many clients, I'm sure it's not difficult for any future readers to believe my posting about the mismanagement of a project by loctite.
The fact you have to beg people to alter their reviews of your poor past service is testament of the poor impression you've left on people after they have time to review the experience.
And I especially love the comments of "please call me" in almost every reply you've given to everyone. Everyone that has dealt with you probably can attest to my comments that communication is virtually non existant with loctite once they get your money.
I have zero desire to reconcile anything with loctite and as i've said before, there will be no need for warranty coverage, as I forbid loctite from setting foot on my property ever again.

EDIT - Nov 19/2010
After all the above was expressed by me, Gregg still had the intent to come and try to make things right in person. While I was a bit disinterested once finding out who was at my door, I was still open to listening. Reason being, it says a lot about a person who will still try to make amends.

Gregg took some time to actually show me details as to what was done and why. This is one of the reasons why it is necessary for a knowledgable 'leader' to be onsite during the construction. The workers don't know how to explain why it is what it is, and just pass the buck onto someone who's not even onsite.

While onsite, Gregg noticed the crooked and narrow step on his own, and make note that he'll have someone come out to fix the step to what it should be - Straight and as wide as the door.

So in the end, Gregg is indeed a good guy, and my experience would have been less frustrating had he been onsite during the job itself. Much of the lead-in events to the actual stone laying needs improvement, but in terms of character, Gregg definitely earned some good points.

Coles notes: communication between the sales and contruction teams need definite improvement, and timelines need to be followed more closely while keeping the homewoner in the loop.
Salesperson needs to be more knowledgable on site assessments before saying 'what you need'.