Can Do Fence & Deck

People were great, finished product is wonderful, communication through the building process is somewhat lacking...

We had seen Can Do Fence & Deck signs all over our neighbourhood, and as we did our research on the right combination of design and quality, we opted to go straight to Can Do.
From the outset, Alon was great to work with. We booked an appointment for April 19, and Alon was innovative and helpful in creating a design that met all of our needs - keeping the bbq out of the way and level with our raised kitchen entry, giving us a large functional and private space for patio furniture as well as maximizing the remaining yard space for our kids to play. True to his word, he had initial drawings and a contract to us within 3-4 days. There was a minor mix-up with the permit drawings, but the matter was resolved quickly and we were able to submit everything for the permit with no modifications. Permit approval was received June 24.
It was the process after permit approval was extremely frustrating. We sent the documents to Alon the same day we picked up the permits, and later that evening were instructed to contact either the Head Office or Steve (the Foreman/General Manager) within a few days to firm up timing. Since it was Canada Day weekend, we waited until July 2 to contact head office, and were told that we would get a call back by the end of the day with timing. By the end of the day July 3, we hadn't heard back from them, so we called again and were told that someone would be there July 4 or 5 to start. By Tuesday, July 8, we still hadn't seen or heard from anyone, so we called back to be told that they had been delayed by another job and that they would be out Wednesday or Thursday. Then nothing... until Saturday evening, when at around 6:00 in the evening, someone appeared in our back yard and started marking out the foundation. The holes were drilled on Sunday, July 13, then filled and inspected (passed) on July 15. And then, once again, nothing... Until August 1. We had tried to contact Steve to find out what was going on, but were consistently directed to a "full mailbox" that would not allow us to even leave a message. Then all of a sudden, one day we had the beginnings of a deck. Once the building process started, everything ran smoothly again, and the final product is even better than what we had expected!
All in all, the deck was finished within 45 days after permit approval, which was the original commitment, however there were several broken plans followed by gaps of time where we were left in the dark.
Everyone that we spoke with was very friendly and helpful, however, we felt that communication and setting expectations was a big miss. We fully understand that "things happen", but it would have made a world of difference to receive a phone call or two to manage expectations.