Had a patio built just recently. Domenic spent a considerable amount of time with us in January 2022 and we chose his company, although it was more expensive. He seemed authentic and honest. We were told it would be done in May or probably June, but we heard nothing until August. When we spoke to him about the project starting in 2 to 3 weeks, he said he would be charging us 15% more because their costs had gone up. We told him we couldn't afford that, and would have to cancel the project. At that point, he started talking about charging us an administrative fee but couldn't confirm the amount. He finally agreed to do it as per the initial agreement. When they came to start the project, we saw that they switched out one of the sets of stones but never told us. When asked, they said they were made aware in May, our requested stone wasn't available. Also unknown to us, they also switched the size of our stairs, and told us after the project was completed and wanted to charge us an additional cost. The overall quality of the workmanship was less than we expected (eg. poorly cut stairs). We felt that Domenic was intentionally deceptive and not forthcoming with necessary changes.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $26,000.00
- Company Response
I am so sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with our services. We pride ourselves on excellent workmanship and client relations. If you were not satisfied with any aspect of the work that was completed you should have spoken up and we would have fixed it immediately. It is not too late to do this. You can let us know what you are not happy with and we will come back and fix it to your liking. As for the time frame of our work to commence, I believe there must have been a misunderstanding. We book clients in the fall of the previous year to begin in the spring (May/June/July) so there would be no way that we would have promised you a May/June start knowing we could not fulfill our obligation, especially since I have an email from you stating that you would be away in the middle of May and part of August. In the same email you confirmed a possible July start. When I came to see you in January your story of not being able to find a contractor in over two years tugged at my heart strings and I felt bad for you. That is why I told you we would help you as much as we could and fit you in later in the summer. As for the upgrade to the size of your steps, that was due to not having a proper design as we suggested to you. We had to follow your sketch which was not accurate with the measurements. When the time came to install the step the initial quoted size of the step was too small so we actually gave you a nicer, larger step. Yes, we did tell you it would cost more after it was completed and installed. That was our error in not informing you on time so we told you we would absorb the cost to keep you happy. Due to the present economic situation throughout the world, costs of everything have skyrocketed. Therefore, as a business decision we needed to add a percentage to the initial amount quoted to pay for these increases - ie. gas, supplies, materials, labour...etc. After speaking with you and seeing how this added expense distressed you, I made the executive decision to absorb yet another added cost to keep you happy. Also, yes, there was a material change. That was beyond our control as our supplier did not have your chosen stone in stock (we found out later it had been discontinued) and we had to find you an alternative. The two materials can not be differentiated because they are so similar with the exception of cost. We, again, gave you a product that cost more than the original but we did not charge you any more money. We always provide a detailed contract that we go over prior to having the client approve and sign, which is what you did. The time to disagree or disapprove of any details would be at that point. I am very sorry that these misunderstandings have taken place. Communication is very important and we always listen to our clients. I am NEVER deceptive intentionally or otherwise. I tell you like it is so misunderstandings like this do not happen. We at Big Town Contracting Ltd. wish you the best and if you need us to come and address any of your issues please let us know.