Al is just the best - the absolute nails. I've done several jobs with him and the crew does great work. Big job or small.

Kate's stand was broken (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/qwJLYZE2xJiBBMyZ4llTBA?select=zQUSAS7vHaXQmTNm5bv3MQ). She felt sad, adrift. Anchorless. Without roots. She had lost her identity, and all the pretty dresses in the world weren't going to make it right. Life suddenly didn't seem to matter, and with her newfound mobility she started hanging with the wrong crowd (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/qwJLYZE2xJiBBMyZ4llTBA?select=yTzQqZoPTc5zSkIOAfaZjA). She wasn't sure how it had all gone so terribly awry, and how she could get back to that safe, secure, and grounded place where she once was. After an abortive attempt to fix it using Superglue, I took Kate's stand to Weiss Welding after explaining the situation to a very understanding man on the phone. He looked at it and assured me it could easily be fixed. He was very sweet and concerned about what welding might do to the appearance of the mirrored base of the stand, but functionality was my biggest concern. A mere day and $30 later, I picked up my new and improved stand, appearing to be even sturdier than before (and the mirrored base looks completely unaltered). I pulled Kate away from making lanyards on Haight Street, plunked her back on the stand, and we were back in business. With a newfound lease on life, Kate not only has turned her life around, but has decided to give back to the community, taking part in anti-war rallies (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/qwJLYZE2xJiBBMyZ4llTBA?select=lAjc9XMtgR3wyyKX3rDz1g) and speaking out against eating disorders. Thanks to Weiss Welding, another mannequin life has been saved! read more

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Weiss Welding is best! I came home from my honeymoon trip to Buenos Aires sad... demoralized. My Art Deco circa 1950's starburst mirror got damaged on the flight despite the overzealous packaging and 100 Million fragile stickers. $60 after, my starburst mirror is well again! Thanks Weiss! read more

ACW Steel - My starburst! - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Richmond, California

I brought them a very small project, shortening some table legs, that required some cutting and welding, on a Monday morning. Al, took it to his guy and he did exactly what I wanted within 1/2 hour for a reasonable price. You can't ask for more. read more

I needed a stand built for a catering kitchen flattop which should have been pretty straight forward. I was wrong, they got it done in under a day which should have been a red flag that it was a rush job. I sent it back and asked that they cleaned up the welds which a couple didn't even connect the two pieces of metal! For the $900 I paid I would have expected a cleaner more professional looking job. The base of the table wasn't cut correctly so the legs have big gaps between them and the angle iron. Anyway I guess it's my fault for not looking here on Yelp first for the reviews! read more

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I walked into Al's welding at 7am on a Monday morning with a broken bicycle frame. The guys had barely clocked in, but they fired up the welding torch and had it fixed in less than 5mins. Now that's what I call service! Al's also came with entertainment. The guy who met me was super helpful and efficient and quoted me $30. While the bike was getting fixed, in walked another guy, who appeared to be the boss, and who demanded to know what was going on.... as if a welding shop shouldn't be welding. He then proceeded to loudly berate and swear at the first guy, because the minimum should have been $35. So, five stars for the guys who fixed my bike quickly, without hassle, before they'd even had their coffee. Minus two stars for the jerk with the short hair, and for the poor guys who have to work with him. read more

Ok, now that i'm (almost) over it i feel i needed to write a review. I brought a rare 60's ducati vintage gas tank to Al that had some pitting holes on the top surface (rest of it was perfect shape), asked him if he could fix it, draw on the tank the maximum area that he could cut off to fix it if he need to (could have been braised easily) went back to pay $240 for the worst welding job i have seen in my life, honestly, when i was 12 i used a arc welder and i did a better job. First, he cutted way further than the line i drew, exactly right where the surface is folded and the hardest to reproduce Second, he replaced the large removed piece of metal with a flat piece 2 times thicker, and unstead of curving it, cutted it in the center, made a straigh fold and welded it . Third, was supposed to be TIG welded (what i paid for), it was obvisouly not, and deformed most of the metal, and was not sealed properly (with runny welds inside etc...) http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2887/imageang.jpg I was so sad to see this terrible job that I cutted it away with a grinder, so at least, the hole look nicer than the fix! http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/3125/photoept.jpg read more

ACW Steel - Rare ducati tank. totally fked up job showing after i cleaned up the welds 240 dollars later - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Richmond, California

Don't waste any time or money here. I brought in a bike frame to have two small holes TIG welded on the top tube so I could stop the developing stress cracks; a job so simple that even an inept monkey, with no welding experience, and a lack of opposable digits could perform it in a matter of minutes. I dropped off the frame as they could not fix it right away, but when I arrived several days later at the scheduled pick up time, the work had not even been started. The guy behind the desk grabbed the frame and hastily performed one of the worst welding jobs I have ever seen. The holes were not covered over, and he missed the crack that I pointed out. I had to have him re-weld both sections (which was also done shoddily). The bill for the apprx. 5 minutes of work on a frame worth about $80 was $90. After I got home I ground off the crappy weld and took it to a friends and redid the welds myself. read more

Al lied repeatedly to me. Talked over me when I tried to point that out. Hung up on me rather than admitting his mistakes and misstatements. I brought Al a small item to be welded that had broken. He said it would cost $35-40 to repair, and that he could probably get to it in the next day. I asked that he weld the opposite side (an identical weld) to proactively avoid it failing as well. He said sure. I didn't hear from him, so 3 days later I called. He said the work was done, and would cost $50 due to the second weld. When I arrived to pick it up, the item had been reassembled wrong. I corrected that, but a critical thumbscrew was missing. And the second weld wasn't done. Al wasn't there and Susan, the office manager, said he'd call me. Al did call... and made excuses for everything. Said it didn't originally have the missing thumbscrew. Said the item was made of pot metal, and the weld was difficult, so they didn't do the second weld. (I'd informed him that it was pot metal when I dropped it off, and gee, he'd told me on the phone that the price was higher due to the second weld.) Every time I tried to say something, he talked over me. When I insisted he listen to me or let me talk to Susan, he hung up. To sum up: If you want to deal with a pompous, insecure liar, Al's your guy. read more

Als Complete Welding has done work for me on time and on budget. Good work and the people are friendly. Would hire his company again for future projects. We completed two projects that were difficult but carried out and finished with professionalism and competence. Al was always available for my questions. Great work! read more

WORST PLACE EVER. we needed a radiator welded so we googled a welding place and this was the first one that popped up. We discussed what needed to be fixed and he clearly understood the fill the crack on the radiator. After going to picking it up the next day, we saw that he welded the wrong side and refused to correct his mistake. After going back and forth about fixing his mistake, he finally agreed to do the other side. When we returned and checked out the part, it was done extremely sloppy and seemed like it was a spitefully bad welding job. It took three hours putting the radiator back on only to find it was still leaking from his bad welding job. All in all we had to completely purchase a new radiator. I do not recommend this place to anyone unless you want a shitty job. These are parts that doesn't come cheap and this welding service should take pride in their company and provide good customer service by fix their mistakes. But to purposely botch a part just shows what a shitty service this place it. read more

My property management company hired them to replace a mail lock box that had been broken into and several tenants belonging taken from the common areas. He assured us that the replacement box would be superior. It was a small job so the accountant paid the bill when it came in. When I went to look at the job, it was the same box that had been broken with no improvements. 2 weeks of calling to finally reach him to just put a small strip of metal protecting the box, he wanted us to pay for a second job. "People don't break into the same box again". I'm used to high quality service from my vendors, and find such poor service totally unacceptable. read more

I love this place! There is no job too big or to small for AL. Whenever I find myself saying, "I'm totally screwed!" I make my way over to Al's and he makes it work. I've been here for so many different things: -converting Aluminium window latches for childproofing, for an entire house -extending brass shower fittings so I don't have to tare down whole tile walls -etc. So if your feeling stuck come see Al! read more

I can highly recommend ACW Steel for any job, large or small. I've used their services over the years for my home and my business. Al is very responsive, honest and straightforward about what the job involves and how long it will take to get done. Worth every penny! read more

I started up business better than two years ago with ACW Steel. My first project with them was a very detailed sheet metal framing repair for a rear window on my 67 Camaro. The work took almost about a month and I have to say I was more than pleased with the result. The replacement sections I had to supply for the job were the only ones available. One of the filler panels was questionable in quality because it was imported reproduction and a thinner gauge (Not made in USA). The staff at ACW flagged it and let me know ahead of time that there could be an issue. Unfortunately I could not find a replacement so they proceeded with care. Regardless of even a questionable part the welder that was working on my car finished it out with minimal or no warping. The workmanship was amazing and exceeded expectations. This is going to make the bodywork that much easier for sure. My second project with them was through the company that I work for and was nothing like the first one. This was not your run of the mill type job either. I am a mechanical design engineer and in 30 plus years I have never run into such a complex one off type design such as this. Without going into too much detail it is a calibration tool for a custom mass spectrometer (MASPEX) that is going to be one of nine instruments launched in a NASA satellite (see Europa Clipper 2022). The equipment required a massive array of fabrication but what ACW did was make a large amount of the framing, chassis work, sheet metal oven panels, and assorted fixtures. It took the better part of two months. The design itself consisted of largely one-off parts (not too many duplicates in the assembly) and was basically a jigsaw nightmare. I had taken the drawings to more than two dozen other metal fabrication facilities and one after another they all either eventually "no-bid" the job or bid a crazy number (which is the same as essentially no-bidding). I presented the work to Mr. Giddings and his crew and within a week or so they gave me a reasonable and realistic quote. From the start there were many unforeseen problems that were encountered but ACW came up with solutions to address them at every turn like the professionals that they are. They really stepped up their game and persevered. This project was not for the faint of heart and I could understand now why a lot of companies would not have interest from the start. My third project was a somewhat smaller version from the previous one and with all the acquired skilled on how to build most of these parts ACW was not only able to get in under the required time (ahead of schedule) on the quote but the parts that they fabricated came out even better than I expected. Where the business says ACW (Al's Complete Welding) it's no joke. The varied numbers of projects they have running at any particular time are quite varied and they CAN do it all and they get it done. And besides how many places can tell you they even did a project for NASA and are on their "Preferred Vendor List"?!!! I wholeheartedly recommend Al and his crew for any job you have whether it's big, small, or intricately involved like some of mine. read more

They did a great job welding a leak that I had in my aluminum oil cooler. Quick turnaround and inexpensive. Yeah, so maybe the owner isn't a warm and fuzzy guy, but oh well...it is a busy shop. The work performed was delivered as promised. read more

ACW Steel - Metal Fabricators Near Me - Richmond, California

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Pretty straight forward. I emailed them and asked if they could weld the aluminum rear brake pedal from my guzzi. Sure, bring it in. I brought it. Said it would be done now. Went to get my dry cleaning, came back it was done, paid the quoted price of $45 and left. You can tell this shop is busy, so people that need touchy feely glad to have your business, appeasing crap.. move on. This is where you come to get things welded, properly. read more

I needed something that was aluminum welded and had no means to do it myself. I yelp'ed around and came upon Weiss Welding. I called them at 8:30am asking if they could do a small job for me before the end of the day. I was told that depending on how small the job was that they should be able to have it done before 3:30pm. It didn't even take that long because five hours later my job was done! The staff was SUPER nice and told me ten times over that if I had any problems with the welds to just bring it back and they'd take care any problems. I don't think that this will be the case as the welds are like a work of art. Apparently they built a jig and really took my job seriously which I am very impressed with, especially for the price I paid. If I ever need anything welded that I cannot do myself, I will bring it to Weiss's Welding. read more

Very responsive in providing a cost estimate; office associate very professional.

This week our welder was unable to do our welding for us. Spent the morning calling around looking for someone to weld up two cracks on a stainless steel hopper. ended my search at Al's complete. They got me in that day pulling a welder off a nother job to work my job. Very good price in and out in 40 minutes. Can say this is the welder for me. read more

They are very present when they want to be paid, but kinda disappear when the work needs to be done. Would have rather worked with someone else. read more

I dropped off some small parts to be cut/welded at this shop, along with a diagram of each part and how it was to be cut/welded. I also explained to the owner how each part was to be modified, using the drawings I provided for reference. I was quoted a price and a timeframe, couple of days...sounds good so far. The next day I received a voicemail early in the morning by a welder saying the parts were ready. I called the shop to verify and was told by the front desk (after being put on hold for 10 minutes...literally, until I hung up and called back) that the parts were in fact not ready. Later that day the woman calls and says the parts are ready for pick up. I head over to the shop only to find that of the three parts: 1) was modified correctly. 2) Another one had been cut so roughly that the end was jagged and could not be used. 3) Required multiple modifications and only one of them had been completed. I informed the woman of this and she said she'd take care of it and get back to me. This went on for about 7 days; the shop calling saying the parts were ready and me going there to find out they were not. I was finally told to come to the shop at 7am and explain to a new welder what needed to be done first hand, and that he'd do the work while I waited. I went down there at 7:30am to explain to him exactly what needed to be done (despite having done this already). He understood and said to come back that afternoon???!? Umm, ok, so I'm not happy at this point, but I make a point of being polite since this guy is new to the job. I head off to work. By the time I reach my job (1 hour away) I have a voicemail on my phone from the owner that the cost of my job has just gone up due to the complexity of the work. Now, I sat there the first day and explained to the owner exactly what needed to be done when I dropped off the parts, now all of a sudden it costs more? I called him back to explain that I'd already lost a week of time, and 4 back and forth trips to his shop and still had no parts, and that I did not want to pay any more for the work. I was then told "come pick up your $hit and don't come back!". Really? Customer service in this place stinks! I will never again take anything here to be worked on. In today's market customer service should be MUCH better than this. **EDIT** Over five or so weeks of use, of the three parts that I had welded, only one part failed at the weld seam (and fell off somewhere in Baja) so I suppose I should be somewhat happy about that. read more

I called a few times last week and was not able to get through to find how much welding something would cost. The receptionist was nice enough to help me out but didn't quite know all the pricing and too much about welding. Over all I thought I might give this place a shot because of the few yelper's good reviews, but they steered me wrong. I am not going to try this place out. I had a bunch of stuff I needed welding too but not even going to attempt to try this place. Sorry Al just lost my business. read more

They have done a couple of small jobs for me (really small) with super fair (low) pricing. Instead of throwing something away, I was able to repair it and continue using...very eco-smart! They are pleasant and nice to deal with...five stars! read more

This guy "AL" is a joke!! I called and accidentally asked for the wrong company, he laughed and hung up. ((All BS to the side)) actually hung up. Called back, apologized and asked if I had Al's welding he hung up again!? So I attempted a 3rd time, because it was a referral. And the guy tells me "I'm a f*****g joke for playing with his time", I tried explain to the mistake..and his response was "f**k off" and hung up the phone. I guess that's how you keep the good ol customer service polished up. Way to go Al, way to go. read more

Great welders, great service, decent price, good quality work. I recommend this business to everyone.

Al's crew did a stairway railing job for us that turned out great! It was done in a timely manner, good price and we would definitely hire again for other projects. Thanks again, Al! read more

I called Al's to see about getting my bicycle frame welded. Al said if I came by right away they could do it the same day. I arrived and Al was nice enough to pull one of his welders off a project they were working on and weld my frame for me while I waited. I went across the street to Blue Bottle and got an espresso and when I went back the bike was ready. The charge was $45. Thanks again Al! I appreciate your great customer service. read more

I started up business better than two years ago with ACW Steel. My first project with them was a very detailed sheet metal framing repair for a rear window on my 67 Camaro. The work took almost about a month and I have to say I was more than pleased with the result. The replacement sections I had to supply for the job were the only ones available. One of the filler panels was questionable in quality because it was imported reproduction and a thinner gauge (Not made in USA). The staff at ACW flagged it and let me know ahead of time that there could be an issue. Unfortunately I could not find a replacement so they proceeded with care. Regardless of even a questionable part the welder that was working on my car finished it out with minimal or no warping. The workmanship was amazing and exceeded expectations. This is going to make the bodywork that much easier for sure. My second project with them was through the company that I work for and was nothing like the first one. This was not your run of the mill type job either. I am a mechanical design engineer and in 30 plus years I have never run into such a complex one off type design such as this. Without going into too much detail it is a calibration tool for a custom mass spectrometer (MASPEX) that is going to be one of nine instruments launched in a NASA satellite (see Europa Clipper 2022). The equipment required a massive array of fabrication but what ACW did was make a large amount of the framing, chassis work, sheet metal oven panels, and assorted fixtures. It took the better part of two to three months. The design itself consisted of largely one-off parts (not too many duplicates in the assembly) and was basically a jigsaw nightmare. I had taken the drawings to more than two dozen other metal fabrication facilities and one after another they all either eventually "no-bid" the job or bid a crazy number (which is the same as essentially no-bidding). I presented the work to Mr. Giddings and his crew and within a week or so they gave me a reasonable and realistic quote. From the start there were many unforeseen problems that were encountered but ACW came up with solutions to address them at every turn like the professionals that they are. They really stepped up their game and persevered. This project was not for the faint of heart and I could understand now why a lot of companies would not have interest from the start. My third project was a somewhat smaller version from the previous one and with all the acquired skilled on how to build most of these parts ACW was not only able to get in under the required time (ahead of schedule) on the quote but the parts that they fabricated came out even better than I expected. Where the business says ACW (Al's Complete Welding) it's no joke. The varied numbers of projects they have running at any particular time are quite varied and they CAN do it all and they get it done. And besides how many places can tell you they even did a project for NASA and are on their "Preferred Vendor List"?!!! I wholeheartedly recommend Al and his crew for any job you have whether it's big, small, or intricately involved like some of mine. read more

Nice people, Know their stuff, can order things for the next day, will cut+drill+weld etc to order. I went down with my back-of-envelope sketches and they hooked me up with the steel I needed for my crazy Burning Man project, right at the last minute. If you see a big glowing green sphere full of lasers on the playa this year - and it's still standing upright (!)- then these guys did me proud. read more

Brought them a small job. They got on it right away. Asked me lots of questions to make sure that they knew what to do. They did a good job, fast and at a fair price. I would go there again. read more

Al's Welding saved the day! On the morning of President's Day I discovered that the heat shield on my range had detached from the oven floor, and I had to bake a giant pan of lasagna for a party that night. I called Al's and fortunately they were open. Went down to the shop around 10:00AM. Al had someone ready to weld together the 2 parts and the job was done in about 20 minutes. Problem solved. Thanks, Al. read more

Terrible place. Got a quote after emailing pictures and when I show up, Al is not very friendly and decides to increase quote by 33%. I agree to still do it since I was there and hadn't found an alternative place to get my welds done. A couple days later, the first completion time is missed and when my second "for sure" time arrives, I show up to the job not completed yet either. What a waste of time. The only redeeming quality is the lady at the front desk is pretty nice, otherwise this place sucks. After this, I ended up finding a much more professional place to get my job done. To my dismay, it made me realize that Al's would have done a subpar job on a crucial part of a car (steering column) which if it failed would be major safety issue (death?). read more

It's hard to find an honest business these days. I contacted Weiss about a small job, welding some wheels for my Zodiac, and I got a great price and the job turned out way better than my simple mind had pictured. 5 star fo sho!! read more

Need welding? Keep looking, this is not the place you want to call. Never really into reviews but this place deserved one. This is what you can expect from this place, showing up late, horrible job, and a very steep bill. Late, ohh our guys start at 7 here at the shop, then they get over to you. Almost 1hr and half 10 blocks out. Work: forget it. Bill: If a place asks you for your credit card before they even show up, red flag. I was desperate to get the job done so I bit. Job, if you can call it that, took 2hrs, charge was for 4hrs. When asked about it the explanation was that the guys started at 7am by the time they load the tools and materials and drove to your location, then drove back to the shop. Let's see, he had to load a portable welder about the size of a very small tool box, and 2 pieces of metal that he said he already had in the truck, then drive 10 blocks over 1hr. To bad, we were looking for a new welder vendor we can work with for years to come. This place it's borderline RIPOFF. read more

As a Project Manager, I have been working with these folks for many years and wanted to provide a little insight and personal recommendation. Due to a low overhead business model and teams of highly experienced subject matter experts, ACW Steel has been able to provide the most accurate bids for my large complex efforts. Not only is their work and materials high quality, the scheduling and documentation has been impeccable. They deliver an End to End solution with inherent risk management and mitigation tactics that make working with them a pleasure. Al shows up with a vision and is able to articulate and share his vision with my team leads. He has a calm demeanor but demands excellence from his team. I have personally witnessed him on the site inspecting the quality of work and recommending additional structural enhancements. You can count on this team showing up inspired and adequately equipped with the materials to complete their portion of the work on time and within budget. You may be able to find a lower bid, but you will not find a higher success rate. read more

No transparency, no accountability and a bunch of half-truths= don't waste your time. This is not an ethical business. When I first dialed the phone # that my contractor gave me to call, I was connected to Al's cell phone. He said "Yes, this is Al, What can I do *to* you?" Well apparently you an drop the ball and rip me off in the process. Not very professional way to address a new customer. I should have known. I brought them a simple job. Weld these five pieces of aluminum together to make a table. We dropped off the five pieces and explained the job to Paul in person and in detail. Al's would not provide a written estimate, despite the fact that I asked for one several times. They verbally estimated 3 hrs then charged me five. Every time I contacted them about status, they had a bunch of excuses. They outright lied about the status of the job at least twice. Between Al, Paul and Sue no one is accountable. They just hide behind each other so that you are never really sure where you stand. They were late in getting the job done. They finally delivered yesterday and it's welded together incorrectly. They also lost one of the pieces (stabilizer bar) and are claiming that they never received it. Without the stabilizer bar the table can not support much weight and bend in the middle when I place a TV on top. The job was delivered late, over-budget and incorrectly assembled. when i called to discuss it, they apologized but I'm out of time, money and patience. I paid $700 for a job that should have been $350. read more

I have joined the near legion of people who have been screwed over by the jackass who call himself "Al". I had the misfortune of having one of my revered metal kitchen chair literally fall to pieces, after a short and (on my part) non-exhaustive search I happened upon Al's Welding. After an initial visit to the place and a nice song-a-dance form a woman in the office (Sue) and a quote from Al himself ($40.00) to put my chair back together I left thinking everything was well in hand. I was told the job would take one day, so I returned the next day to find my chair still in pieces in the exact same place I left it in the day before. I asked was there a problem, and he said he was expecting all 4 chairs (I told him there was a possibility of me bring the others back if he could repair the one chair) I reminded him to keep his eyes on the prize and fix the item I gave him (in a very nice way) he agreed, and so I left. A week passed by, I called on a Friday and spoke to Sue and told her that I wouldn't be able to get in until Monday and was my item ready, her exact words were, "C'mon down, the job's done." The following Monday I returned to find my chair still in pieces in the exact same place I left it in a week earlier. I looked at Sue dumbfounded, I'm sure I heard her correctly when she said the job was completed. She was on the phone and paused her conversation long enough to say, "You will be able to pick it up after lunch". Livid I left, afraid my tirade my cause the police to be called. I left and waited out the rest of the week I returned on Friday, I walked in to find my chair sitting completed looking like a million bucks, so I smiled at Al and he immediately says, "That chair was a nightmare, it caused my guys so much trouble I gonna have to charge you $80.00". "80.00?" I responded, you quoted me $40.00" "Yeah, but I charge $120.00 an hour it took my guy almost an hour to fix the chair, so I'm gonna have to charge you more." "Why the Hell did you charge me $40.00, then if it took longer than expected, you should tell your guys to work faster, you didn't even give me courtesy of a call to let me know if I wanted you to do the job. You basically painted me into a corner, I can say f@#k you and leave but you'll keep my chair, or I can pay you as the sucker of a bait and switch scam, and get my chair." He categorically denied he pulled a bait and switch. I read some of the reviews but like a sucker I allowed myself to be swayed by what sounded like a good deal. DO NOT do business with this man, he pulls quotes out of his ass, and does 100% increases on a whim, if my chair was going to cost more I should have been told, and I should have had some of the price cut down seeing how I returned 2 times after I dropped the chair off, before it was done. Hell my gas and time is not cheap and/or free, and how come I wasn't called BEFORE the job was done to be told of the increase, was that supposed to be some "surprise"? If so, I was never a fan of surprise parties, or morons who pass themselves off as professionals, I should have listened the old axiom "If it sounds to good to be true it usually is. read more

went in there at lunchtime to get a bracket for an old Eames chair fixed. Excpected to have to leave it there for a few hours at least. Instead, they did it while I waited (!) and charged a minimal amount(!!). Just...great. read more

This business does not know anything about treating customers with respect and hung up on me on the phone. There are plenty of welders that know how to talk to people on the phone. I'll take my business else where. Customers beware! read more