DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WORK WITH THIS COMPANY. If I could give negative stars I would. I really…read morehate to leave a review like this, especially being an entrepreneur and small business owner myself, but this is where I draw the line.
I found Mario on yelp, decided to go with him because of his work/pictures and relatively positive reviews. Mario was hired to make custom railings for my townhouse that my partner and I had just closed on. Although his pricing was higher than other bids we had received, I wanted to give him a chance as he seemed nice, professional and talented. Man was I wrong! Upon sending the deposit/signing the contract, Mario had informed me that he was going to be traveling to Colombia for three weeks and wouldn't be able to get to my job until he returned, I was patient and understanding. When he returned a week went by and I had yet to hear from him. He was unresponsive, taking days to return my calls/texts. Deposit was sent July 3rd, he finally came to do the fitting August 24th, 7.5 weeks since initial deposit was paid. Day of the fitting, the railings were significantly big for our space and wouldn't work. Mind you, he never showed us samples of sizes nor renderings. The moment I asked about changing the size, Mario's attitude completely changed arguing that he had to pay his workers, he lost a day of work and he was in the hole for the materials. (Isn't that your job? To pay your employees and front materials, the whole reason I paid a deposit?) I agreed to pay his workers day rate (which I shouldn't have) and Mario agreed to make the necessary changes after several discussions. Now we're at September 13th, still haven't heard anything from Mario. After reaching out multiple times he finally gets around to communicating the railings were complete and ready for install but this time he was demanding the balance be paid in cash and wanted half up front day before installation. So I've now paid him $1,500 and have nothing to show for it and your now demanding a cash payment?! And another $2k day before installation at 10pm? Needless to say, Mario never showed up for the day of installation because I wouldn't agree to pay him in cash. No call or text communicating the cancellation either I've never in dealt with a more rude, unprofessional and insulting vendor/contractor in my life. I offered to pay Mario via zelle, Venmo, cashapp, bank wire and certified check, he still demanded cash payment and wouldn't let up. He's unresponsive throughout business hours and only texts late at night, never answers calls to speak with his customers. How do you run a business like this? Our contract stated $1,500 deposit and the remaining $4k be paid after completion/installation but he kept changing things and making new demands. I also requested my deposit back so I could take my business elsewhere but Mario would not return it so I'm stuck working with this clown. Do yourself a favor and avoid Mario by all costs. *update* he installed the railings after paying him $4k in cash and the quality is horrible: scratched, inconsistencies and multiple colored screws used. For all his demands, dude couldn't even get the same colored screws. Pictures posted.