I hate to waste another moment of my precious time even thinking of this horrible experience, but I feel I should warn others. I'm so glad it's finally over. It was an absolute nightmare working with Joel. Firstly, read my review but really and sincerely, spend some time researching and read all of the other negative reviews here and elsewhere before you make the mistake of hiring this motley crew. You will see quite plainly that there is a pattern in the terrible way this company (mostly Joel - one of the kids of the owner who works behind the counter) treats the customers. Never taking responsibility or apologizing for his incompetence of organizing his crews with the proper work orders, not ordering the correct parts and insuring they are delivered on time, his rude, insulting, dismissive, disgusting, disrespectful, unprofessional behavior. Joel seems to be quite entitled and to have a superiority complex of some sort and thinks he's doing you a favor, forgetting that he works for you. He is defensive and retaliatory towards the customer, putting the blame on them or google reviews for allowing people to tell the truth. Usually by lying, or denying their horrible customer service and attitudes. He got so many things wrong with the work orders for his crews, and getting the job done in an organized, time efficient manner. Luckily we were at the home while the work was being done and we either caught mistakes ourselves or the workers brought them to our attention. But when we brought concerns of incorrect job orders or serious mistakes made to Joel's attention via text messaging, Joel was quick to attempt to dismiss me and insult me. Telling me not to micromanage the work and critique his guys. That to just not worry about anything until it was done and then we would address any of our concerns then. WTH?! Unbelievable! I had to explained that this was my home, not his, that he worked for us, that with the amount of money we were paying, we have the right to have things done correctly and to our liking. That this is a permanent stone and mortar structure that we will have to live with for years to come. Not carpeting that you can tear out and replace, not paint that can be painted over if we don't like it or it is done wrong! I believe Joel lied and said the insert face was back ordered, I'm sure he just ordered the wrong one, and reordered the right one but it didn't come for another week. His carpenters called me and said they were on their way to hang the OSB, but Joel halted that and said that he wasn't going to send his guys just to hang the OSB (just to do their job? Really?) So we had to wait another week in an un-air conditioned home in 90's degrees because we had plastic tented the room and covered the vents to keep all the dirt and dust out he said there would be. When the day came for them to come back, they didn't show up, the stone guys did and they had to hang the OSB for them (not their job) but they couldn't move forward with the stonework until it was hung. It was just a convoluted mess because of Joels inability to organize the work. most of the misery came from Joels rude, dismissive, unapologetic attitude and inept organizing skills. He does not have the ability to understand how to easily de-escalate situations with a simple apology and an offer of resolution when he screws up. If we had not been present during the process, the hearth would have been very unlevel, the TV would have been protruding too far out over the mantel because it was not supposed to be packed out, the mantel would have been too shallow because it was not being packed out when it should have been, ithe mantel was cut to the wrong size and not cut square. The mantel was almost installed with the top against the mortar. As an artist, I noticed that there was a whole side of the fireplace that the stones were a block of all the exact same color. When I mentioned that it bothered me that they weren't mixed, I was told don't worry, that I wouldn't notice it after the other stones were set around them, instead of fixing it. So I brought this concern to Joels attention before the mortar dried and that's when he told me not to micromanage and critique his guys, that I wasn't allowed to pick and chose every stone. Not what I was doing. He lied to them and said that I removed the stones they set from the fireplace! So they came back in a very bad mood the next morning thinking I did that. But they saw he lied and they did work with me the following day to get it right for me. Most of the crews were pretty good guys, I feel bad for them, as I can only imagine what a nightmare it is to work for Joel. It makes me sad to read so many similar reviews and know how so many people ended up so unhappy after spending so much money. So glad we were able to supervise the project and stop a train wreck caused by Joel's mismanagement of purchasing, time, work orders, lack of morals, empathy and interest in customer satisfaction. read more
