I commissioned Gonzalez to pour concrete on my backyard and part of driveway. Work was completed within a span of a week.
What they did well
* Cost: It was reasonable. I got quotes from half a dozen places. Gonzalez's quote was right in the middle.
* Concrete itself: I am happy with the result. Then again it's just concrete and I'd expect anyone else would have been able to accomplish the same result.
* Schedule: pretty fast turnaround. The work started within 2 weeks from the original contact. The work itself was done within a span of a week.
What they did not do well
* No Written Agreement: everything is done verbally. I asked Gonzalez to write me a written contract, but he says he doesn't do it. I understood it as due to his difficulty with the language. I recommend you have some form of written agreement as later I find him trying to use this in his favor.
* Miscommunications: Gonzalez comes and you talk to him. He then sends out two crews who barely speak any English, and they would often carry out work not according to the original agreement. From that point it becomes increasingly difficult to get a hold of Gonzalez so that corrective actions can be taken. Example - originally I asked Gonzalez to leave one foot gap between the board and the fence so that concrete is not poured onto the fence post. The workers would nail and screw the board directly onto the fence post. When I pointed this out, Gonzalez protested and complained that they had to redo the work.
* Lack of courtesy and common sense: the workers would come and go whenever they are pleased. On the last day, they showed up at 6:45 in the morning and started running compacter. This woke up the entire neighborhood and I got an earful from all my neighbors. The funny thing is that they finished it in about an hour, and didn't do nothing until noon. I find it was just a lack of common courtesy and respect. During the whole week they would leave a mess in the work area (they would just toss things out on the lawn). I had to clean up the trash from their lunch a few times after they left. I caught Gonzalez peeing on my lawn, even though I made our restroom entirely accessible.
* Screw up in the type of concrete: On the last day the pump came, and the concrete truck came. The pump could not push the concrete out through the pipe. It turns out the type of concrete that Gonzalez ordered was not going to work with the pump they brought in. So they had to haul the whole truckful of concrete with wheelbarrow. This delayed the schedule for 4+ hours, and they had to stay and finish it out until 8pm.
* No clean up after the job: When they left, I find the concrete slabs and residue all around the property. My entire front lawn is killed as they dug around the pipe, wheeled the wheelbarrow, and washed their equipment on it without proper protection. The sidewalk was filled with concrete water that later got hardened and won't come out. They did not even pick up the trash from the job, including soda cans they'd thrown out. I pointed all these out to Gonzalez. He came a few days later saying he'd clean it up. When he showed he started making excuses here and there, and did almost nothing to address it. At that point I got too sick and tired of dealing with his shenanigans so I paid the remaining amount and told him to leave.
Overall Verdict
In the beginning he'd claim that he does not get paid until the customer is fully satisfied. I find it a hyperbole, or he just likes to use that phrase. If you can make sure that things I experienced can be worked around with him, he could be an option when you are on a tight schedule. As for my recommendation, I do not think I will recommend him to my friends and neighbors. read more