After a big hail storm in our neighborhood this past summer, I decided to use Polar Builders…read morebecause a few of my neighbors (whom I trust to do their research) had chosen them. Scott and his son, Chris, were wonderful to deal with, and were professional, nice, and always emailed or called in advance to set up all appointments. They're really nice guys.
Fast forward to today, when I get notified by not one, but two of my neighbors (thank goodness they happened to be home) to alert me there was a "strange guy walking around inside your fence, and up on your deck." From their description of the vehicle, I knew I had no clue who it was, plus anyone who knew me would contact me.
Worried but not scared, I called Polar, because even though nothing was currently happening with my project (we were waiting 'til spring to make the changes) I wanted to be sure it wasn't them before I called the police.
Polar assured me it was no one employed by them, and that they'd never send a contractor out to anyone's property without advance notice or setting an appointment.
The lovely Ramsey Co Sheriff's deputy I spoke with expressed concern at this man's shady behavior. After two hours' worth of anxiety, researching, trying to pin down this suspicious activity -- all the while worrying about going home from work after dark by myself because I was sure someone was looking at my place planning to rob it, or worse -- I learned through this nice deputy's research that said skeevy individual WAS, in fact, a Polar Builder employee.
Apparently he received correspondence from my insurance company that more pictures were needed of the house, so he took it upon himself to go there WITHOUT NOTICE, without a phone call, text, or email (all information Polar has on file for me) to alert me of this activity. The deputy told me, "he said he rang your doorbell twice and didn't get an answer, but decided to go inside the fence anyway to get his pictures."
I was SHOCKED. That is criminal trespass. I gave no authority to this man to be on my property, much less open my fence gate, proceed into my yard, and walk up on my deck. When my neighbors both stopped at the end of the driveway to take pictures of his vehicle for me, he had to have seen them (he's in one of the pictures standing outside his truck; he was inside the truck for the other), but he didn't walk up to them to explain himself. He was in an unmarked vehicle -- NO company logo, phone number, nothing. According to my neighbors, he was there for half an hour, with his truck running the entire time. That doesn't just LOOK shady, that IS shady.
This guy's absolutely inappropriate, CRIMINAL behavior scared the crap out of me. When I called to talk to the president of the company and tell him how completely out of line this employee was -- IS -- I got an unemotional, canned response of, "I can see why you'd feel that way," and he was less than sympathetic. After I asked him to think about how he'd like it if some jerk scared his wife or daughters like this, he finally loosened up and apologized for his employee's behavior. He never offered to make it right, or ask how he could make it right -- he just continued to say, "I'm sorry he acted that way, but I can't change what he did."
In spite of liking Scott and Chris -- who were in no way involved with this episode, and whom I respect -- I cannot trust a company that a) allows an employee to act in a criminal manner, and then b) doesn't express the utmost concern for a wronged client affected by said criminal behavior. I fired Polar Builders and will NEVER recommend them to anyone.
If a company allows its employees to show up unannounced, and enter onto the property and take pictures and in general act like low-life thugs casing a joint (as I see from someone else's review has happened before), what ELSE are they allowing them to do when they're onsite at people's homes on the job???
