In 2017 we hired Etowah Group to replace rotten wood on our side and rear decks as well as steps leading from our front yard to the back yard. They then painted all the wood with SW Deck and Dock. They also trimmed bushes and a tree and replaced slate chips on the landings that were part of the steps. Unfortunately, one of the pieces of wood used on our rear deck was "green", i.e., not dry, and has been exuding sap for the past 14 months. Their hardscape manager Mike has been telling us to wait until sap stopped flowing, at which time he would scrape the sap from the piece of wood and repaint it. The sap continues to flow from the wood, and we have asked Mike to replace the wood with another piece of wood that is dry and will not exude sap. Mike continues to delay, offering various excuses (some of which conflict with previous statements he has made). Most of the time he does not return my calls, and I must call him yet again. To compound this poor excuse for "customer service", we paid Etowah Group more than $7,100 for this work.
In the spring of 2018, prior to experiencing the above-described inexcusable behavior, we again contacted Etowah Group to replace and paint rotten wood on a wall in our front yard and pressure wash our decks. The estimate for this requested work was between $900 and $1,000. We also requested estimates for additional work that were outlandishly high and chose not to go ahead with Etowah performing that work. (For example, Etowah Group offered to paint our townhouse for $4,200; instead, we hired an excellent company that painted our townhouse for $2,900, stayed in touch with us throughout and conducted themselves as real professionals.) We did request Etowah to perform the work priced at $900-1,000. Mike refused, saying that they must perform a certain amount of work at a certain price point each day, and $900-1,000 was not enough. How unprofessional a response for a customer who the previous year paid this company more than $7,100. read more
