I am saddened and disappointed to have to write a bad review for Rolando. We were eager to work with him based on the great reviews here. I will simply share my experience and try to not make any assertions as to what may have been Rolando's motivation - as I cannot speak to that.
About 1 month ago we called Rolando to set up an appointment for an estimate to fabricate some granite for the counters in our kitchen and living room. He was very accommodating and came at the end of a work day to see the work and get the information. He seemed nice and certainly knowledgeable about the work. My spouse is an interior architect, and is also knowledgeable, which would make this an easy job. We knew what we wanted and were pretty straightforward in our request. I can definitely say, we are really easy and laid back people to work with; not demanding, no pressure, etc, We were also ready to accept any estimate he provided.
We had asked him to provide us with an estimate. After a few days, we did not hear anything. We contacted him to let him know we had found a great granite that we had put on hold and provided him with the size of slabs. We asked him to calculate how many slabs we would need, so we could order them. The place we held the granite is with a company that has done a lot of business with my partner over the years. A couple of days later we heard from Rolando - he did not answer our question about the slabs or provide an estimate. He told us he had a family emergency and would not be back for a week. No problem, we let him know we were in no rush, just be in touch when he returned.
A week later when he said he would be back we didnt hear, so we e-mailed him. A day or two later he got back to us and said he had extended his trip and would be back the following week. Again, we stated we understood the situation and all we needed to know was the number of slabs to buy. He never responded. We contacted him again a few days after he said he was returning to be considerate and give him some time. We wrote him and said we understood that his family obligations were important. We just needed to know the calculations for the slabs and that we could wait as long as necessary to do the work, but if for some reason he couldnt do the work to let us know. He told us he had too much to catch up on and couldnt do the work . OK, I understand. Granted it took a month to figure this out and he never did tell us what we needed to buy - we had these slabs on hold for over 3 weeks - we were only able to do this because it was with a business partner who was very understanding.
Next day after Rolando says he cannot take our work, a colleague tells us he spoke with Rolando, as we had recommended him several weeks earlier, before all of this. He asked Rolando if he would be available to provide an estimate for some work he needed started in the next 2 weeks.He said Rolando responded within an hour, saying he would be available. WTF?
Now, we trusted him and took his word, even though it felt like something else was going on and he was not being straight with us. After we heard this, we wrote him and provided him an opportunity to explain what had happened. He never wrote back.
We both feel very offended by the way we were treated. Why couldnt Rolando have been straight with us if he didnt want to do the work for whatever reason. We wasted a month having someone yank our chain. I cant help but to wonder why he chose not to take the work and not to be honest with us, but I will probably never know.
That' s our experience. Bummer.
As of 02/15/11 Rolando never bothered to follow up with us. No explanation, nothing. Wow.
02/28/11 and not a word. The end!
I am going to venture he had some homophobic reaction, so keep this in mind if you are not hetero... read more