BEWARE! DO NOT do business with Graci Paving Associates!
Contractors, Masons, Homeowners beware! About month ago in september I was contacted by John Guzzo a Supervisor for for Graci Paving Associates. I had never met him before he said he got my number from one of our company business cards. He said he was in need of a mason for this company and wanted to know if I was interested. I declined the offer with gratitude and did not hear from him again until a few weeks later when he called again. This time he said he was desperate and that his main mason just quit and took the crew of workers with him. He assured me he would pay me well and that he was looking for "quality not quantity" and was in need of a leader to help build up the company. So I decided to give him a shot and was scheduled to work for him on Saturday 10/22. We agreed on a price of 300$ per day for a cultured stone veneer on an outdoor kitchen. I was told I could not start until 8 am which is much later then I am use to starting. He also assured me he has all the tools needed and not to bring any of my own as well as all the material already being on the job ready for us to work. When he arrived to the home I walked over to his car and saw the first red flag. He was drinking a beer at 8 O clock in the morning and reeked of alcohol. I was thinking to myself this guy is a drunk, how the hell does he talk to the customers smelling like this? But I already agreed to the job and figured I might as well work since I am already here. Then the 2nd red flag caught my attention. When we opened the pallet of material there was no cement. So he said he had to go get cement which delayed our progress of work from the begining. He left a worker with me which I was instructed to show him how to do it and he could do some after watching me. As we worked we talked a little and he told me he quit this company once already because of the bad work ethic and customers constantly complaining so they had to keep going back to repair there mistakes on finished jobs. The worker also suggested that I do not use a level to keep the corners straight, and to just put the stone up on the wall because it was taking too much time. I explained to him that is not how I work and that this is not a commercial job, this is someone's house. We both worked through lunch to try to make up for the delay of not having cement in the morning, until about 3 PM when he said its time to clean up. Once again I am not use to ending the day so early but he had all the tools and started cleaning up and washing everything. By the time we were done cleaning up the mess and washing the pavers we were working on top of it was about 4 PM. I called John and he basically said he saw a picture of what I got done and that I was not what he was looking for. I said "okay so how does this work are you going to pay me?", He replied with "I think you deserve 90$" for the full 8 hour day of work. I thought that was pathetic and insulting considering thats not even minimum wage, and day laborers make 150$ to 200$ per day. Especially after how he reached out to me multiple times and said he was in desperate need of help. Also that he was not going to screw me which I now know was complete bullcrap. I reached out to the owner of the company Graci Paving Associates, a man named Angelo. We spoke on the phone, as I was trying to explain to him and make sure that he was aware of what his employee was doing and how it would effect his business. Angelo simply did not want to hear it and dismissed me saying that John Guzzo was his foreman and that he knows what he is talking about and to take it up with him. I was advised to take action by many friends in this business to go break down and rip out all the stone that I put up, but we all know you can not do that today especially when it is someone's house and they don't know the situation. So I figured I would do my best to help by warning others of the shady business practices of John Guzzo and Graci Paving Associates. In this post you will see a picture of the work that I did, as well as the phone call history between me and John Guzzo along with his card and text messages of the adress I worked at. If you are in this business you know it has alot of hacks and scumbags that rip people off and cut corners which make a bad name for the true workers who have a passion for building and take pride in doing things the right way. I would advise everyone to avoid this company and feel free to share this post with others. I will be posting it on many other social media outlets. Another bridge burned for you guys at Graci Paving Associates, hopefully this post saves others from getting screwed by your horrible work, your greed, and dishonest company that does not pay. read more