SUMMARY: Quality Fence did a FANTASTIC job on my new fence and I couldn't be happier! I worked mainly with Vicki (office) and Seraphin (foreman?) and both were great throughout the whole process. WONDERFUL customer satisfaction and professionals throughout the entire process.
STORY: I needed all 3 fences around my house completely replaced. I went about getting bids and ended up doing 5 separate bids. Of these bids, 3 of them were from actual, professional companies. The other two were the old classic "I know a guy".
I ended up picking Quality for the following reasons:
(1) They are an actual FENCING COMPANY. Everybody has a friend who "Knows a guy" who does fencing. The problem is, if something goes wrong or you are unhappy with the work, you have little recourse and are at their mercy if they want to fix the problem or not.
(2) Quality offers a 5 year warranty. Although I've seen a 10 year for fencing, there are many companies without any warranty. So this was acceptable.
(3) I asked for sample job sites - I wanted a couple of local jobs they had done so I could check out their craftsmanship on my own. They gave me locations close to my house and I went to take a look. Overall, they were good, solid fences that looked nice. I had one issue I didn't like, which was that the concrete was kind of sloppy around the posts. It basically was a rather large mound around the post, going 5-6 inches up the post. It looked like a giant anthill. I spoke to Vicki and she pointed out that this was sometimes requested by the home owner but that they'd make sure it looked nice for ours. In reality, the sample fence was under a hedge and on a hill, so it was probably done for stability and aesthetics weren't as important. [More on this later]
TIP: Make sure to ask for sample fences - They're outdoors and don't disturb the home owners, so don't be shy to do this. A good company has nothing to hide.
(4) They were the cheapest of the professional bids I received. - Notice I put this last. The "cheapest" isn't always the best. After all these other conditions were met, I considered the pricing.
THE JOB:
The morning of the installation, the guys showed up on time ready to work. And work they did. They were very efficient and wasted little time. No issues with any laziness or slow work here....these guys mean business. They cleared out the old fence and even cleared a lot of brush and weeds that were in the way. Since my fence was literally on the ground, I hadn't kept up with my gardening very well =\
That first day, they got 2 of the three fences up with posts and the panels around 1/2 the way.
They were 90% done by the end of the second day and needed to come back the third day to finish the gates and install the locks (I went with a bolt system that requires more work).
ISSUES, RESOLUTION, and SATISFACTION:
Two issues came up during the job and Quality addressed them quickly, without hesitation, and professionally.
(1) A retainer wall needed to be built because the previous "system" of retention were 50 year old railroad ties that were rotted and falling apart. The bid I received accounted for PART of this but whoever did the bid didn't realize how extensive a job it was going to be. I spoke to the guy working and he said I needed to speak to the office. Vicki told me it would cost more (less than $200) initially, but the next morning told me they had decided not to charge me since the mistake was during the bid. MAJOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION POINTS AWARDED
(2) Remember that concrete around the post issue....
I spoke to Vicki ahead of time about my concerns. She emailed me to tell me that she'd inform the workers. Somewhere in there, the message wasn't understood. They had domed the concrete up around the posts on one side of the house and it was running out onto the sidewalk. My wife was there (and knows I'm picky), so she said something to them. They said it was to make sure water doesn't pool around the post. Makes sense....but looks like crap on my sidewalk. To their credit, on the OTHER side (they hadn't done it yet), they made it look better.
When I got home, I REALLY tried to ignore it.....but couldn't. Especially since I had voiced concerned ahead of time. So I emailed Vicki. To their credit, they fixed it the next day without question and it looks great now. Again, SATISFACTION to have my concerns immediately addressed and fixed.
So thanks Quality Fence, you guys did a great job. Definitely recommend them! read more