I needed threaded rod added to the end of twelve 3/4" steel rods and a hole drilled through twelve 5/8" nuts. I contacted Thompson Machine & Welding. A person by the name of Michelle answered and set up a meeting on Monday noon. I met with Darren, the machinist and dropped off the materials. Two days later I received a text stating that the job was complete and I could pick it up at 4:30 pm. The next text showed a picture of an invoice, the total: $1487.50. Yep, $1500 dollars for the job. Supposedly Darren had been working on the job full-time since I dropped it off - 18.5 hours of machining. The invoice also indicated CASH ONLY for payment. I showed up at 4:30 pm with the cash and received a call from the Michelle - apparently the job was not yet ready. Michelle showed up at my car at 4:45 pm with a single rod and a single nut complete. 'Is this what you are looking for?' she said. I said yes. She then returned to the shop. Fifteen minutes later(about 5:00 pm) Darren showed up with the box of 12 rods and 12 nuts completed. I thought it was weird that a job which had taken 18.5 hours took another 30 minutes once I arrived but I handed over the cash and went my way. Since that time I've been unable to contact either Michelle or Darren, one phone number says it's not set up and the other says the voicemail is not set up. I've texted Michelle's number twice asking that the invoice be sent over. I contacted Thompson Machine & Welding and a man named Dick answered, said he heard about the job but could not give me Darren's number because he had a new phone. According to Dick there is no way I can contact Michelle or Darren. So I've spent $1500 dollars with 'Thompson Machine & Welding' and there is no way I can even get an invoice. I'm not sure if this company exists or if ex-employees are running scams on callers or what is going on - but I thought this information would be helpful to anyone looking for machine work from this 'company'. read more