From Jamie S.
Elite Handy Works
*** Edited to add a reply to the owner (below) ***
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Do not hire Doug, or his company, unless you want to be overcharged, taken advantage of, and have work that has to be redone. What a nightmare, and an expensive lesson to learn.
They quoted me for 36 hours of labor, to which they only actually “worked” for a small fraction of (16 hours would be incredibly generous).
They arrived an hour late on the first day, and left for a bathroom break less than an hour later. The dismissed my concerns about their plan for my window being way too small. They worked for less than 6 hours (minus a few more 30-60 min breaks), didn’t let me know they were done, and didn’t provide any confirmation of work done. Doug told me that his helper would return on Monday to finish the work, as he had another job he had to get started on.
I’m not really sure how that works, when he had estimated being at my house for 4.5 days, and had only done 1. It’s like doctors double and triple booking appointments. That was the first red flag of being scammed, and outrageously over charged for labor hours.
The helper returned Monday, and “completed” the remaining two jobs in a few hours. Even if I exaggerate the time, and say he was there the full day at 8 hours (which I know he wasn’t), we’d only be at 14 hours. To say the work done was awful would be an understatement. I reached out to the owner the next morning, expressing my unhappiness. He said he could come out that day to fix it. When I reached out later that afternoon, after buying a new window out of my own pocket, he told me that he couldn’t come until the next morning. He said he was fully booked, and busy, so he’d need to come first thing in the morning. The issue with this was that I’d already hired and had a drywall person at the house to repair all the damage they’d done to the sheetrock. So now I’d have to have the drywall contractor come back the next day to fix the window. I asked Doug if he could at least hang the sheetrock, to which he agreed, if there was a piece cut and left for him. Which I did.
Doug did come the following morning, and installed the new window. He sent a message asking if I had insulation. I did not, as I wasn’t aware I needed it. Needless to say, he did not hang the sheetrock, or repair any of the damage. Also, he used old 2x4’s, and pieced together scraps, to frame in the window. When I expressed my displeasure, he said he was sorry, but his helper had told him there were 2x4’s at the house, so he just had to use what was there. I’m sorry, but shouldn’t he have come prepared for the job? Or, better yet, drive down the street (literally less than 5 mins) to Lowe’s, and get insulation and a 2x4 to complete the work correctly. Go above and beyond to fix the terrible work of his helper. I then had to pay the drywall contractor an additional $200 to repair and fix the window area damage.
After telling the owner I was unhappy with the situation, and work, and that I didn’t agree with the amount charged, his immediate response was to tell me he would be contacting his attorney to put a lien on my house. No attempt to remedy the issue, or even try to offer a solution.
I’m in shock. What a way to run a business.
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Reply to owner:
Doug, your statements are incredibly untrue, and I'd like to correct them. 1) You did not reach out multiple times with no response. You tried calling twice, and one time I was at work, and the other I was busy. However, I communicated with you via text message multiple times. I'm just not always available by phone. 2) I explained my concerns with the window before you ever showed up, and you said we'd talk about it when you arrived. I told you my thoughts, and you tossed them aside. 3) I'm not a contractor, and had no idea I needed to supply insulation; you could have easily run down the street to grab some to quickly resolve the issue. 4) I never asked for 50% off my invoice. I'd already paid half of the total upfront. It was the 2nd half of the invoice, that I was asking for some kind of discount/credit due to the way things were handled, and the poor work done. 5) I never threatened you with negative Google reviews. I expressed my thoughts as to how I felt, told you I'd paid half of the invoice, and thought that was fair. YOU were the one who then threatened me with legal action, stating "Ok I'll have my lawyer file an intent to lein on your home on Monday". There was no conversation, no ownership or accountability, or any kind of discussion as to making things right. It was only after that comment I told you that I would be sure to include that in the company review I left. I never used my review to "bully" you, and NEVER asked for "free work". It was only after you scammed, took advantage of, overcharged, and completed poor work that I left a review of the way you and your company did business. I stuck to the facts, and wanted to let other people know not to do business with you. 6) I've added two photos of the "finished product", where things were still unsatisfactory. The damage done to the top outside window frame, and the pieced-together 2x4 framing job, along with the old 2x4, because as you said, you didn't come prepared with the supplies you needed, so you just used what was there.
