Foster Design Build

I hired Bob Berg to be the general contractor for my store, 900 sq ft. When I first hired Bob, he seemed personable and I felt that he would be honest and diligent in his work. Once I hired it was a completely different story. I hired the architect through Bob and whenever I had questions for the architect he said that I was not allowed to talk to him directly but only through him first. This led to issues where if I had talked to the architect then I could have saved time and money on irrelevant items. That was the beginning. Once I received a proposal on the cost and was comfortable with the amount of the project, then we went through the permit phase and through this phase, Bob was never around and it took 3 months to get the permits. Once we got the permits, he decided to increase the project by 25%, which is outrageous. I had already lost time with the permits and if I started with a new general contractor then I would be losing 2-3 more months. During those 3 months waiting for the permits, there was not a mention of the increase and the permit drawings never changed from the city nor from me, so there was no explanation except that he said for overtime? Reluctant to use them after the sudden increase and questioning the ethics I decided to use them and split the increase...again poor judgement and against time. The project starts and there are numerous delays - 1) Bob couldn't get his subs to show up on time...isn't that the job of a general contractor? 2) would leave thousand of items unattended and then ask the client to lock up when they could...irresponsible, 3) fires the project manager without client knowing which stalls the project another 3 weeks, 4) Bob wasn't able to answer simple questions about construction, which I question his knowledge. It was nightmare after nightmare during the project as I had to hold Bob's hand to get it done and make sure the subs came on time and didn't leave my store with expensive items unlocked. If you want to experience being a project manager then hire Bob Berg for your project. When I thought it wouldn't get worse, the project is completed and I receive the contractor sworn statement which shows the actual expenditure. Bob Berg makes over 60% profit. For example, he says that plumbing is going to cost $54K, it cost $20K, a 179% profit, for electricity, Bob says it will cost $35K, it actuality it costs $23K, 51% profit. OVERALL BOB BERG made over 60% profit!!! (normal profit between 10-15% profit). Then with the punch list, it was horrible to get things fixed. A brand new store open in Jan in Chicago and has no heat form 3 weeks, grease trap smelling, no floor drains and had to call city inspector to get Bob Berg to fix the situation.Took forever to get things fixed and had to hire an attorney and waste more money! From beginning to end it was a nightmare on top of the outrageous amount of profit he pocketed. Don't hire Bob Berg unless you want to deal with someone unprofessional and unethical!