DRIVEWAYS CORPORATION

Simply put, thier work was good, but we were overcharged quite a bit.

. I do not recommend them. They actually don?t have any customer service. They use sales pressure. They actually did not do the work properly. The only way I had them to come by was when they were actually going door to door quoting on their new jobs. When they came I mentioned to them and I also called them back no one ever came back. Their work is only guaranteed for one year. The drive way is actually in a really bad way. Rather than help me fix it they just told what it would cost to replace it. I would not use them in the future.

Driveways Corporation used to do business under the name S&S Paving in the 1990's. One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was to have them pave my driveway. The driveway pavement today 15 years later is a disgrace, the pavement is broken, collapsing, uplifted, and will need replacing soon. At the time, my wife and I were young parents and expecting another child. We knew next to nothing about driveway paving, had plans for paving the driveway but hadn't asked for any estimates. S&S Paving happened to be doing a small job two houses down and when they saw my dirt driveway, all they saw were dollars signs. The next thing I know, David Stanly is knocking on my door to ask if we would like him to pave our driveway. He would do it at a reduced cost for us since he has his equipment at the ready. He took a few measurements and gave us a handwritten estimate. I foolishly agreed to it and to let him and his crew on my property. The crew arrived in minutes and began the leveling the driveway and spreading the crushed stone already in the driveway to prepare it for the pavement. No attempt was made to add a stabilizing layer of gravel or aggregate to give the pavement a stable foundation They then began laying down the pavement and ran out of asphalt halfway through the job. A truck arrived with the remaining asphalt and they finished the job in what seemed like 3 - 4 hours. The next morning, a couple of crew members revisited the house to finish the job. The first thing they asked for was beer. I suggested hot chocolate instead. The coup de grace was when one of the last of the crew to leave the property asked if I'd like him to apply a sealant for an additional $195. At this point, I just wanted them off the property as quickly as possible and agreed to his price. He then pulled out a pressurized tank containing some sort of oily-looking liquid. Heaven only knows what it contained - and we use well water as our source of drinking water. Using a spray attachment he coated the entire driveway with it. The next spring we literally had grass shoots springing up in various corners of the driveway. I can only attest this to the thinness of the applied pavement. Within two or three years the first signs of driveway failure became apparent. Buyer beware: the last time I checked, Driveways Corporation had nine complaints on file with the Greater Worcester BBB and several awaiting resolution.

Dennis came the morning after we called to give us an estimate (reasonable) and had his crew here the same afternoon, because they had been doing another job in the area. They did the whole job in one afternoon. They were the same company that put our original driveway in about 10 years ago and it held up very well. They topped it off with a layer of asphalt and it looks very good. They did not clean up well after they were done (trash, extra asphalt left on side of road). They ruined a section of brand-new lawn with their roller.

We obtained estimates from two companies for this work. We hired Driveways Corporation because their price was about $800 lower than the other company (we found out from an experienced acquaintance afterwards that we still paid more than we should have for the particular job), and because they called repeatedly after providing the estimate to ask whether we would do the work with them. They seemed very eager for the business. When we finally agreed to move forward, the owner of the business was at our door within an hour to pick up the 10% deposited ($350). He told us he would probably be back the next week to do the job. He then dropped off the face of the earth. I called repeatedly but my phone calls were completely ignored. When I was able to catch him, he said that he needed to talk to his son about scheduling and that he would call me right back. He never did. The owner, at the time the estimate was given, had emphasized to us that it was critical to install the new driveway in two waves. First, they would put down the first layer and then let it settle for a week or two while we drove on it, to evaluate for potential settling. Then, they would install the 2nd later. When they finally showed up to do the work (after many repeated calls), the son installed the entire driveway in one day. He then called me at work and asked me to drive home right then to pay him. When I told him that I could not leave work to drive home at that moment, he said that he would meet me back at the house when I came home. He refused to accept a mailed check, and absolutely demanded payment that very day. I questioned him on the approach of installing the driveway in one day, since his father had insisted it should be done in two phases. I said that since the work was not done according to the agreed upon method, I wanted some time to make sure that we were happy with the driveway and would not see any settling. He became very angry and aggressive, and said that he would not accept payment any later then that day. I actually became worried and did not go home with my kids after work because I did not want to find him there and become involved in a confrontation. My husband, who is an attorney, went home and paid him and had him sign paperwork agreeing to fix the driveway within one month if there was a problem. My husband said he was quite agreeable during that transaction.

He came out the afternoon I called him. Very nice and helpful. I had a lower quote from another company and chose them, but Dennis was really great.

We chose Driveways because they had done work at several other houses in our area and I was impressed by the quality of their work. We made a few changes to the original request but they honored the original quote. They came about two weeks later as a caravan of yellow trucks showed up to do the work. We discussed the job as they suggested some slight changes to what I wanted but we quickly agreed on what was to be done and they went about their work. By early afternoon they were finished and we were happy with the results. We had one minor concern\question a week after it was done and they came by to hear our concerns and explain what had happened. I was happy with the explanation and they said they would come by in about two months to make sure there were no problems. So far there are none. If it I had one minor complaint it was pinning them down to the day they would be coming. Because of a string of bad weather their schedule was pushed out which we expected but they need to do a little better job of communication these delays. Overall we are very happy with the work they did and our neighbors must have felt the same way because in a matter of days they did four more driveways in our neighborhood.