TLC Garage Works Inc

This TLC Garage Works, LLC is a branch of the Main business: TLC Irrigation (same Owner, Bob Carr, and same address). Since "TLC Irrigation" didn't show up as an Angie's List company, I decided to leave our review here (the Owner is the same person) because it appears others are experiencing the same poor quality. We've been loyal customers of TLC for 13 years, due to having two irrigation systems installed at two different homes, with varying landscape requirements. HOWEVER...over the last 2-3 years we've experienced a serious decline in the quality of service. We've written letters to express our concerns and asked for a direct response - to date, NO ONE has contacted us. Below are the issues we expressed: POOR QUALITY CONTROL Recently, the seasonal start-up and turn-off checklists show all sprinkler zones, valves, drip zones, and plumbing have been validated with no issues (April 15th); yet, very soon afterward we had to re-schedule additional work that should have been noted during the checklist process (April 23rd and 27th). Past seasonal maintenance services resulted in mediocre results. We learned that parts of the irrigation system were inadequately installed and should be overhauled; however, no previous technician ever advised of preventative measures that could have been put in place to avoid this. QUESTIONABLE BILLING PRACTICES On at least three occasions, we were charged for extended time (amounting to hundreds of dollars) when we personally observed the technician on property for no more than 10-15 minutes. If we do not pay close attention to the rate and also question the billing, we receive an invoice charging me too much. INFERIOR ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND LIMITED STAFF EXPERTISE We adopted the habit of shadowing the technicians to ensure they were inspecting every point on the checklist, due to no longer trusting the competency of the staff. Limited English speaking technicians inhibit effective communication and customer understanding. A few technicians have pointed out areas that past technicians neglected during recent visits or start-up sessions; which implies that some of your employees are not properly completing jobs. I must place repeated service calls to re-position sprinkler heads to fully cover the landscape, due to prior technicians not properly positioning them the first time.

I ended up not using them because they are too expensive. They quoted me $16000. They were nice to talk to. I might use them in the future if they dropped their prices.

The result: Three months after time to complete and still not done. Damaged property and ignored requests to discuss. Organization service not provided. I have filed a Better Business Bureau complaint. TLC Garage Works did not even respond to the BBB: 02/10/2014 Final Notice - No Response received from Business 01/30/2014 Final Notice to Company- Via Mail/Fax AR 1/30/14 - Sent by email & mail 01/30/2014 No Response Received from Business on 1st Notice 01/24/2014 Phone Company After No Response from 1st Notice 01/24/2014 - I spoke with the company and re-sent the complaint by fax per request. 01/20/2014 No Response Received from Business on 1st Notice 01/08/2014 Notify Business of Dispute 01/08/2014 Send Acknowledgement to Consumer 01/07/2014 Case Reviewed by BBB 01/07/2014 Case Received by BBB The contents of the garage were piled in the POD storage unit, damaging several items including two expensive bikes. The work bench was laid on rolling cabinets. When the floor was finished, the contents of the POD were simply emptied into a pile in the center of the garage. Paint and gasoline were spilled, damaging several more items. The brand new floor has a mild stain on it. Locks were not put on any of the cabinets. Without confirmation that the job was complete, on November 19th TLC charged my CC for the remaining amount. I texted and emailed pictures in stunned disbelief at the result of their work. On November 26th, I received confirmation that I did not feel the work was complete. On December 6th, a crew came out to finish the work. They did not have all the necessary materials to complete the work bench or install the locks on the cabinets. They organized some of the garage and did what they could to clean up. I was told they would be back in a few days to finish the work. Two weeks later, on December 23rd, the crew came to finish the work bench. It is attached and stable. I was told I needed to be home. The crew came unannounced and entered my garage, leaving the door open and tools exposed. Again on Jan 2nd, I asked about the damaged property and when TLC would be out to finish the work. I received no response. I asked about the amounts that were charged to my credit card and the promise to have this job complete within a week, yet two months later it is still not finished and I am constantly contacting them to get action. Despite emails directly to the owners (once copied in on emails by representatives) and the multiple representatives I've been given to work with, I continue to get responses asking me to be patient and that someone is talking to the owners to get resolution.

I really wanted a "garage makeover". I looked at a bunch of companies online and I liked the TLC website the best. It appears to be a family run company, and I always prefer to do business with those types of companies. Also I liked their photo gallery, and from the description they sound like they do everything for you-- I wouldn't have to move anything myself. I called last week and they had an estimator named Justin call me back, and we scheduled him to come at 11 AM today. At 9:15, Justin left me a voicemail saying that the office had sent him to Mount Airy for an appointment before me, so he'd be at my house at 11:30 instead of 11 AM. No apology for the lateness, no asking me if that was still good for me. I called the TLC main number and the woman there said she had no idea what he was talking about, that he was scheduled to be at my house at 11 and she'd look into it. I told her I would do errands and be back at 11:30. Justin didn't show at 11:30 and didn't call. At 11:45 I left a voicemail for him that I didn't want him to come and wasn't going to use this company. I also called the main office and let them know as well. I'm not sure if this one is Justin's fault or the company's fault, but I thought it was pretty bad customer service.