"Dear Angie's List Member, ValueDry appreciates your feedback. I understand that you may feel home improvement companies have taken advantage of you or others in the past. Unfortunately this does happen, however it is absolutely not a business practice of ValueDry. We require all homeowners to be present during our free inspection unless there are treasons that make that not possible such as deployment, geographical limitations, etc... We do this so we can educate all homeowners about our customized basement waterproofing solutions, answer any questions they may have about the different solutions, explain associated warranties, and yes outline the costs for the solutions collaboratively decided upon by all homeowners. In addition, since we are addressing foundation seepage and indoor air quality issues it is important all homeowners are aware of implications related to the waterproofing system we design together as well as the installation process and associated procedures. Yes, ValueDry seeks to EARN your business because we are a thorough and straight forward company. For ValueDry and the basement waterproofing industry it should be regarded as a respectable business practice that we meet with all homeowners for the inspection. We offer evening, Saturday, and even Sunday inspection times to make this fit the schedule of all homeowners whenever plausible. ValueDry does not require all homeowners to be present for unfair or unethical sales technique purposes. We do not persuade customers into purchasing products they don't need. We educate and design our solutions collaboratively with all homeowners precisely for that reason. Best of luck with your project, I'm sorry we were unable to meet your inspection scheduling needs. Regards, James Ketterer - President"

"To Whom it May Concern: Thank you very much for your feedback. ValueDry always recommend full perimeter drainage, a sump pump, a battery back up sump pump, drainage matting, reinforced vapor barrier for the floor, insulation / vapor barrier for the walls, and the installation of a ventilation device for crawl space encapsulation. Crawl space encapsulation is a process that requires many moving parts. Subterranean foundation walls can leak so it is imperative that we recommend the drainage and sump pumps. Dirt floors and walls condensate and become wet so we recommend drainage matting, vapor barrier, and insulation. Crawl space air can become stagnant and damp so we recommend ventilation / dehumidification devices. All of this being said you don't have to purchase any or all of these things but it is our job to recommend the industry standard for crawl space encapsulation.. We do now require the purchase of the drainage matting under the reinforced crawl space vapor barrier which we install. Of recent we have found that the benefits of the drainage matting in protecting the vapor barrier from damage due to movement around the crawl space and the condensation reducing effects make it a necessity when installing the vapor barrier on the floor. Also, It is not an expensive item in the grand scheme of creating an encapsulated crawl space. As for the inspector getting defensive I can only apologize for that and try to make our inspectors better due to your feedback. Again, thank you for your feedback. We have NEVER had an instance of spray foam separating from a concrete block wall. The inspector was mis informed regarding the warranty on that item. Our spray foam is certainly covered under warranty from separating from the block wall. Also, the spray foam that we use is rated as a Vapor Barrior directing any wall seepage down under the drainage matting to the drainage pipe and sump pump if selected and installed. It is interesting that you find it unusual that we would create a quote while at your home. We have to work along with you to design the solution that you are comfortable with. Once we have done that we can provide you with an executable agreement that you can sign so you can provide us with a deposit and we can schedule the work to be installed. It is our policy to inform you during the scheduling of your inspection that the appointment would probably take 90-120 minutes. To perform a professional inspection, design a solution with your needs, wants and budget in mind takes time and collaboration. I apologize if this wasn't communicated properly during the inspections scheduling process I will inquire and work to improve that communication. Our intention is to earn our customers business in a professional manner during our inspections. It seems as though you are probably very informed having had 11 estimates on your crawl space. We find most of our customers are interested in solving their problem and having the work done by a company that is reputable and experienced in our business. We have found that If compared in an apples to apples fashion (warranty, service, and reputation considered) in our industry and geographical marketplace, ValueDry crawl space encapsulation pricing is very competitive. We know this through ongoing customer feedback and industry research. Hope you can make an educated decision soon related to your crawl space. Best of luck with your project and thank you again for your feedback. James Ketterer - President"

"[Member name removed], Thank you for the feedback regarding your free inspection. I apologize for having wasted your time regarding your crawl-space door project. It is my understanding that you originally contacted us on Monday June 1 in order to schedule a free inspection to replace your crawl-space doors. We scheduled a 7PM appointment with you for Wednesday June 3rd (less than 72hrs from your original call) to look at the project. I followed up with your inspector, Carlos Hernando, first thing this morning after seeing your review in order to make sure we are providing the best customer service possible and in order to see if we can improve our customer service in any way. Carlos explained that he arrived at your home on-time on Wednesday at 7PM as scheduled. ValueDry, like most home improvement companies, has job minimums associated with different types of work. Carlos explained to me that he shared with you that we would charge you $700 per crawl space door totaling $1,400 for the project of removing your existing crawl space doors, replacing the framing with pressure treated wood, and installing our PVC sealed crawl space door. I understand that you felt that this was too expensive and that you felt you could pay someone to go to a hardware store and build you new doors for around $500. This type of a solution can certainly be done but it is not comparable to our sealed crawl space door solution which you were quoted. We use pressure treated framing and PVC products when building our crawl-space doors so they are mold and rot resistant. This is important when creating an encapsulated crawl space and a sealed access door. I'm surprised that the other vendor which you worked with would not install new doors for you. A crawl-space is not encapsulated until properly sealed doors are installed. All homes are different. When installing crawl space doors sometimes we have to install larger access wells as the crawl space doors are below grade. Other times we widen the opening of the crawl space door itself and install steel lintels to make the crawl space more accessible. It is difficult for us to know until we physically see the project to provide an estimate. It is true that sometimes projects are too small for our minimums and our customers decide to have a handyman or someone else perform the work. We don't charge for our inspection. I do believe that we still perform a valuable service to these customers by educating them and helping them understand how to approach the project. I do understand your feeling that we wasted your time and we appreciate your feedback. Good luck with your crawl space door replacement project. Feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss our customer service in more detail as I'm always looking to improve our customer experience. Regards, James Ketterer - President ValueDry Maryland,DC, Virginia, Kent and Sussex counties Delaware."

"Ms. [member name removed], My name is Lewis Kim, I am the scheduling manager here at Value Dry. I'd like to take a moment and apologize for any rudeness or unprofessionalism that was exhibited by the scheduler you had spoken with over the phone. We are thankful for your customer experience feedback because this helps us ensure that everyone at Value Dry is polite, professional, and correctly representing the company. I have already taken the time to speak with the staff member with whom you spoke. I have also taken the necessary steps to address and correct the issues you outlined via Angie's List. It is often difficult for our scheduling department to answer specific basement waterproofing questions over the phone. However, we should never leave prospective customers feeling the way you did after your call. It is rare that the in-home inspector runs across a situation where he can't answer a question while at your home performing an inspection. If the person you spoke with was not able to satisfactorily answer your questions related to the services which we offer or scheduling an in-home inspection, that person should have put you on hold or taken your information so someone more versed could speak with you or contact you back. I also wanted to clarify for you that while our inspections are valued at $350, we provide free inspections for current homeowners. If the person with whom you spoke with told you differently, that was incorrect and we sincerely apologize. In cases where we are meeting with non-homeowners, such as prospective buyers of a home, we do charge a $350 for our inspection and design process. Again, Value Dry does not charge for an inspection provided we are meeting with the current owners of the property. Any additional feedback is certainly welcome. We would still like to perform an inspection at your home if desired. Please feel free to contact me to discuss this experience further or in order to discuss your situation by calling me at (888) 768-2583. Please ask to speak directly with me, Lewis Kim, as I'm always interested in gaining more insight as to how we can improve our customer experience. Regards, Lewis Kim Value Dry Customer Service"