Appalachian Pressure Washing & Staining

I have had my deck power washed and re-stained seven times over the years. I have watched the process and know what it involves. In the past, Thompson's water seal has been used. This provider, James Combs, who owns Appalachian Pressure Washing & staining in Boone, NC, insisted on using the "superior" Olympic stain. "More expensive, but better." The first day he and an employee pressure washed the house and deck. The second day, he showed up alone to apply the sealant. I questioned his ability to do so on his own, because it has always been a two-man process in terms of application with a brush, and then back brushing it in. With the superior Olympic, I was told, that wasn't necessary. So armed with a sprayer nozzle and water-diluted stain, James soldiered on by himself and finished my entire 840 sq. ft. deck in three hours. Now, I have to admit that I didn't insist on his doing what I had seen done seven times prior--apply with a brush, back brush, etc. He assured me the Olympic had special properties that made that unnecessary. One hour after completion of the application, the heavens opened up. So James came back--again by himself--and sprayed again--just the horizontal surfaces this time, so it was only two hours of work, plus stain, which I paid for (another $150) Nevertheless, at $50 per hour, and the cost of yet more Olympic, I was up to $1,000 on this job that had taken less than 12 hours total, and that's being generous. And there never seemed to be any leftover stain, it all went back with James, even though I was charged for the full $60 per gallon. Over the summer, I watched with serious concern as rain soak into the boards. As different work people came to do different jobs, three of them had said, "You really need to get some protection on this deck, it's going to rot." To all three, I said it had just been done in June. I got looks that said, "Yeah, sure lady," to "You must be stupid." Finally, the third guy got down on his hands and knees and said, "Look at this. You can see where it's starting to rot here. There's nothing on this." Two things that were clearly my fault: I should have known better than to believe Olympic had magic properties that did not require the same application procedures; and I should have been a lot more insistent that he apply it with a brush and with another person helping. To save my deck from rotting, I have had the entire deck re-stained, by hand and properly, by two workers. The difference in looks and rain repellant is remarkable. It has cost me another $700. I did email James about my disappointment and what others had said about there not being any protection on the deck, but I did not receive a reply. I let him know that I would be leaving reviews such as this one. Even that did not prompt a reply. So while I was at fault in trusting him that what he said about Olympic and its application, I was seriously taken in and ultimately very, very disappointed with the results.