A. Macchione Brothers Construction, Inc.

Terrible Customer Service!

Did a terrible job with grading and had to go through **** to get them to come back to rectify the situation.

Driveway was improperly graded water does not drain properly. Owner refused to return to look at it with me. He sent someone who agreed it was improperly done. I called and spoke to his office from 7/6/16 thru month of September , no return call. Driveway still does not drain water properly. Worst contractor I've ever done business with. His bill was also higher than quote.AVOID at all costs. Paid $6800. Fix is simple but Frank refuses to call me back or send someone to correct. Maybe an hour's work. Really hard to understand this type of attitude towards a customer.

Summary of Experience with A Macchione Brothers Construction, Inc. (A Macchione) Last August, worried about the condition of my driveway after the 2013-14 winter, we decided to have it professionally sealed. We also wanted a section that was sinking to be repaired. We requested estimates from several vendors and received estimates ranging from $275 to $960 for the seal coat and one estimate to replace the driveway for $4600 from Boyd Paving (more on that later). Of the vendors who replied, only A Macchione could do the repair that we also needed. Boyd Paving refused to provide a bid to seal the driveway. My husband spoke with the vendors and he spoke with Mr. Boyd at length about the condition of the driveway. It looked fine to us. There were only a few small cracks in it and no pot holes or major issues. He insisted that it would need to be replaced in a few years and I'd be wasting my money sealing it as it would be a waste to paint rotted wood. But ultimately, we thought the driveway was in pretty good shape compared to others around us, and we chose A Macchione to do the seal coat and repair. BUT, my husband called them to ask about the condition of the driveway and if it would be better to replace it. This is when we first noticed that they were not very good at returning calls. Melissa was the point of contact but basically said that Frank (the owner) would have to call back. Frank finally did call, and spoke briefly with my husband to tell him the driveway was in fine shape and could be seal coated. We also called Melissa to find out what sealer they used. She gave 2 brands, but can only remember Seal Master. They showed up in September 2014 to do the repair and then said they'd be back to seal coat it in a few weeks, as the repair had to dry/cure. This was the first we were told of any delay between the repair and seal coat. My husband was getting very concerned about the weather, as it was getting colder and colder. He called several times and finally on October 9, 2015, they returned and sealed the driveway. It was a cold morning, with temperatures below 50 F the night before and after the seal coat was applied. He asked the workers as he was leaving for work if it was not too cold to apply the seal now and they said it would be ok. April 2015 - as the snow melted, we noticed major sections where the seal had peeled off. My husband was furious and then decided to document all of his future contacts with A Macchione. The following is my husband Bill's documented calls to A Macchione. April 9, 2015 - called to complain about the seal coat. Melissa said that it was a very cold winter and that many people were having problems and that we should just wait until it got warmer to see how it looked. Bill pointed out that or neighbor used a product from Home Depot the PRIOR year and it still looked better than A Macchione's job that was only 5 months old. She said Frank would call us back. Bill knew that the driveway warming up would not address the major sections that had NO seal, but decided to wait and see if and when they would call back. August 10, 2015 - Bill called on the main line (not Melissa's number). All he said was "I'm calling because my driveway seal is coming off". Melissa came on the line and without hesitation asked "Frank hasn't called you yet?". She did not even know who was on the line as Bill did not leave his name. Bill asked why Frank did not call back because July was pretty darn hot. He pointed out that the seal coat was applied on a day when temperatures dropped below 50F and that Seal Master, one of the brands they claim they use, says on their website: Important: Temperatures must be above 50°F both during application and for a period of at least 24 hours after application. Melissa said they check the temperatures before they go to jobs, and we told them it dropped to 43F the night after they applied the seal coat. Melissa, then had the nerve to say that you may not be able to put another coat on it (it suggests 2-3 coats and they only put ONE coat, so how can they not put another coat?) and if they did it may have to wait until MAY 2016!! My husband lost it and said the job was crap and he wanted it fixed NOW! Melissa said Frank would contact us. He never did. August 20, 2015 - Bill called again and this time Melissa said it was out of her hands, that Frank is the owner. He told her he no longer wants them to fix it, we just want our money back for the seal coat + tax. She said Frank has to do any refunds, and said she would let him know. My husband sent the following email to info@amacchionebrothers.com after he got off the call with Melissa. Now we are simply going to report this to Angie's List, the Better Business Bureau (they have an A+ rating but we found a recent complaint where A Macchione refused to contact the customer for a seal coat, but it was resolved) and if they do not refund our money, we'll take them to court with documentation showing they applied the seal coat against manufacturer's guidelines and refused to honor their warranty (at the bottom of their invoice it states: Sealcoating and ashpalt repair has a limited 1 year guarantee). It's a shame that there are vendors like this. I just wanted the driveway re-sealed. How difficult could it be for them to call us back and honor their work and warranty. Now, we want nothing to do with them and just want our money back. Shame on you Melissa and Frank! Email to "Frank" Thu, Aug 20, 2015 at 2:11 PM Frank, Melissa has repeated told me that you are too busy to respond. That is unfortunate, but since you are so busy, I am can make this easy on you. I am requesting a refund of $960 plus tax for the seal coat job your crew did on 10/9/14. Please send the refund to my address within 30 days. My request for a refund is based on the following: 1. Seal coat is peeling up from almost every area of the driveway. It is peeling up like a cheap latex paint would. I have lost significant portions of the seal job. I will be uploading pictures/video of the job to a Angie's list and Facebook for you to review, since you are too busy to come see the job yourself. 2. You and your staff have failed to respond to my request to remedy the failed seal coating. You have not returned my calls nor my emails. I first contacted you on April 9, 2015 at which time Melissa told me that she would call me back when it got warmer. So, I waited...and waited. Then, August 10 (last week) I call and Melissa says (before I even gave my name) "Frank hasn't called you yet?". I had similar issues with you not responding last year when I was concerned that the driveway may need to be redone instead of sealed. And again the morning the crew showed up and the temperature had dropped to the low 40s the night before and the night following the seal coat. 3. Failure to follow manufacturer's guidelines for seal coating. The seal coat was applied and drying during a period when the temperatures were at or below 50 degrees. I have pasted the Application Conditions from their web site below as well as 1 of several local weather station reports for the day of and after application. Sincerely,Bill Oakland, NJ