ABC INC. ABC LAND AND PAINT

I chose ABC after getting 5 estimates from different companies. Tricia from ABC came to my property and she seemed to be able to visualize what I had in mind better than the others. ABC's bid was lower than 3 of the estimates, higher than 1. All seemed to go well at first, but then the problems started. Tricia estimated there would be 2 terraces, but she measured incorrectly and it ended up that we needed 3. This was not the problem--the problem was that the excavator had dug it out for 2. They had to backfill in for the middle terrace, and they failed to pack it down. This resulted in the middle terrace settling in several places within just a few weeks of placement of the walls. When I complained, Tricia said they would fix it, but would never give me a plan on how they could do that without removing the wall and redoing it--and the project was already about $6000 over the original estimate to cover the cost of the additional terrace. Further, the workers left a huge mess when they were through--including caving in the front sprinkler access box so that it was filled in with mud. Tricia assured me that they would clean things up, but after sending a crew out 3-4 times, they still didn't get it done--despite me discussing with her a detailed list of what they needed to do. By this time, I had lost confidence in ABC's ability to fix the terrace, and suspected that if I let them try to "fix" it, most likely the problem would get worse. I ended up asking them not to come back and that I considered the job paid for with what I'd already paid--the pitfalls of paying up front. At least I wasn't out the total amount, but I still paid $4000 more than the original estimate. Fortunately, the walls appear to be holding up okay after our very rainy winter, but there is noticeable unevenness from the settling that occurred from their failure to pack the ground to support the extra wall. I rated them a "C" over all because at first things were good, and overall, I do have a nice terraced backyard--it's just that, as a professional, Tricia and ABC should have more accurately measured the site instead of "eyeballing" the height which resulted in miscalculating the number of retaining walls needed--plus the clean-up fiasco at the end. Plus, I would have expected settling to occur over the years, not within days of the walls completion. Maybe they are better painters than hardscapers...

Failed to quote the work, and or return my calls after the first contact.

SENT E MAIL-- NO RESPONSE. DID NOT CALL THEM.

THE EXPERIENCE WAS GOOD. ONE PERSON CAME UP TO GIVE AN ESTIMATE FIRST, AND THE PRICE WAS GOOD. THEN TWO GUYS SHOWED UP, AND FINISHED THE WORK IN LESS THAN A DAY. THE QUALITY IS NICE. THEY BROKE ONE OF MY PLANTS, AND POT IN THE PROCESS. I DIDN'T REALLY MIND, BUT THE COMPANY WAS COURTEOUS ENOUGH TO FULLY COMPENSATE ME ON THAT.

GENERALLY VERY POSITIVE. THEY JUST ALWAYS DO A REALLY GOOD JOB. THEY COME WHEN THEY SAY THEY WILL COME AND THEY ARE ALSO QUICK. VERY FAIR AND REASONABLE PRICE.