LLOYDS OF CHARLESTON

Description of Work: Home was part of charity home tour and a lot of exterior work was done to ready the house for tour. Large keyhole driveway in back was laid out to receive crushed rock surface. Called Lloyd's regarding estimate and pricing. Was told to measure area and rock would be delivered mid morning on Saturday that would spread to depth of 4" (if I recall correctly.. it's been 3 years this past month and I just joined Angie's List). We obtained measurements squaring off area to assure that we would likely have excess of material. Lady to whom I spoke took measurements and told me how much it would be per ton or pr sq foot.. I don't remember what measure she used... all I remember was that she figured the amount we needed and gave me the cost. I either delivered a check to their office or gave it to the driver that morning.. whatever they asked us to do. We asked that the material be delivered mid morning on Saturday because we'd rented a Bobcat and a young man to operate it... both by the hour. The operator arrived early and graded the area. About 11 Am we called about the delivery that had not arrived. ... no answer. Around 12:30 after frantic calling, the owner did answer the phone. He said he only had one driver and that it would be on the way. I honestly got the impression that we'd been forgotten. A little while later the trunk arrived and dumped the material.. It was obvious to all of us.. including the driver that the amount of rock was probably 1/4 -1/3 of what was needed. A frantic call back to the owner saying that there must be some mistake elicited a very rude retort that his office lady NEVER made a mistake. There was some discussion of square feet vs tonnage.. or some other terms they used... But that was not the point.. I furnished the measurements requested and she said we owed $$$ for rock to cover that area at a depth they recommended. That was what we paid for. Was told he would call back. Several frantic calls later with no answer, I switched phones and did get an answer. Reduced to tears at this point, I pleaded with him to deliver more rock which we would additionally pay for. I was defiantly told that he would have to get another driver "if he could" (the first driver apologetically had said he would go back and check on the situation) and that he would not take a check because "he didn't know if we would stop payment". I assured him he could call the head of our bank at home to vouch for us.. I'd furnish the number.. He finally agreed to deliver more rock if I paid then by credit card number. I think we spent about $1100 more via credit card on top of the approximately $600 by check. The courteous driver did return with the rock shortly thereafter and it almost covered the area. We were able to spread it so that esthetically it looked okay. We obtained additional rock after the tour date through another vendor to completely cover the area . Perhaps the amount we paid in the end was for the correct amount of rock... but how were we to know? That isn't our line of work. We furnished the measurements and somehow the communication within the business failed. We paid the amount asked for. He confirmed that the measurements I'd given were the measurements listed. That is not what we got.. and the treatment we received from the owner was the rudest ever encountered in my over 60 years. We're not disputing the amount.. although after that exhausting experience I didn't even check with another rock dealer... But we certainly did not recieve what we were told would "do the job" on the first try.... We wound up ordering twice that amount again for the second load.. and even that was not quite enough. Plus, we had to double the time needed to rent the Bobcat and the operator. He was here all day until dark doing what he originally estimated would take only half a day. Not his fault that he spent half his way waiting....

Description of Work: I've used this company in the past to provide rocks necessary to rework the septic tank drain fields at my mothers house. They were very professional and they had the best price on the rocks needed for our project. Their truck driver called to let me know that she was en route to our location. When the load of rocks arrived, they were on time and was exactly what was ordered. Because of this past experience, I decided to look them up again to see if they stocked any mulch which I needed for my my landscaping project. I wasn't surprised when they said they had the mulch, but I was very surprised when they said their price was $19.50/yd. when everyone else that I called wanted $27.50/yd. The mulch was not sub-standard nor did it look old. It looked perfect! They delivered the mulch on time and their driver dumped the load exactly where I wanted it.