Thankfully, I have the opportunity to respond to this rather eloquent but extremely one-sided, and outright untrue account of what really happened. And indeed, I maintain my point of view that this homeowner couple is very unreasonable in their way of treating me and describing the situation at hand. Basically, they were annoyed about the higher price for a difficult job that required much more time and effort than anticipated (because of their desire for the customization of a vent hood that really could not be easily done) and the detail of which I could absolutely NOT foresee, contrary to their claims. Now they are leveling unfounded and vindictive accusations against me that simply cannot stand. In light of the overwhelming amount of good reviews I have received by my customers on this site, it should be obvious that something strange must be going on, and it is obviously driven by different motives than just by the facts. The negative description of practically everything I have supposedly done or failed to do for this customer is in stark contrast to who I am and how I customarily work. But I noticed early on that the wife, with whom I nearly exclusively dealt (and on a very friendly basis as I'd like to add), was very nervous about money and said something to the effect that her husband was "very fixed on numbers" and needed precise numbers for planning. As I will state again below, I NEVER gave this customer ANY fixed price or "quote" on anything - only a rough guess - but instead stated clearly that I was EXCLUSIVELY WORKING BY THE HOUR, which she obviously did not take into consideration and is now obfuscating and denying. It was my impression that she was in fear of her husband about any mistake she might make, so that she constantly consulted him by phone about every little detail of the job, which caused several time delays. What has sadly resulted from this is a disingenuous account by the couple, which causes me real grief, and a totally unwarranted attack on my integrity as a contractor who makes EVERY EFFORT to satisfy my customers - and as I have actually done in this very case! Here is my side of the story: 1. The customer had for over half a year a defective vent hood hanging in her kitchen, and a new unit sitting for several months in an unopened box. 2. With the initial request to install the new unit, the customer contacted me over two months ago, but I did not hear of her again until just a few days ago. She said some other contractor had been called to do the job, but for whatever reason did not do it. I wonder why. 3. Telling me she was in a hurry with this job now (as well as several other items) I quickly responded and visited with her. 4. After discussing some job details (entailing a desired height adjustment for the new vent hood), the customer wanted to know about pricing. I told her right upfront and unmistakably that I do NOT work on a quote or bid basis, but strictly BY THE HOUR (and indicating my rates to her), explaining that in the home repair business there are often unforeseen issues that simply are hard to predict and price in, so that applying my hourly rate would reflect the truest picture of the real work going into this installation effort. But as a general idea I estimated a tentative price - and clearly characterized it as such - of $200, based on the customer's representation that she had purchased a new hood that was height adjustable to her husband's tall figure WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATION. I NEVER gave her a firm price on this job which she now persists I had done. This is simply untrue. 5. Not having had a chance to inspect the new hood at that time, I went by the customer's account that it could just be "shifted up higher". There was definitely NO talk about "cutting" anything at this time. 6. After removing the old unit and unpacking the new, it became obvious that the new one had the identical mounting height as the previous unit. It was possible to shift it further down, but not higher UP as desired by the customer. I informed her about this and together we began a lengthy discussion of how to modify the unit so that the desired height increase could be achieved. We measured and planned together, side by side, how it could best be done and what the physical limitations of this unit were. The customer repeatedly called her husband and had him participate in the planning by video link, explaining to him in minute detail what would have to be done and why. All this was time consuming (and definitely took more than "10 minutes") and all done on my work time. We finally came to an agreement on how much and where to cut the heavy metal brackets. 7. Since I have several metal working tools in my truck I decided to do all of the necessary cutting of the 2 steel brackets and a total of 48" of a stainless steel housing right in front of the owner's house on a portable work bench, even though this job should really better have been done at a metal shop for greater precision, which would of course have caused a higher cost. 8. The installation of the unit under the kitchen ceiling was not easy. The weakened structure of the holding brackets (because of the cutting) needed extra enforcement to keep it from flexing and wobbling. The lady's husband actually came home just at the right time to lend me a hand by putting 4 small screws into the frame and thus speeding up the job. There was no sense of him being annoyed about this. He did it gladly, and it took him no more than two minutes to do it. For me alone, with no helper who would have cost extra money, it was more difficult to lift up the vent hood and affix it to the frame at the same time. But I had figured out a way to do it on my own if I had to. The customer's mention of her husband's "HAVING to screw in the hood" is baseless. 9. The installation of the final external stainless steel cover was also demanding, since on the reduced size of the unit only one of the normally two adjustable covers could be used. I had made a very tight fit between this cover and the ceiling, leaving only a small gap on the very top which I then caulked just as the previous vent hood also had been. Not knowing the intricacies of this hand-made, customized job, the customer seemed to expect a miracle of perfection that was not possible to be provided under the circumstances. In order to create a more finished look I offered to install a small wooden trim section right at the ceiling which the lady DID NOT WANT. So, her complaint about the appearance is baseless. There were also no caulk smudges on the unit. I made sure to wipe everything clean before I stepped down from my ladder. 10. With no more work to be done, I presented the owner with my pricing for the job, which was - as previously CLEARLY STATED - based on my total time involvement. Because of the desired modifications that were outside of anything precisely imaginable or plannable before the new unit was actually unpacked and held up to the ceiling, it was impossible to predict how much work would be required to do this job. Again, I made this perfectly clear to the wife before I even talked anything about money. She misconstrues this now, apparently out of anxiety about how her husband would respond to the increased cost of this custom job. 11. It is true that a small screw fell during the take-down of the old unit into the garbage disposal. I personally notified the owner of this, relating to her that I had tried to get it out but that my hand did not fit into the opening. She told me NOT TO WORRY, she HERSELF would get it out with her smaller hand! Her accusation against me in this regard is baseless. 12. I asked the owner openly if she had a broom so that I could sweep the floor that had just A FEW styrofoam particles from unpacking the new unit on it. She said I SHOULD NOT WORRY about it because her cleaning personnel would take care of it. I also had a large drop cloth covering the entire work area which I carefully removed so that I would not leave any debris. Her accusation against me in this regard is baseless. 13. There was no discussion at all about what to do with the old unit and the parts from it. Most of it was stored in the same box and in the same location as the packaged unit had been sitting for several months (I assume). If the lady had said anything about it, I would gladly have moved these items to a better location or out onto the sidewalk. Her accusation against me in this regard is also baseless. In closing, I would like to repeat that I am more than unhappy about the unfolding of this situation and that it is very uncharacteristic of how I have done work for, and presented myself to, so many other customers throughout the many years in this business. But the unbelievable verbal attacks and humiliation that the husband leashed against me precluded me from offering amends and any additional work to satisfy their wishes. The "money issue" was clearly at the center of it all. The great efforts I made in this demanding customization job were not appreciated at all. I did honest work at an honest price, but was only slammed and disrespected. It surely is a real learning experience for me as well.