Rio Grande Fence

If I could give them less than 1 star, I would. Shoddy work, installed incorrectly, bad materials, gate installed backwards, boards not even nailed down, broke irrigation lines, damaged house siding, threw garbage and cigarette butts on property, unbelievable mess. Blew off making repairs to their own work and is demanding payment. Never engaged a worse contractor than these people.

Don't use this fencing company unless you want a worthless fence! Estimates were questionable, then they just show up whenever they want. Poor quality materials, poor workmanship. Have been out 5+ times to try and resolve their mistakes and still isn't right. Gaps in cross boards, some boards and pickets not even fastened with nails, just hanging there; split pickets, left unattached to end 4x4s, used two different kinds of pickets on 2nd or 3rd rework, so had to come out again and replace again. Unequally spaced, pickets shrinking. Worst fence building experience ever. But they are sure to ask for a check every time they come out!

unknown

I was run around through the quoting process, so I should have known better. The man who estimated my fence went on vacation and I had to practically beg them to take my money and build this fence. Although the first guy had estimated the fence already, they had to send another guy to RE-estimate since going on vacation somehow nullifies the first estimate. That guy came out, confirmed the previous estimate. I told him at the time that I needed advance notice so that I could make arrangements for my very large dog on fencing day. About a week later I got a phone call at 8 AM saying the crew was on their way, which I declined and asked that they SCHEDULE it. Three weeks later they came out, but not at the time they said they would. We ended up being their second stop of the day, so I got home and we had no fence in the back yard at all. Rio Grande Fence had absolutely no contact with us at all to set expectations, so I was left with no fence to retain my 80 pound dog for a full day. I called and left a frustrated voicemail for the company and they treated me like a total idiot because I don't have fences built in my back yard everyday and thus did not know what to expect. At the time they owned that they did nothing to set expectations, and I apologized for my earlier tone. The day they put the fence up they did a poor job. The crew stripped out the screws which hold the gate and didn't tighten the side that is attached to the house, so it was (and still is) very loose. They also left without reattaching my neighbor's fence. They were notified of this the same day that the fence was completed. We were told that they would put us on the schedule to fix it and we were told by the person who came to pick up the demoed fence parts that they would come out the same day to fix it. We have heard nothing from them since then. A couple of weeks after the fence was finished my husband called to understand when we might expect them back and the person who answers the phone very tersely indicated that she "just answers the phone" and could not help with timing but that she would have someone call. That never happened. I called the second salesman who re-estimated my fence after the first guy went on vacation and he was on vacation too. I explained our situation to him and he promised a return call the next day but I have not heard anything since. I feel like we were pretty flexible considering the fact that they do not have customer service as a part of their business model. They still have not fixed our fence, contacted us to indicate that they plan to fix it, or acknowledged anything at all. They have our money now, and we have a below average fence that could have been easily fixed with a bit of customer service. I would highly recommend that you find another vendor if you need a fence - there are far too many options to settle for this level of service. Give FenceKeeper a shout - I wish I had worked with them instead.

They showed up on time and did the work. Everything looks fine.

I called the company 2 times after the estimate and references were checked and did not get a call back. The 3rd time I called I let them know that it was the last call. I finally got a call back when I was not home and when I returned the call, I never heard from this company again. I guess they just have too much business. But a return call to a potential customer is very important. Your reputation depends on it.

Overall, it went ok. Clive was the best part. He gave me quote and was my prime contact. The workers were nice but did not clean up after themselves. Their work was very good. The quality of material was good. I would use them again but be clear up front how long the work would take. A 2 day job ended up 4 days and I made them come back to clean up their messes. But it all worked out and my fence is beautiful!

After leaving 3 messages they returned our call, but they were just too expensive so we didn't use them.

Clive the salesman was very accommodating, provided good advice and a fair quote. So we engaged Rio Grande to perform the services in the quote. Estimated timeline was they would start within the week and it would take a week to install, so definitely done by Thanksgiving which was 3 weeks away. The installation crew did not show up when we were told they would. So I called the office, Clive said he would get on it. Then he said he was going on vacation. The installation crew turned up a couple of days later and removed the existing fence posts. However instead of digging them out of the ground as requested they just cut them at ground level, leaving the old concrete in the ground. Then the crew installed the posts and left. They did not talk to either my husband or me prior to leaving. So we waited and waited and for a week we had posts but no fence. So I called the office and spoke to Joe. He told me that the crew would be out the next day. They did not show up. So I called back. Oh right, says Joe all surprised, the crew will be out the next day by lunchtime, he says. So lunchtime the next day passes and they didn’t show up, so I call back. No-one was available to speak to me. I leave a message; no one returns my call. More calls and eventually they come and install a fence. The fence is unpainted and has a bent gate. When my husband questions this, he is told “Oh just use a chain to close it”. He says “No, don’t install it. Please take it away and come back with one that isn’t broken”. Meanwhile they arrive so late into the afternoon they complete the welding of the fence in the dark. The next day when we go out and inspect it, you can tell. The welding was poor. I will summarize the next bit, more calls, more lies ….we will be here xx and no one shows up…..eventually we get a new gate and they start to paint. However the painter comes out late in the afternoon and rolls on the paint. We expected it to be sprayed on. Of course he finishes in the dark. The next day the paint has bubbled and started to peel already. By now Clive is back and he comes out and walks the front yard with my husband. The solution put forward is to sand all the paint off, touch up some of the welding and repaint. We say no. We don’t want the entire neighborhood covered with black paint and quite frankly we don’t trust the workmanship. In the end it is agreed that they remove the fence altogether. I would also add that no-one in the crew could speak enough English that we could communicate with them. Unfortunately neither my husband nor I speak Spanish. Whole job took about 6-7 weeks. Not 2.

Mario returned my original call two days after I first contacted them. we arranged for me to leave early later that week so that he could see the space and give me a bid. He never showed up and called the next day stating that the sporadic rain was a deterrent. (I had been in the rain earlier that day with another contractor to show him the job.) Mario and I finally met and he said he'd have the bid to me the next day. It took two days. Meanwhile, I had contracted with someone else because it took too long for Mario to return my calls, set a meeting, miss the scheduled meeting and finally get the bid in a timely manner. It felt like he just wasn't that interested in the job. Too bad, because he rated very well on Angie's List, and that's why I called him.

Great experience - Clive was on time for estimate appointment and very responsive with bid and any questions we had. Crew was punctual, polite and very professional. Great quality and great price!

Their price was good and they did a good work. They did what we expected. Their price was half the price of other 2 bids.

Project was completed on time and within budget.

We are very pleased with the work and would happily do business with this company again. We received service above and beyond what I expected.

The 2 man crew came out on Monday morning, took down the fence, and installed the new posts. It took about 2 hours. The next morning they came back put up the rest of the fence and gate. It took about 3 hours. The finished product is exactly what we wanted. The cap on top of the fence gives it a finished look. The extra height is welcome since we are on a corner. Everyone we dealt with (from Clive the estimator to the crew) was extremely nice.