I'm livid and need to vent.

[RoxMonster]

We're getting a privacy fence put in. When the guy came out to give an estimate, he said the job would be two days, back-to-back. When the scheduler called us to actually schedule it, he said they'd be out two days in a row and even commented they would button up the fence OVERNIGHT so we could let our dog out. When we talked to the workers yesterday and asked what time they'd be here TODAY, they said they couldn't tell us for sure--we have to call the office--but probably first thing.

OK so 9:30 comes and goes (they were here at 8:40 yesterday). So I call the office to ask what time they are coming out today and the scheduler guy says, "Oh, if we just put the posts in yesterday, the cement needs time to cure or it can mess up the fence. It won't be until at least tomorrow, if not Monday." Um, WTMF?

I tell him that no one EVER told us this; everyone has said all along it would be two days in a row. He's like "Oh I'm sorry that was miscommunicated." So I ask him if it's tomorrow or Monday and he says he doesn't know.

I'm pretty pissed off. Our dog gets so scared when strangers are here, that H and I have arranged our schedule so someone can be home with her while they are here. We scheduled the plumber to come out tomorrow specifically so we didn't have fence people AND the plumber all here at once with our dog going nuts. Plus the temporary fence is OK, but not very sturdy so I have been taking her out on a long leash just as a precaution. There's no way in hell I am waiting for Monday for this.

H said he is calling on his lunch break (he is the one who has been communicating with the fence people up until now) and demanding they come out and finish this tomorrow, which I don't think is unreasonable, considering the circumstances.

[puppyluv]

I would be livid too. When we put in our fence, the panels went up one day after we poured the concrete for the fence posts. Not being able to use your yard for a week is unacceptable when they told you it would only be 2 days.

[nomad100]

Um, what type of concrete did they use? "Molasses Slow" curing concrete?

When we had our fence replaced (granted it was a straight 72 foot run), they dug and set the posts in the AM, and put the panels up in the PM. Done in one day. They used quick cure cement and it probably had 2-3 hours to cure before they attached anything to the post.

This whole, it needs days to cure is BS. They probably overbooked their crews and so are trying to bump you because another job is bigger (this happened to us with the tree trimming company we used). Or they are just a jackass company.

[snickers]

I would be really annoyed too. Not cool!!!!!!

[nsl]

That would infuriate me. I'd be reminding them that this is the sort of thing that garners negative reviews on Angie's List if they give you any more trouble about coming out this week to finish the job.

[mrsjuleshs]

It definitely does not take that long for the cement to cure. DH and our neighbor got the fence built between our houses really quickly. I'm going with they overbooked and are now trying to cover their asses.

[sergey]

Yeah, that's some shady bull right there. Ask about a discount for sure.

[RoxMonster]

Yep, it probably is jerking us around because of finishing other jobs. Like I said in my other post, we had gotten postponed once because of weather (and we had a lot of rain at the end of June), so I'm sure others got pushed back too. And, if they had been up front when we talked to them and said, "We can put the posts in Wed., but can't finish it until Friday at least," it would have been irritating, but I would have planned for it.

We have had the absolute worst luck with service people since moving in AND these are all personal recommendations we get from family/friends/our realtor who have used these companies and had good things to say. But the painters, plumber, tree trimming company and now fence company have all really let us down and have all been personally recommended. With the exception of the tree company, their work/products were fine, it was their customer service/reliability that sucked.

[ECB]

Yeah- I'd demand that they come tomorrow.  And I'd also tell them that TWO people told you "2 day" job.  It's not a miscommunication.  They are jerking you around.