TRI STATE FENCE & IRON WORKS
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 71% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 14% | ||
| 14% | ||
| 0% |
My biggest complaint would be sloppy work and not being up to my expectations.
The fence and gates were not level and put together without proper connections from the factory. I was not happy...
Although in the end the issues were resolved, they should have been done properly the first time.
Tri-State Fence is a small business and the owner only does the vinyl part of the fence. The brick part was subcontracted out to another company who paid a smaller Hispanic owned company and his team to actually do the work. In fact the only time we had any communication with the owner of the larger brick company was when we were trying to get the initial quote and when he wanted a check. However, we made it very clear that all checks were going to be made out to Tri-State and then only after we had a complete fence.
The Hispanic team did really good work digging the footers, measuring, laying the brick and building the brick posts. They were extremely punctual every single day. If we had any questions or concerns regarding the brick, they were addressed immediately.
As for Tri-State Fence in general, regardless of how well the fence eventually looked, I would never recommend them to anyone. I don't have enough time to describe the true level of frustration I felt but I will try to provide enough information to help my fellow consumers make an informed decision.
Let me initially say that if the owner of Tri-State told me the sky was blue, I wouldn't believe him. On several occasions, he was supposed to meet with us at a certain time and he was never on time and at least an hour late or did not show at all. He had absolutely no consideration for the fact that my husband and I were missing work to meet with him--The absolute worst customer service ever!!!! I know this because I'm in the customer service business.
He didn't even show up the day the job began and the individuals that showed up on his behalf didn't really know what was supposed to happen. It took a few phone calls to resolve this matter.
The Tri-State owner was also supposed to send over a section of fence that was representative of the vinyl we were supposed to be getting but it was actually taller than the fence section were going to be for our fence. He obviously did not clarify how tall the brick columns were supposed to be with the brick layers, because they were building the columns to match the height of the panel. If my husband and I had not been paying attention, the fence would have been 8 feet instead of 6 feet.
The fence was supposed to be completed in 2-3 weeks, but it took 4 weeks.
The owner of Tri-State had a team that did the vinyl part of the fence. The fence was supposed to have been completed two days earlier, but the vinyl posts were not set correctly and were flimsy, among other things. I believe they forgot to fill the posts with concrete to stabilize them. Also, when it was time to hang the gates, the Tri-State employee did not have the proper tools.
When my husband did his initial check of the fence when it was near completion, he discovered that the Tri-State employee had only put one bracket on all of the top rails and there were supposed to be two on each. He brought this to the owner's attention to ensure it was corrected. I arrived home late each evening, so I wasn't able to see the vinyl up close until what was supposed to be the last day.
On what was supposed to be the final day I walked the perimeter of the fence with my digital camera in hand. The brick looked great, but the vinyl was hideous. I took over 30 pictures. I was amazed that a "professional" company had done such substandard work. I don't really know how to explain it except to say that all the cuts on the vinyl looked as if they had been cut without being measured and without a proper tool. The majority of them were crooked and "gappy" at the top and the bottom. I was highly upset and told the owner of my complete displeasure with the quality of the job. I also told him that I should never have had to point out issues that were clearly visible. He obviously did not take the time to check the quality of the work of his employees. Needless to say, he and one of his other guy spent the rest of the day and part of the following day fixing the problems. He told my husband that this was the 2nd time he had to fix problems caused by the guy that he had working on my fence. It sounds to me like he needs a new employee. It is also my sincere belief that the owner put this particular guy on my fence because he thought he could get away with shabby work. He had no idea I was a former Drill Sergeant and my standards are extremely high. I gave him h***!!
Tri-State ultimately resolved most of the issues with the fence to an acceptable level, but as I stated earlier, I could not in good conscience ever recommend them. There is an absolute lack of professionalism. I believe they are involved in too many jobs at once and they are not customer service oriented.
I almost forgot to mention the issue with the quotes. We received a separate quote for the brick and one for the vinyl, however, the quotes did not list the details of the job, nor did they break the quote into material, labor, and taxes. We requested an updated detailed quote. Instead of rewriting the quote with the details, he sent the same quote with the material, labor, and taxes. It took an additional email to get a complete detailed quote.
The one good thing about the vinyl that was used on the fence is that the company from which it was purchased offers a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser.
Hope this helps.
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