Frontier Fence Co., Inc.

Disappointing Experience with Frontier Fence: A Long-Time Customer's Perspective I have been a loyal customer of Frontier Fence for over 30 years, having initially had my driveway gate installed by the company. Over the years, they have repaired the gate several times after accidents, replaced the mechanism once, and even replaced the stabilizer. I have always found Tom Miller, the founder, to be a person of integrity — reliable, courteous, and deeply invested in the quality of his work. Unfortunately, my recent interactions with the company have left me feeling deeply disappointed and frustrated. Frontier Fence's website is filled with self-congratulatory phrases like "passion and dedication," "very professional," and "we strive to meet your expectations." Based on my previous experiences, I would have agreed with these statements. However, after my recent encounter, it is clear that these words no longer reflect the service the company is providing, especially under the leadership of Tom Miller’s son, Jim Miller. When I reached out to Frontier Fence with an urgent issue — my gate being severely damaged by a delivery vehicle and left half open — I was shocked by the response. I spoke with Jim Miller, who first told me they had too much work to take on the job. I asked if someone could at least come out to either take the gate down or open it to provide access to my driveway, but he refused. Jim then asked me to send a photo, which I did promptly. From there, the situation deteriorated. Jim indicated that he would offer recommendations for other vendors, but two days later, I had not received any communication. When I followed up, asking for an estimate (as the delivery vendor requested one), I was met with a rude and dismissive response. Despite being a long-time customer, Jim excoriated me for sending the text after hours. I explained that I had been busy with work, but his response was to accuse me of miscommunication, culminating in a remark that he no longer wanted my business. I called to discuss his tone and the situation, hoping for an explanation, but Jim stood firm in his stance, stating that this was simply a job they did not wish to take. When I asked to speak to his father, Tom Miller, I was told that Tom was retired and unavailable. This interaction left me disheartened and perplexed. After decades of loyalty to Frontier Fence, I never imagined that I would be treated with such disregard. To be dismissed in such a rude manner is not only disrespectful but harmful to the reputation that Tom Miller worked so hard to build. I’m sharing this experience in the hope that it will serve as a wake-up call to the company. Customer service should always be the cornerstone of any business, and it’s clear that, under Jim's leadership, that has been severely lacking. It is not just the refusal to help; it is the lack of empathy, professionalism, and respect for a long-time customer that is most troubling. I have recommended Frontier Fence to numerous people over the years, including contractors and other business owners, but I can no longer, in good faith, continue to do so. A company’s reputation is only as strong as its ability to serve its customers, and if this pattern of behavior continues, Frontier Fence risks long-term damage to its public image and customer base. I sincerely hope that the leadership at Frontier Fence — including Jim, his brothers, and any other family members involved — will take this feedback seriously. The attitude that "the customer is always right" may sound cliché, but it is a timeless principle that has helped successful businesses thrive for decades. Without it, Frontier Fence may find itself losing much more than a single customer — it risks losing the very foundation of what made the company great in the first place. I remain deeply disappointed by this experience, but I hope this review will inspire change for the better.

I contacted several fencing companies for quotes, and Frontier was the only one who actually came out to survey the site and see what it was I needed done - others gave an estimate on the phone or, in the case of one, surveyed my fence line with Google Maps (their quote was twice Frontier's by the way). Frontier's installers were prompt and professional; they arrived exactly when they said they would and finished up in just under two hours, tying the new fence into my existing corner posts beautifully. I'm very happy (and my wife is very happy too, which may be even more important!). Best of all, their quote was also the best price I received for the job.

It didn't go well when the "quoter' smarted off to my wife and became disrespectful. I wasn't home so I didn't get a chance to address him. Rather than call him up and light him up I decided to not use this company. Sad part is I used him at last house and paid out 25K for perimeter fencing. They lost a lot of money because one of the brothers who owned the company was unprofessional. I got someone else and paid them 35K instead....worth every penny.

Excellent craftsmanship. Plan early. It took almost 3 months to get the job started. Once started, job took 3 days.

What a shoddy job. The gate doesn't close great, there were holes in the fence where it wasn't lined up properly with the gate. The wood is piecemeal on the gate and they cemented over one of my sprinkler heads.

Good surprise! They were able to do the job in a much shorter time frame than they originally thought. The workers were punctual and asked the right questions - following our direction to the "T"!. The price charged was comparable to other companies in the area. We were happy to use a local company that has been here in Escondido for decades....

Frontier Fence had the cheapest price and replaced our fence quickly, however, their overall lack of communication during this whole process has been very disappointing. Carol was very quick to respond to calls to schedule an appointment for a price quote, and Jim was punctual when he arrived. He offered a fair price to replace 3 out of 4 sides of our fence, and we decided to chose him for the job based on price and reviews on Angie's List. After we submitted the signed contract, the communication became very bad. We e-mailed to Carol a list of questions from my neighbors, but didn't receive answers after we had called their office twice after a couple days. That was the first red flag. We also scheduled the fence replacement more than a month in advance, in order to secure the start date, and they said it was doable. It wasn't until the Wednesday before (July 22nd), that Jim called and confirmed the start date of Monday (July 27th). Up until that Wednesday, my neighbors had no idea when the fence replacement was going to begin (a problem, since they had to make arrangements for their pets). On Friday afternoon (July 24th), Jim called and said they can't begin until Tuesday (July 28th). Understandable, but very last minute. We also asked Jim and Carol (twice by phone, once by e-mail) if it would be possible to set aside 5 panels of the old fence for my neighbor who had asked for them. Jim and Carol assured me multiple times that this would be done. When we came home the afternoon the fence replacement had begun, we noticed that they had hauled away everything. No panels were set aside for my neighbor. Although Jim and Carol had apologized for it, it was still very disappointing that they didn't keep to their word, especially since we had asked on 3 separate occasions. Lastly, our GFCI breaker tripped and failed the day the fence workers were here. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but the workers never notified us that it tripped when they were using their power tools. Our bathroom outlets hadn't worked since the day the workers put up the new fence. We didn't think much of it, until we went out to do yard work and realized that the outdoor outlets, including our sprinkler system, are on the same circuit and haven't been working. So, our lawn hadn't been watered in 2 weeks and our grass began dying off. This was beyond frustrating. We also had to replace the GFCI since it couldn't be fixed. When we told Carol about our issue with the broken GFCI and lack of notification from the workers, we didn't receive much of a response from her or Jim. This doesn't surprise us one bit, considering the fact that they had already promptly cashed the check we wrote to them. Overall, we're very disappointed with the service and communication from Frontier Fence. They offered the best price and they replaced the fence quickly, but the trade-off is terrible communication and lack of care for the work performed. Would not recommend or use them again.

They were very professional, punctual, and did what they said they would do. On the initial install the snake wire was not low enough to keep small animals and snakes out. When I called, they were very responsive, and sent the crew out to redo it, no questions asked. I highly recommend them.

They were efficient. They were helpful. They did a good job and were quick. They met all my requests. The price was average and the same as everybody else.

Was installed very professionally. Designed fence to work with existing landscaping. Recommended black vinyl coated chain link to be less visible and blend with landscaping. They were right on with their recommendation. Very pleased.

Frontier Fence was wonderful, I am totally satisfied.

Working with Frontier Fence was not a good experience. I should have known better than to work with them as the sales process did not go smoothly with several misunderstandings but I was lured in by the fact that they are an established local company and their low (not lowest) price. How could any company that has been in business since 1955 be bad? What a mistake. The installation was sloppy and their attitude was poor. They did not use common sense at all. Now I'm stuck with a fence that I paid a premium to get but is poorly installed. What is scary is that I got several bids on the job, almost exclusively from licensed contractors, and all of them but one was really flakey. The guy from Creative Fence was the only professional in the bunch on the sales side. I wish I'd have spent the extra money to go with them.

The estimate and design were handled easily and efficiently by Jim Miller. The quote included everything I requested at a fair price. The work was scheduled within the time frame promised and work began on time. The installers, Jose and Luis, were friendly, respectful, and asked good questions regarding some details for the installation. They were on time and worked well as a team. The fence was completed on schedule and looks great. In any contact with the office, they were attentive to my questions and concerns. They have been in business for many years and are confident in providing a good product. I would definitely use this company again.

They were friendly and responded well to our request for additional work. They also went out of their way to make sure we were satisfied.

We solicited four estimates for the work to be done, and Frontier's estimate was the most professional and accurate. It was also reasonably priced (about the same as one other estimate, and ~25% less than the other two). Additionally, they were available to begin the work within a matter of days, while the others were estimating anywhere between 4 and 6 weeks before they could begin the job. After we selected Frontier, they began work on the project within a few days (as promised with their estimate). On the first day, Jose Jr. and his crew arrived at the scheduled time, and installed all posts effectively and efficiently. At the end of the day, Jose alerted us to some trees and other brush that would need to be removed in order for them to install the fence. After allowing one (scheduled) day for the concrete posts to set (and giving us time to clear the brush), Jose Jr. and his crew returned and completed the job. When we added a minor change to the job, Frontier was able to accommodate the change, and Jose Jr. was able to take care of it. Jose and his crew were quick and very professional at all times. The work was done well and the job site was appropriately cleaned afterward. This was a very positive exchange, and based on our experience, we can recommend Frontier Fence.

Basically, I like everything they've done. I'm really impressed with the quality of the materials, the friendliness and the interest in doing a good job by the installers. I think they're reasonable in pricing.

They were great. I had the bids and I had to over other bids and I like the way they did the blueprint of it. I like the guy, whose name is Jim Miller. From what I read on Angie's list and also they are local. There is a little glitch with one of the gate and they were out the next day. They really did a beautiful work, cleaned up, very happy. The bid was not cheap, but it was very fair. I had rocks in my yard they had to drill hole in them. I would use them again in the future.

It went great. They were attentive to our needs, including adjusting the height of the fence to fit existing fence. They came right away and it was right before Christmas! We were VERY satisfied with the whole operation, from the quote to the clean-up. Wish we had known about them before we had the entry gate put in!

Frontier was very professional and easy to work with. They provided my neighbor and me with a high quality fence that more than met our expectations. We received 3 quotes for this job. They were very punctual. -The Frontier representative arrived before the scheduled appointment to quote the job. -On both work days they arrived at site before the scheduled start time. -Frontier provided a detailed quote the day after they came to the house and replied to emailed questions in less then 24 hours. They use direct employees, not contractors to do the work. Their employees are professional, fast, clean and care about the quality of their work, yet made sure to answer any questions were asked. Frontier had a backlog so we had to wait a few days to get a quote and > 2 weeks before they could start the work which wasn't a problem in this situation. Overall Frontier is easy to do business with and did an excellent job. I have already recommended them to neighbors.

Frontier came out a few times for estimates (adjust to fit our budget ). Agreed upon type of replacement gate the company came out took measurements and within the week our new gate was done . They also removed old gate so we did not have to deal with the debris.

Everything went well. We changed the fence sizing a couple times as we changed our minds about the amount of our 2.5 acres to fence. Mark was very good about readjusting his figures.

Came on time, worked efficiently, neatly and cleaned up all the mess when finished.

They were honest when they told me the price. I went back to them twice before the work was done. I could have gone a little cheaper with the work but they stand behind their work. I did have people come out and give estimates. I feel good about the fence and the work. They were punctual as well.

What a disappoinment! The decorative gates arrived on an overcast, humid day. The paint was bubbling and still damp. A year later, that paint has chipped and flaked. Frontier won't repair. While the installation was done on time, quality was sacrified and that became my problem to solve. The second area, a long stretch of chain-link fences were repaired for about $1,000, wasn't done to the contract. (i.e., some not done)! Dog escaped.... twice. Frontier came to fix this error. If they were contracted to do work, but don't, they return to complete. There's your minimum sevice standard. So, if you dare to use Frontier, WALK THE JOB at completion, REJECT wet paint items, have them WAIT to paint if it is raining or damp, and in GENERAL _ BE CAREFUL BECUASE THEY DON'T CALL BACK!!!

They had creativity in solving our situation and problem. Their suggestions were good and it didn’t add a lot to the cost.