TONY MARQUEZ POOL PLASTERING INC

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I found Tony Marquez Pool staff to be very responsive from my first inquiry to my last follow up.  The sales and scheduling staff (Ed and Claudia, respectively) were knowledgeable and helpful, professional, and quick to follow up.  We chose Tony Marquez based on both feedback on Angie's List in our area and references from friends in the community.  The workers were on time each day, completed work on schedule, and cleaned up each day after work was completed.
The only aspect that I was not 100% happy with is the tile set along the dividing wall between our spa and pool in that the tiles were not cut at all so that 6x6 square tiles were set along a curved wall, leaving large spaces of grout.  I wish we had been given advice to choose smaller tiles (eg 1x1) for that section (appreciating it would have been a greater cost) because aesthetically it would have looked much better.
Tony Marquez was not the lowest bid but we appreciated that none of the work was subcontracted, including Pebble Tec installers.

Even though it has been 5 years since our experience with Marquez Pool Plastering, I am still seething and take any opportunity I can to get the word out about this unprofessional company.  Our pool contractor hired them to install the Pebble Sheen in our pool.  It was a blue color and when they were finished there was a trail of blue-coloring down the side of my house to the gate and in various other places around the pool on our brand new cement deck.  We had paid over $2k to have the concrete colored and stamped.  I contacted my contractor right away and he showed up the next morning to meet with them when they came to finish the job.  They obviously knew what they had done because they showed up with power wash equipment.  After much discussion I was convinced by the workers that power washing would solve the problem and not hurt the deck.  WRONG. It deeply pitted the cement to the point that lime leached up out of the concrete and turned the concrete white in different areas.  Not to mention that it totally ruined the expensive color we had added. 

In addition to this, we had paid extra to have the pool drains moved to the side of the pool so there would not be an ugly drain in the bottom.  Without talking to the contractor or to us they carved a "fake" drain on the bottom of the pool and added a drain cover to it.  Their excuse was that some cities require a drain in the bottom so they added the fake one......at the least, a deceitful act.  Now, that "fake" divot and cover collects dirt and is discolored.

I went through 6 months (all the way to August 2008) of trying to deal with them.  Most of that six months was making unreturned phone calls.  I did have a few contacts with them.  They sent out a couple of guys that had "rented" equipment in their personal truck to color my concrete a "dark color."  They didn't ask us if that was what we wanted and they didn't tell us that they were sending anyone. When I tried to ask the gentlemen if they were licensed or professionals they indicated they didn't understand me.  Luckily I was home that day and I sent them away.

After a while we decided that we didn't want them anywhere near our property and so I asked if they would simply reimburse me for the cost of the concrete color and the cost of moving the drain.  I only got one letter from them stating that they had successfully been providing "high quality service" for 35 years and customer satisfaction was important to them.  So in 35 years, they still didn't know what cities required bottom drains?  We also spent six months trying to get customer satisfaction from them.  In the few conversations I actually got to have with someone at the company, the only other solution I was offered was that I was told that my contractor was responsible and that the entire deck needed to be jackhammered up and replaced.  Can you imagine what that would have done to the integrity of my new pool, new block walls and new stucco on the house?  And how could my contractor be responsible since he didn't get the blue coloring on the concrete to begin with????

I am sure I could have taken them to small claims court and won but I had an ill parent that I was caring for at the time and to be honest, they wore me down.  After six months of phone calls, letters and minimal response I only wanted it to be over.  I still feel so much disappointment, as we had saved for 27 years to afford this project and when it was done this incident took away our excitement and satisfaction.

As this was part of a larger backyard remodel, scheduling was important and they slipped the schedule at the last minute creating some problems. Biggest fault was in their lack of communication about status of revised schedule and ETA of their crews. The final result was up to our expectations. An added note about the process: it's dirty and noisy! Don't plan on a leisurely day at home watching.

The job took about 5 working days. They were right on time and did a nice job of clean up. They still needed to come back and put in new deco-seal around the pool.

After they left, we noticed that our pool vacuum hose was missing. They must have thought that it was theirs by mistake. We called our account rep and in a few days he found a hose that he thought was ours and returned it. To make up for the problem, they put in the deco-seal at no charge. This was very nice, as I'm sure that the charge to put in the deco-seal would have cost 4 times as much as a new hose. As it turns out, the hose wasn't ours (it was a bit older and not quite as long as ours), but it worked, so we didn't mention it again to them.

The pool and tile look beautiful and overall I'm extremely happy with the job.

They did say that we could get a $500 discount by paying with cash. We did take advantage of that and paid in cash. A couple weeks later we had a contractor out to build a patio cover and he had to get a permit to build the patio. When the building inspector came out, he inquired about the recent pool replastering. As it turns out, the $500 we saved was them not filing a permit for replastering the pool. We had to do a bit of fancy talking to get him to ignore the recent pool work. If I would  have known that a) you need a permit for replastering and b) the money I was saving by paying in cash was really them not filing for a permit - I would have elected to not save the money and get a permit.

I was given an estimate shortly after they came out to take measurements. As soon as we were ready to start the job, they scheduled us for the next week. They drained the pool on Wed. Thursday they send several guys out to remove the old plaster and tile. Friday the were to install tile, but there was a delay due to tile not being in stock. The tile came in on Tuesday and the installed the tile. On Wednesday they installed the new PebbleTech. Thursday they did an acid wash and began filling the pool with water. The pool was filled by Thursday night. It looks beautiful.

I think it went quite well. We had 3 companys out to give us bids originally but this one was the only one that totally followed through and stuck with us. There was a lot wrong with the pool and we wanted ideas of how to approach the problems. Our representaive was the best at coming up with ideas of how to deal with the problems. Because there was a lot going on in our life it took us a long time to get all the details agreed on and we felt our representative was always patient and professional. They did what we asked and started when we asked. When they actually started the job, they were amazingly efficient. Everything looks good now. We have no complaints and would recommend them to others. They may not be the least expensive- we really don't know about that. But we are quite satisfied now and hope this work will last many years as really only time will tell about this kind of work.

I 1st called Tony Marquez in the summer. Ed came out and quoted me $1200 more than the other quotes I had received from 4 other pool replastering companies. I had a hard time deciding on who to choose as there were not many reports on Angies list for replastering. Most companies had only 1 or 2. I knew nothing about it and was worried about getting ripped off . The 1st bad thing was I left a phone message for Ed if he could go down on the price at all but he never returned my call. I tried 2 more times emailing and a call but nothing, not even a thank you but no thank you! So I gave up. I put off the entire project until the winter and I decided to call Tony Marquez back to see if I can deal with another sales person and ask about price. The other companies had a few neg BBB reports so I thought they were the safest bet since I didn't see any bad reports. They lowered the price about 1k for winter pricing but I still had to deal with Ed but he apologized for ignoring my calls so I decided to go ahead with the project. They showed up right away and started work, all seemed fine. Tile and white plaster looks really nice but It got toward the end and I asked Ed if he could refer a pool service as I had none. He said no. I then asked if there was anything I needed to know or do. He said no just call a pool guy. On Dec 23rd the workers were there working then I noticed it was quiet and looked out my window and they were all gone about 2pm. No one told me they were done or leaving. I had paid the 3rd deposit but by mistake did not pay them for the tile upgrades I had asked for and a time clock I added on which was $530.00, this turned out to be a blessing because they did not install my timer. I left a message at the main office and on Ed's phone. No reply. I have a time stamp on my cell phone showing I called and left a message asking please tell me if you are done or are they coming back? can I let me dogs out? & if there's anything I need to know or do. No reply. I thought, well it's Christmas so they will call me after. Never did! So a week later I found a pool guy finally, off of angie's, he came over to give me a quote and informed me that I had needed to do a 1 month long process called a start up. It costs about $550.00. Tony Marquez NEVER told me anything about this or what a start up is. It was not in my contract accept a few words in the small print that says "We are not responsible for start up", (which I thought meant starting up the filter and running the equipment) They were supposed to include a step by step guide explaining what a start up is, according to the plaster association . I wish I had called them before I chose this company! The pool guy said my plaster was ruined because it sat for so long before a start up was done. The plaster dust settled and hardened and was sharp and could cut your feet. It had to be drained, acid washed, then refilled and start up done again. $1200 more!!! The worst part was the way they told me that they would not fix anything until I paid extra money 1st. I had to pay more money for them to fix their mistake and the water bill was very expensive too which I had to agree to pay! They kept saying it was not their responsibility to inform me what a start up was and they told me to call a pool service so that was all they were required to do. The plaster assoc. told me this was ridiculous and it was their responsibility to include this guide in my contract. I held my ground and refused to pay them until they came back and installed the timer and fixed the plaster. They did come back and acid wash the plaster and install time clock which I then gave them $550 , but I was also stuck with a huge water bill. They are still trying to get me to pay them $330 more! I said no. All they had to do was inform me on the proper care of the pool, and let me know when they were done. I never asked for anything but information but once they got their money they treated me like dirt! They truly couldn't care less about their customers. My pool guy told me some horror stories that a few of his customers went through with them also. I even asked them to let me know when they would arrive and leave so I could let me dogs inside and out because they will run away, but they couldn't even do that! My dogs got out one morning when they showed up at 7am without letting me know, they opened the gate without knocking on my door 1st to just give me a warning that they were there. Total disregard and horrible customer service.

They did a great job. Alex, my rep, was always available for my questions. Their price was very competitive.

We were very happy with this company. Everyone we spoke to communicated what they were going to do and when they were going to do it. We first met with the salesman, Ed Fechner, who was a complete gentleman. He gave us all the information needed to make decisions on how much work we wanted/needed to do and then walked us through each and every step of the way. The girls in the office were also very helpful in answering questions and coordinating the day and time that we scheduled the crews. They use their own employees and every worker was polite. They arrived on time and were neat in their work habits. We would definitely recommend this company and these people.

Perfectly.

The workers were on time. John Marquez came to see the progress every working day and to translate our questions and concerns to the Spanish speaking employees and to give instructions. The job started and finished as per contract agreement and all questions were answered. The tile installer did an excellent job. The office employees were responsive. The only disappointment is aesthetic which is the color of the seal of the coping. General Liability and Workers' Compensation Insurance certificates were provided prior to the onset of the job as per our request. I already handed out John's business cards in case someone else is considering pool remodeling.

This project was long overdue, there were chunks of plaster missing from the pool, several cracks, large areas of discoloration, and "roughness" in the old plaster. I called Tony Marquez Pool Plastering for a quote on different replaster/remodel options. They were very professional and sent an estimator out a short time later. I decided to try the PebbleTec option as the colored plaster has only been lasting about 5 years or so before it starts to fall apart. PebbleSheen looked interesting because the finish was smoother than PebbleTec, but its warranty was shorter than the plaster warranty, plus the fact that this finish was substancially more expensive than the PebbleTec. If the PebbleTec does last the 15 yrs of its warranty, than it will have been a good long term investment...plus it looks cool! Overall, I am very happy with this company, the whole project went very smoothly. The front office kept us informed of what was going on, everything progressed according to the original game plan. We started draining on a Monday and finished on Friday, started filling the pool that morning, and had a pool party on Saturday afternoon (July 4th). The only "glitch", was on "tile day" they called me to say that my tile was out of stock and not going to be available anymore. I don't know what the problem here was as when I picked the tile out from the vendor there was not a problem. So it helps to have 2nd and 3rd choices. Anyway it all worked out, I think that the alternate tile that I went with, even though it was radically different from my first choice, turned out well, perhaps better than my original choice. The crews were very efficient, started around 7:30/8 am and generally finished by noon. They always cleaned up their mess. Dealing with this company was a pleasure, nice people, efficient, cleaned up, work turned out very nice. I highly recommend Tony Marquez Pool Plastering. "Price wise" all the bids that I got were surprisingly close. The positive ratings on Angies List, discussion with Tony Marquez's rep, Ed Fechner, and the fact that this company is a licensed PebbleTec Applicator, is what ultimately influenced my decision to use this company. It was a very good choice.

They were prompt in responding to me and were very professional. The workers cleaned up after themselves and worked quickly and were on time. I would definitely work with them again. The only issue was that the salesman sometimes forgot to communicate to the construction team on what was agreed, but to his credit all that was needed was a reminder phone call and it was immediately taken care of. One of the main reasons why I went with this company was that the salesman came out and considered my needs and the surroundings of the house to make his suggestions of work to be done. I have had other estimates were the person suggested things to make the pool a great pool, but also suggested things that i didn't need done.

Professional. Showed a lot of options. Showed up on time and finished on time.

Neat and professional during progress, perfect follow through.

HE WAS A RELIABLE, SAVVY, HONEST, FAMILY BUSINESS. EXCELLENT QUALITY & WERE RESPONSIVE TO ANY DEFECTS IN WORKMANSHIP & CAME OUT SWIFTLY TO CORRECT ANY PROBLEMS THAT WE HAD.

I can't say enough good things about them. They were neat, prompt and professional. I would certainly hire them again, all things considered.

Project finished on time and on budget. One cavaet: once the pool was finished one small aspect of the job still needed to be completed - the replacement of patio bricks removed during the job. It took 2 weeks to get this done after we had made final payment and even then the workmanship was not consistent. Would have given this company an ''A'' on quality had this aspect of the job been handled better.