Gilbert Drywall & Custom Interiors

My husband met with Sam Gilbert in the latter part of the week and agreed to have him start on Monday AM at 9AM. Nice guy, professional website/card/van, nice portfolio, great price... my husband hired him on the spot! At 9:15 AM on Monday AM, however, I received a call from Sam stating that he would not be there that day. I found calling 15 minutes AFTER he was spsd to be there inconsiderate... though I realize that things happen. He stated that he would, instead, arrive the next AM at 9. 9 AM Tuesday AM came and went. FInally at 10:15 that day, I called to see if he was still coming- he indicated that he was on the way. He showed up over 2 hours late. The fact is: the actual work that he did was great. He did a great job finishing the drywall. It is smooth and ready for paint. His prices are extremely affordable for the quality of work. As a local St. Louis Realtor with 10 years of experience... I am always looking for skilled craftsmen to refer to my clients. His work was affordable and quality. Sadly, as good as the work was- I could not recommend Gilbert interiors to my clients. Despite the great finishing, his cleanup was nonexistent. I work with contractors a lot and have never seen one leave a work site without attempting to clean up after themselves. I realize that he gave us a great deal, but they left piles of debris everywhere. He not only didn't haul it away, he didn't even bother putting it in a trash can. The major issue however, Sam Gilbert will not supply us with a receipt of his work?! My husband and I have contacted him a MIN of 5 times to get a receipt- he won't get back to us, plain and simple. As this is part of an insurance claim, we have to have a receipt/lien waiver. He isn't returning phone calls or following through so we assume the likelihood of getting a receipt from him is nil. Horrible. Highly unprofessional behavior-I am extremely disappointed as the work was fantastic and the price was great. I have several other drywall projects needed and would have hired Sam in a second had his professional follow-through been nearly as good as his work. As he was advertised on Craiglist and preferred cash payment, I assume that he doesn't want a paper trail of this transaction- hence refusal of receipt. That being said, he should have made that clear to us from the get-go. The mess I could deal with for the great deal that we received. The lack or response/receipt/lien waiver however? Not acceptable for a professional contractor. UPDATE ON MARCH 5: Sam finally returned my husband's emailed request for a receipt, dated 2/25 and supplied us with one. Appreciate him doing the right thing!