The Basement Men & The Concrete Man

"Thank you so much for your positive report. It was a pleasure working with you on the project, not only are you a true professional, but on a personal level you are kind, considerate and accommodating. I enjoyed working with you - and I am most appreciative for clients like you who not only respect the process, but respect the people who are working for you. It was also wonderful to work in your home. Although I didn't have much contact with your husband, he was always pleasant, cordial and welcoming. And your children were adorable, sweet and always put a smile on my face. Working with clients like you is what makes my job wonderful and rewarding. I am thrilled that you are happy with you new finished space, and I hope that you and your family enjoy it!"

"If this individual showed interest in receiving an “actual” estimate on the project that she is referring to, I would have been more than happy to provide one. I had come out twice to meet with this client and emailed over a proposal after our first meeting. After the second meeting, I realized that she was more interested in yet another “free estimate” rather than wanting to do any work. I have been around the block long enough to realize when I am just spinning my wheels and that you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. The other aforementioned contractors probably moved on for the same reasons. Either way, looks like I dodged a bullet. Good luck in your future endeavors."

"The project that this report/client is referring to was done in 2004 – over SEVEN (7) years ago – a fact this individual omitted from the report, furthermore, they did not find us through Angie’s list, they were not a member at the time and neither were we. We have not heard from this client since our last project was completed with her in 2005 – no complaints, no concerns, no correspondence at all until yesterday (May 16, 2011). The client called on the owner’s cell phone and the owner of the company was patient and kind enough to discuss the situation with her. It seems we are being blamed for chipping glass mosaic tiles in a shower that was installed using ALL OWNER SUPPLIED MATERIALS (meaning the homeowner purchased the tiles and grout and we simply installed them). The shower has been used a great deal over the past seven years, and the homeowner has never re-grouted or maintained the shower in any respect. Unfortunately, there is something called wear and tear – be it on cars, appliances, clothing, homes, anything that is used and certainly anything that is used and not properly maintained. The Basement Men can not be held accountable for chipping tiles on a shower, especially in a situation where the shower has not been properly maintained and the warranty on the item not only exceeds the contract that was signed, but also exceeds the warranty on work and materials as outlined by Illinois law. We believe that this client is aware of all of the facts, which is why she has chosen to slander us on Angie’s list in an attempt to tarnish our solid reputation. Regardless, we have contacted our attorney, and he will be handling this claim from here. Because you can’t use Angies list as a outlet to bad mouth people who don’t “stand behind” a project that was done over seven years ago just because you don’t get your way! Obviously, we have many satisfied clients and repeat customers who know that the Basement Men is a company of professionalism and integrity."

"Thank you so much for taking the time to write this nice report for my company. It was a pleasure working with you both, and I hope that we can take care of that basement project for you when you are ready! If you need anything else in the meantime, please do not hesitate to call - I would welcome the opportunity to work with you again!"

"Thank you for taking the time to write this report on our behalf - we really appreciate it and hope to work with you again! Thank you for all of the referrals!"

"It was truly a pleasure working with you. I am so thrilled that you are happy with the finished product - having clients like you make my job enjoyable and worth coming into the "office" for. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to call me, I would love to work with you again!"

"Thank you so much for taking the time to post this report. I really appreciate your support and it was an absolute pleasure working with you. I hope that if there is ever something that you need in the future, you will not hesitate to call me,"

"I believe when reading these Angie's List reports, one must consider the source. In this particular case, the source was an individual who did not want to pay for much, but expected the world. When a potential client nickels and dimes, constantly reminds you that they DO NOT WANT TO SPEND A LOT OF OF MONEY, but wants more work and better quality materials then they are willing to pay for, the best course of action is to walk away - Unfortunately I did not. In this case, my men and I did the absolute best we could with what we had to work with, and frankly, we did a great job considering the circumstance. We may not have done everything that was on the original contract, but that is because the client wanted to exchange certain items for others, and then expected additional items for free. We absolutely tried our hardest to satisfy this client and all of his unreasonable expectations, but you can only return to a job site so many times and try to satisfy an unsatisfiable person before giving up. We tried everything and did an excellent job considering the circumstances that we were presented with - this is not a client who is reasonable and trustworthy, and certainly not a valid source."