J R ERNEST CONSTRUCTION CO

I was given this name as a suggestion for a local contractor for my 830 sq ft remodeling job. When I contacted the owner, John Ernest, I explained I had a very short time frame which to get another bid if he was interested and which he agreed to. I gave him a copy of my drawings which I paid for, and a time frame in which I needed the bid from him. On the Friday it was due, Mr. Ernest called and asked if he could have till Monday which I agreed to. He showed up timely on Monday for our appt., presented his bid which I thanked him and advised I would review and let him know my decision. After full review, his company was the 2nd highest, and I did not choose his company. The day of my decision, I received an invoice in the amount of $90 for printing costs of additional copies of my plans that he had made to give to his subcontractors in order for them to give him prices. I advised Mr. Ernest via email, that I was surprised to get an invoice from him and I was not informed of this "charge" upfront and would not have agreed to this fee. No other contractors (5) who bid my job charged me for this, so I explained that I expected him to mark this bill as no charge. I received an email from Mr. Ernest stating that ?your surprise is confirmation of your inexperience and our misjudgment of your character?. I took this as a personal affront. I found that very unprofessional and uncalled for. He stated it is common practice for the "owner" to provide the necessary documents i.e. drawings for distribution to the subcontractors. I have been nothing but upfront and honest in my dealings with him to this point and do not expect a "free ride" but do expect to be informed up front of fees. He is the professional who does this type of work day to day, where I as a homeowner, do not remodel my home every year, and would not consider an estimate to be fee based unless advised in advance. This was never mentioned to me. I stated that I felt this is a deficit and very misleading in his dealings with potential clients by his company not informing them of upfront fees and/or charges. I again asked for confirmation that he has marked this bill as no charge and have not received a response yet. I cannot attest to the company's overall work since I didn't get past the bid process.