ANDERSON CO

On or about Nov 5th, 2010, Anderson Construction poured concrete steps down from the side of my porch with a connecting walk and pad for a total of $1870. They did not show on the day they said they would, but rather a day later, and didn’t call first; they just showed up and started working. To my shock, they poured the steps right over some red cedar mulch about 6” thick! This was incredulous as mulch is lightweight and easily compressed, and would only have taken a few seconds to sweep away. I talked to Dennis “Hap” Anderson, who runs the company. I diplomatically addressed my concern that the concrete would compress the mulch and crack. He immediately became very defensive stating he had been doing concrete for xx number of years, and he didn’t think there would be a problem; he was rude and hostile. Two months later, the concrete compressed the mulch and a large crack appeared all the way across at the base of the step, and the steps had pulled away from the wall. I first called Anderson about this on January 15th and talked to the son, Dennis Anderson jr. and reported what had happened; note that I did not want to deal with Hap as he was so unprofessional. I asked that the step be patched and repaired quickly so ice would not make the matter worse. He stated that they would be out to look at the step as soon as possible. I continued to call Dennis over the next FIVE months trying to get them out to evaluate and repair the step. Dennis continuously lied to me by stating that they would be “out next week” or would “call next week to get on the schedule” etc. These were all lies as not only did they not come out during this period, but never did they call. NOT ONE TIME. Zero phone calls were returned by Dennis Anderson, and I feel a fool for believing this man so many times. In middle-late June, they apparently came out to look at the step. They did not call, but just showed up when I wasn’t there, and decided the step could not be repaired, but needed replacement. Again, I went through several weeks of excuses until they showed up, UNANNOUNCED, and started jack-hammering the step. Apparently this was not the right jack-hammer, so they were unable to remove the step. A day or so later, they again returned, UNANNOUNCED, and again attempted to remove the step. Finally, on the 3rd unannounced visit, they removed the step. To my surprise, (at this point it really should not have surprised me) I discovered there was no schedule to replace the step. Since this time, I have called Hap himself, Elaine at the front desk, and have even visited the company which turns out to only be a couple of minutes down the road. As of today, July 11th, I have received nothing but weak excuses, and am STILL NOT ON ANY SCHEDULE to have my step replaced. From Elaine and Hap, I am getting the same run-around that I received from Dennis for over five months, and feel that my step will never be replaced. Note that it is dangerous to not have the step in place as it is a 3 ft drop where everyone is used to having a step. Despite having yellow plastic tape in front of the drop, my four year old son still went over the edge one night and, undeservedly, skinned himself up. In short, I know that Anderson Construction is incompetent, unprofessional and believe that there is no intent on replacing my step. Unless my letter to the BBB has any impact, I have no choice but to contract another concrete company to replace the step, then take Anderson to small claims court for reimbursement. This is not fair to me as I have done nothing but be very reasonable and polite, and this has been a major drain of my time. Regardless of the outcome, consumers should be warned not to do business with Anderson Construction for the above reasons. Reports are also being submitted to the BBB and Service Magic.