Eleyon Construcion LLC

My initial contact with the provider went very well.  Marcel was responsive and seemed eager to get the job done for me.  He personally came to my house to give me an estimate and take the measurements that were needed for the backsplash.  The backsplash was supposed to begin on Friday, March 6th so I contacted him to find out how much material would be needed.  He told me that he lost the paper that he had written on so luckily I had measured the wall space and he was able to tell me what I needed to buy.  I bought a simple marble subway tile and grout.  Instead of starting the work on Friday, he had said he would start on Saturday.  I said that was fine.  He then proceeded to call me to tell me that something had come up and that he wouldn't be able to come on Saturday.  He said he would be there to begin on Sunday.  Annoyed, I said that "life happens" and it was fine.  
     On Sunday he and one of his workers came on Sunday to begin working.  He basically told his worker what to do and he left.  His worker was to put up the tile on Sunday and finish the grout on Monday.  His worker brought the wet saw into my kitchen and began cutting the tile IN MY KITCHEN.  Before I was even able to say anything (I didn't see the saw in the house), my 2 year old son and NEWBORN daughter who were feet away from this started screaming.  I guess his worker took the hint and brought the saw outside.  What a mess!! I couldn't imagine he thought that was ok to be inside my house.  He worked for the majority of the day and Marcel came back to look over his work and pick him up.  He said they would be back tomorrow (Monday) at 2pm so that the tile would have time to cure.  Monday 2pm came and went.  I texted Marcel at 2:30 to see if they were on their way.  No response.  I called 3 times with no answer and I left messages.  I finally received a phone call just before 5PM telling me that he forgo his cell phone at home.  I still don't understand how that prevented him from coming to my house at 2pm.  He told me that he would be over to my house at 6pm to do the grout and extend out the outlets.  6pm came and went and I called him back. He told me he would be there in a few minutes, however he didn't show up until 7pm.  He came alone and once he started on the outlets, he realized he didn't have the correct extenders and that he would have to go to the store and get more so he couldn't finish tonight.  He then told me that he could come tomorrow once his 2 inspections were done or that he could come Wednesday at 10am.  I told him I would rather it be finished tomorrow, as I wanted my house back.
     I reached out to him the following day (Tuesday) and all of a sudden he had a meeting he had to go to so he would have to come on Wednesday.  However, instead of 10am, he would need to come at 12pm.  I said that was fine as long as he showed up on time.  Once again, 12pm came and went. I called him at 12:45 and he said he was an hour away and would be there by 1pm.  I was NOT happy!  Not only was he late, but he didn't show up until 2pm!!!  He and the other worker came and began the grout after the outlets were completed.  Both of them were on their cell phones a large majority of the time that they were in my house.  I felt like it was an inconvenience for them to even be here, but at this point I just wanted my kitchen to be done.  My husband periodically went in to the kitchen to mention several things that needed to be fixed.  There were LARGE gaps above all of the outlets/switches and he was originally going to fill it in with grout.  I told him that was unacceptable so they cut little pieces of tile to fill it in. It looked horrible.  Like a patch job.  They proceeded to finish the grout and pack up very quickly to leave.  I admit, I should have looked the backsplash over better before they left because I would have never given them the full amount!  I was livid at what I saw in my kitchen.  I decided to wait until the next morning to contact him.  At 8:30am, I called Marcel and told him how upset I was with the sloppy work he and his worker did.  The tiles are cracked and ragged, the grout is all uneven, there are random pieces of tile to fill in gaps that should have never been there, etc.  He was not happy to hear this and asked me to send pictures. I sent 13 pictures.  We then began to text and he told me that it was "fixable".  I told him that he put his stamp of approval on this and that it should have been done right the first time.  I was also done with his changing appointments and sitting in my house for HOURS waiting for him.  I wanted my money back.  He said ok no problem.  He then proceeded to call me 3 hours later and tell me that I wasn't getting my money back and that he was "300% sure" I was going to keep the backsplash and just want my money back because it's not perfect.  He told me no other contractor could do a better job.  By this point I had already sent the pictures to 2 other contractors and they were embarrassed by his work.  He continues to refuse to refund my money so now I am stuck with a disaster in my kitchen, waste of money, and the stress and future mess of having to have it ripped out and done again by a true professional. 
     Marcel told me that he was a small company and he wasn't returning my money.  I told him that as a small company, he needs word of mouth business and he just lost the 4 referrals I had already given him and the 2 that my mom had.  I also told him I would be calling the Better Business Bureau and he told me to do what I had to do.  I had called a few of the people that I had referred him to and told him my experience.  They decided not to call him.  There was one friend that I didn't get a hold of.  Coincidentally, she had an appointment with him the next day for an estimate.  He never showed.  He lost that business before I had even spoken to her. 
     I realize this review is long, however I wanted to make sure that the entire experience was shared to truly show Marcel's work ethic and quality.