JCG Construction and Demo

I found JCG on Craigslist and inquired about leveling and hole filling for my yard. I noticed they did concrete work as well so I inquired about adding a slab on to my patio in the backyard. I initially spoke to Nathan on the phone and they promptly came out to take a look and give me an estimate. Initially I was very impressed. He said he had been in the business for 10 years, but they were just starting up their own company and they were only 2 months old and were looking to expand their client list and get a good reputation. He explained to me every detail of what they would be doing and why what they would be doing would be better than what someone else would do; ex: drilling into the current concrete and adding in rebar throughout, expansion joints, etc) making it very sturdy and less likely to crack in the future. I was excited to get the work done, and once we worked out the price, I was positive I was going to hire them and got in touch with them right away to set up a date for start. Just to preface, I understand that no one can control the weather, especially in Oklahoma. If it rains, concrete work will be put off and I completely understand that. So a few days after I hired them, Nathan came out and did the digging, and I expected the pouring to start shortly after. Of course, Oklahoma decided to dump some rain down, so almost a week later, they came out later in the after noon around 5-6 pm to frame it up and get it ready for pouring. It rained on and off throughout the next few weeks. There were several dry days in between, and I was consistently either emailing them or calling them trying to find out when they were going to be pouring, since we (and our dog) were pretty sick of having a pit in the backyard. I understand that after rain, the grass and ground is still wet, and they could potentially tear up the yard bringing the concrete to the backyard, but at this point, we were just ready to get it done. Finally I was able to get them to come out and pour. They showed up around 9 am and got right to work. They spread more dirt in and got thing ready for pouring. I don't know if they didn't realize I was home, but I was keeping an eye on things. I noticed they started pouring without ANY rebar whatsoever. I popped my head out and asked if they were planning on putting in the rebar or if they were just pouring and he said just pouring. I told him that is not how it was explained to me, and they needed to drill in the existing concrete and put in rebar. He looked visibly irritated and got on the phone, and soon someone started drilling in for the rebar. I was in the room right off the patio, and I could clearly hear them complaining about yelling at each other about the job. I feel like they were making me out to be unreasonable for asking for what they promised me in the first place. Sorry you got caught trying to be sneaky, but be professional! So they started pouring, and I brought out some cold bottles of water for them to try to ease the tension. They finally got everything smoothed out and told me they'd be back the next morning to do the leveling and hole filling. They were here bright and early before 8 am and got the dirt work done, took the check and left. That weekend I had a buddy in construction come over and he asked me why they didn't put in any expansion joints. He explained to me why I needed those, especially with such a thin, long slab. I emailed them about it and asked why it wasn't done, especially when they said they would do it during the initial consultation, and I never heard back. I don't expect to hear from them ever again. They got their money, and are done with me.All in all, I feel like the work they did was just sub-par, not what I had been promised during the initial consultation. The fact that they thought I wasn't home and were just going to pour the concrete directly with no rebar shows me they were trying to cut corners and save themselves some money. I know I got a good deal, but don't OFFER me that good deal if you truly are not going to be able to make enough profit out of it. I would rather pay a reputable company more money and know I am getting the work done right then save a few bucks and trust some newbies who make me feel like I am being unreasonable for asking for what was promised to me from the start. So would I recommend this company to anyone or hire them again? No. There were too many hiccups and cut corners throughout the whole process and I feel they were being dishonest and ended up angry at me that they got caught.