CMI Property Maintenance

Rowhouse concrete front steps - second from the top - was badly crumbled in places. My husband hired a relative to patch the step, which spans ours and our neighbor's houses, but the repair was never finished properly and was unsightly. I finally joined Angie's List, and after a thorough study of appropriate businesses and reviews, I decided to contact CMI Property Management. I sent an e-mail of inquiry in the afternoon and received a phone call that evening from business owner, Chris. He agreed to arrive between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. the next morning to see the work needed and give me an estimate.

Chris was punctual, clearly explained the work required, and gave me a very reasonable written estimate. I called Chris that evening to confirm the job, and he agreed to begin the next morning, stating that the work would take two days to complete. The next day, Chris arrived right on time, completely demolished the old cement step, properly anchored and poured a new step, making everything safe until the work could be completed the next day. As promised, the step was finished the next day, and Chris even touched up the concrete on another step and walkway without asking for additional money. The final charge was exactly as estimated.

The finished work looks great, and Chris was very professional, punctual and friendly. I happily added a bit more to his payment with thanks for his thoroughness. I am very pleased with the work provided by CMI Property Management, and would not hesitate to contract them for future work on our home.

Well Over all it went great. I kind off told it all already. CMI is a company that you can depend on for true quotes and you wont feel ripped off. They are punctual and exact. This company knows what they are doing.

I have been promised for 1 yr to have this job finished. CMI Landscaping, (484-461-4298), told me they would remove this overgrown area full of shrubbery and trees and imbedded rocks. The direct quote from the owner, was---"This whole area will look like dirt when we are finished with it"...and for the most part, it was. I was told by the owner of CMI, Chris Izzi, the only problem they ran into were the rocks, big rocks, imbedded and sticking out of the ground. Rocks one definitely needs a machine for. He didn't have his machine to excavate them at the time. He, personally, initiated and made an appt to come back and finish the job, the Monday after last Thanksgiving. I'm still waiting. I have twice been told they will come out and take them away. Once, in a phone call, by Chris himself. In fact, he was totally reassuring, he would be coming here, "..this week..", (which was 3 or 4 months ago). Another time out of the blue, I received a call, that, CMI, would be out that week to finish the job. They never showed up, (that was aboutr 6 months ago)...and they were the only 2 times anyone contacted me, all year. I always get an answering machine and no one gets back with me. OK-----all that being said ...my main problem with this company and the reason I'm here on Angies List, was my last phone call to them. This time I, actually, got through! I got this unbelievably rude secretary/receptionist, (his wife, it turns out). After a year, I finally get in touch with someone---and it is this woman who tells me, now, after a year...I have to pay extra to get those rocks taken out. She tells me, she wont even let me speak to the owner, (her husband), who actually knows what is going on. This lady, (Samantha, I believe), didn't know. She told me for the 1st time, after a yr,-----after promises, after appt's made, after reassurance by the owner -directly to me- a few months back------I have to fork over more money than the $2500, I already paid. For a job, Chris himself told me he would be back, "...to finish..". I was led on for a year to believe this job was going to be finished. I wish I knew from the beginning I had to pay extra for the rocks. I never knew until about a week ago, that I was chasing the wind. A friggin year almost!....ugh. The lesson here is...unless you KNOW the company to be totally professional,,,,always hold that final payment off until you, personally are satisfied, the job is done. I've given up on these guys. They aren't in the Better Business Bureau. Surprise! So my only want/hope, is..... People see what I wrote here and what is lurking out there...and... Hopefully will be wiser in picking landscapers and having better business smarts, than I did. I'm off to a few more consumer sites. T/Y, Angie's List..for letting me get my story out there.

Dennis

_______________________ UPDATE!!! _____________
3 weeks after Angie's List posted my review of CMI------- I received a call from Chris----CMI's Owner----and he has said, "With a waiver...", or something like that, he would come out and finish the job. Not sure what the waiver was about. That was weird. But I stopped him there and told hom, I've already gotten another Co. to take care of the rocks, and the rest of what had to be done. I'm not taking back anything I wrote----but I will say-----at least I got a call back. I appreciated that.

______________________ UPDATE #2 ______________
Apparently there has been a response to my post. The wife of the owner of CMI, wrote back. She said "Do not foul mouth my husband". If she read my review...I never said 1 bad word about Chris, (the husband/owner). Not 1! If she is talking about the quotes, ("There will be nothing but dirt when we are finished"....or.."I'll be back to finish, Mon, after, (last), Thanksgiving"....they are direct quotes. I'm sure Chris will attest to that. Because----it was made NOTABLE, to me---by Chris himself. Was his selling point to me. Though that is not mentioned in Samantha's reply. Maybe she meant,, where I said he actually, .."..did a good job overall", or that I, "..appreciated".. his, after Angie's List, phone call. Neither of which, were of course, again, addressed by, Samantha, (wife). Also---if Samantha read the entire posting---she would've seen---I was waiting for a yr, before, for the 1st time---I was told I had to pay extra. This whole episode would have been unnecessary if I were told, that, 11 months ago. PERIOD! I don't think she got, that---that--- is the entire problem here. As far as harassment--- What harassment?!---I virtually, never talked to anyone from CMI for the whole yr. They NEVER returned my calls..(except for that last time, which resulted in this posting). I called maybe---once a month, and was VERY civil in leaving a message. Get your records out, Samantha, if you don't believe that. Soooo---whose fault is that, that I never got a return call? Geez---call me back and tell me I owe more if I want this, promised, job, done. Nobody ever said a word, in the mail, or on the phone. Nothing! I was dangling in the wind for a yr. That's the receptionist's responsibility----right? The call from Chris, after the Angie's List, posting, was too late. I was waiting to cultivate that area, all year. After I threw my hands up over this CMI stuff---I went looking and then committing to someone else. This is all too bad for Chris....because he seems a good guy. And frankly---if, in the beginning, he told me the rocks were to be extra---I'd have no prob paying. I did appreciate the call....and told him personally and also wrote about it in the 1st update in this posting, as soon as I was finished with the call. And finally, to the secretary/receptionist/wife....... I was on the phone to her trying to find out what the heck, REALLY happened that all of a sudden I was told, after 11 months of being led on, I owed more money...(Sigh.....also, very conveniently, not addressed by Samantha). Remember..all I was told all year, was, "I'll be back to finish". Well..at least I was told that, the only 2 times out of the whole yr I talked with somebody...until last month, and then finally got through and she dropped that bombshell on me. She was raising her voice to such a point where she wasn't listening. I guess I was at that point too. There were about 20 secs of the conversation with her that each one heard neither, while trying to talk over each other. At the end of this unique, (to me, anyway), & exasperating phone call with her... I asked right up front, if our phone call was being taped. I was hoping/praying, CMI taped it...so she could at least let Chris hear what went on. She said, they don't tape calls....AND she flat out refused to put me through to the owner. I took positively, no shots at Chris....and she said in her reply...(down the bottom).. "You can say whatever you want about me, leave Chris out of it. He did no wrong..." Well I never bad mouthed her husband and at worst, I said, SHE was, "rude". Since that is the case---------------------then what are you even writing about, Samantha? I'll even go a little further and say she is very unprofessional to, even, write what she wrote. Using a word like, "Crazy", to describe someone....sheesh...lol. My list of others, in Angie's List...are all, "A's". I'd much rather someone on my list, get praised. CMI was my only problem. I wouldn't have even bothered with CMI on this Great List if it weren't for the wife/secretary/receptionist. Tho in her defense---(if you want to call it that), she was the bearer of the bad news. And---in my eyes---she was the creator of the bad news. Take all that---for what it's worth.
Ahhhh.....if I were only told I had to pay more $$---back when the job was done, in Oct/Nov.....(1 yr ago)
This would never have been posted.

Dennis