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"ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!! We hired Southern Iron Works in November 2017; WE ordered and PAID out of our pocket for the materials to complete our job, which were directly delivered to Southern Iron Works in Mulberry, TN on December 7, 2017. We also paid the 1/3 deposit on December 2, 2017 which is required by Mike Thomas to cover any other miscellaneous materials he did not have in his shop and would need to order. The deposit was also to secure a position on his schedule to complete our job, which was quoted by hime to be 3 - 4 weeks start to finish. Mike Thomas committed to start our job immediately upon receipt of the materials (over $8,000 worth) that we purchased directly - at his recommendation. On April 4, 2018 we decided to pull our job from Southern Iron Works after he continually moved the completion/installation dates out. After going to his shop a several occasions, it was obvious that he was not even working on our job. By that date, he had fabricated approximately 25% of the handrails, but no sandblasting or paint had been done. In fact, he used the excuse that the sandblaster was behind, then the sandblaster had moved his shop and not set up yet. With closer inspection, the fabrication job was no where near what he described it would be. He did not use the process he described. The picketts were not punched through and welded on top and bottom, but just poorly welded on one side with no punch-thru at all. The ornate panels (we purchased) were cut so poorly that we will have to reorder replacements ($84.00 each). The other full size panels he used were badly welded to the point that during transit from his shop to our home, sections of the welded panels broke off requiring that we also have to reorder replacements for those as well. Mike Thomas agreed to refund our full deposit plus the cost of the four panels that were cut in half. He asked for a week to collect some checks so he could refund our deposit. We agreed. That date came and went, so we began contacting him to find out when to expect our money. After a number of days and attempts to reach him, he finally phoned stating he would return 1/2 of our deposit. We agreed to a lesser amount just to settle so we could move on to find someone to take our job. He finally after many more days agreed to the amount we were willing to settle for. To this date, May 10, 2018 we have not seen a dime of our money. He has continually committed to pay us "next week", "next Friday", "first of next week". As of yesterday, when I tracked him down for a face to face, because he would not respond to text messages and did not show up to the date and time I set to meet him, he tells me he is trying to get the money up and is going to give us back our money. When I continued to press him for when that would be he finally said next Friday. I asked if that meant this week and he said no, next Friday for which I confirmed will be Friday, May 18, 2018. We'll see. The fact that he has continually told us he is waiting for checks to come in to pay us, trying to get the money up to pay us, and yet he still hasn't returned a dime of our money, leaves me to wonder about his business if he doesn't have $2,600. Mike Thomas took on a number of other jobs that he put in front of ours. His own employee stated to me that he did not understand why they were not working on our job since the materials had been laying in their shop for months. Note: that was over $8000.00 worth of material that "WE" paid for just laying on the shop floor from December 7 2017 until April 5, 2018, and does not include the 1/3 deposit we paid Southern Iron Works on December 2, 2017. The miscellaneous materials that Mike Thomas was to order for our job, that we paid him upfront for, was never ordered. He told us he ordered it and the wrong parts were sent, but he has never produced an invoice as he committed to do, showing what, amount and cost of those ordered materials. He also never said he reordered the correct parts. He does not return phone calls for days - at best. He does not respond to text messages for days - at best. He has completely ignored us soon after receiving our money for the 1/3 deposit. He comes up with one excuse after the another for why he is behind, but continues to commit to a schedule that he knows he is not going to meet. His own employee stated to me that this is a real problem that Mike has; he promises people he will do something that he knows he is not going to do or can't do. The employee told me that they have lost other jobs for the same reason we had to pull our job - because Mike makes promises to people he knows he cannot meet and jobs are way behind. Mike Thomas himself admitted that he was very bad at scheduling jobs and keeping up with a schedule. In an effort to justify the poor job he did on our handrails, for which he agreed was bad, he stated that he doesn't pay his workers much so he can't expect much from them. That was NOT the story he told when he was trying to get our job. Completely different description of his ability and his workers abilities. Please go on Facebook to see other folks who have had a very bad experience with Southern Iron Works, Mike Thomas, and the poor quality of workmanship, the lack of communication, lack of follow-thru that he promises, lack of making good on his commitments, lack of fix-repair after installation, etc. I am giving this information in hopes to save others from the horrible and costly experience we have had with Southern Iron Works. When I consider that an individual is rated and graded on how well they pay their bills and is granted credit based on credit-worthiness and how responsible they are in keeping commitments to repay a debt, then I feel it is only right that a vendor should be graded and rated the same way on the quality of their workmanship, timely performance as committed, follow-thru, communication, honesty, integrity and respect for the customer. My advice to anyone considering Mike Thomas and Southern Iron Works - RUN THE OTHER WAY! *Note: the Approximate cost of service does NOT include the approximate $8,000.00 of our materials."