Axel Ortiz Landscaping Services

Axel was fairly quick to come out and give me an estimate and break down the cost in the manner I requested (given I was sharing the cost with neighbors, he broke down the cost per each side of the fence). After getting the estimate from him, he was non-responsive for quite some time. I attempted to e-mail and call him a couple of times, but it wasn't until I gave him a deadline and ultimatum that he replied. He then informed me he was involved in a big job and it would take him longer to get to my job, but offered to let a friend come look at the job and do it instead (he asserted this was someone who he'd just employed to work around his home and did excellent work). Given how he framed it, I assumed this person was working for him and stated I didn't have a problem with it as long as he was willing to guarantee this guy's work. He didn't really respond to this, but indicated he would put the guy in touch with me. Again, time passed with no contact. After several weeks, I again contacted him and he indicated he hadn't been in touch because he wasn't willing to guarantee the guy's work, but didn't communicate it to me directly and didn't consider that I might be willing to wait for him to finish this other job, so just stopped communicating. Given he had given me the best estimate and he came recommended by a friend, I stuck with him and we set a date that he would start. A week before we were to start, I contacted him to confirm that we were still on and find out how he wanted to work things. He called me later that same day to indicate that he was planning on starting the next day, asserted this is what we had originally agreed to, and asked me to get 1/2 the money for him in cash (which he suggested I could leave in an envelope outside for him to find later after I'd left for work), as well as get a shed cleared out such that he and his co-worker could move it away from the fence. This was late afternoon on a work day, so I informed him there was no way I could get to a bank, there was no way I was leaving the money in an envelope for him to find, and it was doubtful I could get the shed emptied given how late I'd get home from work. After talking, he agreed to start on the date I'd remembered and came during the weekend to get the first 1/2 of the payment. Initially, he wasn't going to give me a receipt, but I insisted. He noted he didn't have any on him, so I asserted I would get him a piece of paper to write it on. The day work was to start, he was on time and had someone working with him, but informed me he had hurt his back such that he was going to have some difficulty working. He also came down with a stomach flu a day or so after beginning the job. It was originally estimated the job would be complete in 2-3 days. In actuality, it took him 1 1/2 weeks to finish the job. He started the job on a Wed, but wasn't able to complete it before went on a vacation the following Monday. It still was not completed upon my return from vacation a week later: some of this was impacted by rain and some impacted by unforseen complications with the job (e.g., had to dig up more concrete than expected as there was concrete in the ground still from the 2 prior fences). Despite repeatedly noting that I had 2 major interests in this fence replacement (i.e., privacy and the prevention of my dog from escaping), I initially ended up with a fence that provided less of both. In particular, he left several inches of a gap at the bottom of the gate such that my dog could have easily dug and squeezed underneath. After complaining, he made a point of shoring the security issue up sufficiently, but I'm still left with a fence that is several inches lower. I also found that while working, someone had broken one of the wood shingles on the side of my house. No one said anything about this to me, but upon noting it, Axel indicated he would replace it and paint the shingle. He did this in a relatively timely manner, but also without communicating with me. He asked someone helping him to come by the house one Saturday morning and it turned out to be a day I at a work meeting. As such, upon completion of my meeting, I found a voicemail from my neighbors noting in a worried voice that someone unfamiliar was in my backyard. Given the delay in responding, they talked to this person and found he was working for Axel. Upon calling Axel while driving home, he could not fathom really why I had a problem with this even after I explained it to him. Also, one of the neighbors noted he was using untreated wood. When I asked him about this and if he was going to treat it upon completing the fence, he explained that Home Depot had screwed up his order, given him untreated wood, he didn't notice it until he got it 1/2 unloaded at my place, so decided not to take it back and I would have to treat the fence myself. When I questioned this and noted how it was his responsibility to take care of it, as well as noting if he had a receipt still from Home Depot he should be able to get recompense, he agreed to handle it. After he had finished everything, I still had some cleanup (e.g., trash from McDonalds, plastic and broken saw blades left in my recycling bin). Part of me would like to give Axel an F just for the hassle and the poor communication. I didn't, however, because he did come in pretty much on budget and the fence actually looks pretty nice. He also took care of the problems I pointed out and did run into some unexpected difficulties. In addition, I assume there are aspects of this experience that are relatively common in these situations, but this is the first time I've used a contractor so was shocked at the lack of communication.