Parker Contractors

Mike Parker (the owner of Parker Contractors) and I had a verbal Gentleman’s agreement in the fall of 2010. The agreement involved a $250 charge (which later turned to $200, per Parker) for a minimum amount of work performed at that time, due to an excavator local to the area having some extra topsoil. Parker works with the specific excavator and I was told that if it could be dropped off at my property, it would save the excavator, and presumably Parker some time, as well as save me some money beings I needed topsoil and the excavator would sell it to me cheap. The excavator was paid separately for the soil, but the agreement (also) entailed that Parker and I would catch up with each other in the spring in terms of this $200 charge for spreading the soil, when Parker returned to COMPLETE my yard in the spring. In May of 2011, I wondered why I still had not heard from Parker. It seemed to me that if my job was really that important to him, he would have called by now. Nevertheless, I did have a proposal from Parker, from the previous fall. However, in an effort to save a little money, I decided to omit a relatively large component from my plans. So I called Parker and had him come back out and draft a new proposal. The item omitted was a decorative mound in the front, in which I was planning to incorporate some shrubbery, florals, and mulch into. It obviously entailed soil, my best guess was probably 15 to 20 yards of soil...so essentially, at least one extra truckload of soil. The mound obviously entailed some labor as well, as it did have edging, as well as forming, etc. In pure speculation, if my yard was pristine, front and back, and I simply wanted Parker to come out and build this mound alone, my best guess is that it would cost me somewhere around $1,500 to $2,000 when it was all said and done, maybe even more, but certainly not less than $1,500. Realizing that in the aforementioned scenario, Parker would have to bring all (or at least some) of his equipment out for one mound vs. all of his equipment already being here for a job that entailed more than a half of an acre, I knew that I could not expect the aforementioned amounts to be shaved off an updated proposal. In other words, I new I was going to see $1,500 to $2,000+ shaved off the new proposal But I was certainly expecting upwards of $1,000. When Parker mailed me the proposal, it was only $105 less than the previous proposal. There was absolutely no change to the volume of soil, and no change to the labor. Furthermore, there were also some additional items that in my mind were very questionable in regards to the proposal itself. Grass seed had gone up 43% from the last proposal, just 6 or 7 months ago. Same thing with fertilizer, only IT went up 58%. That's certainly not what the retail store are representing. Last year, there was lime on the proposal, this year there is none. In total, we have 6 down spouts with sub-terrain drain tile. Out of the 6, three of them were buried by our excavator during the renovation process in 2010. Therefore, we are 100% certain that the drain tile was here, as well as exposed (in need of being buried) during the time Parker gave us his first proposal in the fall. Yet, nowhere on the proposal did it make any mention of it, and beings we distinctively remember speaking to Parker about burring them, we just assumed that it was not itemized and that it was worked into the first bid as labor, etc. However, this year, 150 feet of drain tile suddenly appears on the proposal. These items among others raise red flags for us and we decide that we needed to express these concerns to Parker. Due to the fact that I know very well how these telephone conversations tend to go with contractors, and because I knew that we had several concerns regarding the proposal, AND because 9 times out of 10 in the past, when I would call Parker, it always seemed like he would have a poor connection with limited connectivity (which obviously I don't blame him for), I decided to write him a letter voicing our concerns instead. I figured this way he could read it on his own time and get back to me when he had a chance. In fact, I assumed that there must be some mistakes on the proposal and that we would have this rectified in no time...but I was sorely mistaken. Two days later, Parker called me, absolutely besides himself. At one point in the conversation I even asked him, Mike, what about the letter was so bad? The only thing he could say in his defense was, I've been in business for X amount of years and I ain't never got a letter like this! At this point I was really in dismay. Because I felt that I went way out of my way to make this a professional letter which expressed what I felt, with several viable concerns. I even went as far as to mention in the letter that I was in no way, shape, or form attempting to attack his integrity or quality or workmanship. In hindsight, after sharing the story and showing the letter and the two proposals to several different people, it seems like a lot of this may be the result of his actually having to READ for five minutes and/or the fact that I had some pretty good points in which he was not able to supply any real good answers to. In fact, he was so upset on the phone that he refused the job, claiming he was no longer interested in it, claiming that with this many headaches before the job actually even begins, he can only imagine what lies ahead. Headaches? Because of some relative questions regarding his proposal? I'm sorry, but I beg to differ! Additionally, Parker informs me that he's going to go ahead and send me a bill for $200 for the work performed in the fall. I informed Parker that I did not agree with this, because our gentleman’s agreement had everything to do with that $200 as it did him completing the job. I asked Parker how it could be fair that I am expected to hold up to my end of the bargain when he can simply wash his hands of the agreement and walk away? He exclaimed, I'm going to send you the bill and if you do not think it was worth it or don't feel it was fair, you don't have to pay me for it! Needless to say, it really wasn't necessary for him to advise me of this. When the bill arrived in the mail a couple days later, I wrote return to sender on the envelope and dropped it back into the mail. A couple days later, I received a voicemail from Parker indicating that he received the parcel back in the mail. He went on to say that he was going to file a contractor's lien on my home (which he has every right to do if he feels there was some wrong doing in this case...we can certainly address it later in the courts if I do not agree with it and wish to contest it). Parker also went on to say that he also has a cousin who is a debt collector of sorts (his exact words) and that I can expect him to also be at my house by the end of the week, which I considered to be a personal threat against my life, well-being, and/or my property. Then on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, I was informed that Parker arrived at my home and physically threatened my 74-year-old father who I had doing some odd jobs around the house, as well as my property. My father showed signs of being visibly distraught and openly/indubitably anxious over the endeavor. He said, I don't even know anything about any of this and didn't even know who this guy was, nor did he know me, and I've never heard anyone yell so loud, swear so much, or talk to me that way in my entire life, in fact, he said, I don't think the entire neighborhood has probably ever heard anyone yell so loud. Parker also told my father that if he didn't receive his $250, MARK MY WORDS, I will take that tractor off that trailer (as he pointed to his truck and trailer) and one of these nights, that tractor will come right through this garage and right into the new living addition (where people are of course now sleeping). Needless to say, this was also considered to be a very serious threat to life, well-being, as well as property. So far, as of yesterday, getting a proposal from Mike Parker of Parker Contractors (and subsequently questioning its contents) has resulted in the aforementioned endeavors, and filing a report with the Marathon County Sheriff's department. I would not encourage anyone (at least anyone who knows how to work simple ratios and proportions to calculate things like percentages and particularly if you are the type of person who likes to inquire) to work with this guy or hire him for anything! He definitely walks the walk and knows how to come across as a real nice guy with sort of an honest country-boy persona about him. But at the end of the day, particularly if things don’t go his way or after you question his proposal, he turns into a crazed lunatic with a mean streak 10-times that of a hungry hyena, and he doesn't care what's in his way...your kids, your elderly father (or mother, I'm guesing he doesn’t have any preferences), it doesn’t matter to him! How a guy like this even manages to STAY in business is beyond me. He just sticks to the limited jobs that do not entail questions, I'm guessing.