Pro-Enterprises LLC (Pro-Cut, Pro-Scapers,..)

I needed to have my driveway sealed and had two spots in it that needed to be filled in because of bigger cracks/pothole.  I originally got two quotes and went with Pro-Enterprises (Pro-Coat) because I thought they'd be better.  They were the more expensive bidder.  It took them a few weeks to get out, but eventually they sent a crew to fill in one crack, but they left the other untouched, though it was pretty obvious.  They were supposed to come and seal the driveway another day so I called and mentioned the unfilled crack.  The lady told me ok, she would make a note of it on the order, and I thought it would be taken care of. 
They called the day before they came and the next morning two young guys showed up and did it.  They did a pretty good job but seemed to be in quite a hurry, and there were a couple of spots I think could have gotten a thicker coat, but generally it was pretty good, EXCEPT, they left the crack I had called about.  I emailed them and asked what's up, and was emailed back and told they couldn't fix it without removing and pouring more asphalt, which would be very expensive. 
When I had the other guy bid, he said he would fill it in, made no mention of asphalt, and quoted me a lower price.  I guess you don't always get what you pay for.  My biggest gripe is that I wish somebody would have said something about the fact that they wouldn't be fixing it, especially since I called specifically about it before they completed the work. 
Generally not impressed. Also a little weird that the business is Pro-Coat LLC doing business as Pro-Enterprises.  Most reputable companies don't need numerous trade names to operate under.

TERRIBLE! Pro-cut came out to my property to do the work we contracted for on 6/12.  When they left, there were weeds left that were not pulled and shrubs untrimmed.  The edging around our grass was done and around our stones (at this time the stones were intact).  When we returned home on 6/13 the mulching was done and laid OVER the weeds, the shrubs were still untrimmed and we had 3 broken stones.  I sent an email of dissatisfaction to Cory (the project manager) and he stated that he would come back on 6/14 to look over the job.  While waiting to hear back from Cory (never happened) I got an invoice from Lauri stating they would not charge me for the additional man hours and mulch they invested into our project if we receive a check for the attached invoice by the end of next week.  I emailed back and said that I was not going to pay the invoice until I had resolution to the problems I had with the job that was done.  I got the following email back from Jason Boehlke – owner: Sheri - I will answer your questions below: 1. I would like to know what additional man hours and mulch was used on our project. I would like to know how much time and more mulch was used and who ok'd the extra time mulch invested on our project? On 6/12, we had two men at your property from 8:30am - 7:00pm plus we must charge for one way of drive time (30 minutes). This is 22 man hours for the first day which we performed bed maintenance (12.5 man hours), bed edging(7.5 man hours) and trim shape (2 man hours). We spend an additional 3 man hours weeding beds on 6/13 then mulched the property with 18 yards of brown enviro mulch. One of our employees had to leave early on 6/13, so we were planning on stopping back on 6/14 to look over the project and make sure everything was completed. Cory stopped back with Zach and Quinn on 6/14 and spent an additional 2 man hours pulling weeds and spreading an additional 2 yards of brown enviro mulch to make sure that job was complete. 2. I would like to know why the mulch was laid over the weeds that went unpulled. We pull as many weeds as we possibly can in the time allowed. If there are smaller weeds, our employees are instructed to spray with Pro-Deuce (Round up with persistence) prior to mulching. 3. I would like to know what you expect me to do with the 3 stones that were broken by your staff. The stones were broke prior to us being at your property. Zach used a knife to remove weeds around stones. If Zach were to have broke a stone or cause damage to someone's property, I would be the first one to know. Besides that, the three lannon stone steppers probably cost at most $5 each from any landscape or stone supply company. 4. I would like to know what trimming and shaping was done for our project and why some of it was left undone. As far as I know, all of the trim shaping talked about was performed. $75 for trim shaping is very low, so I am assuming that you did not have much to trim. 5. Most importantly, I would like to know why there is a lack of communication between us (the customer) and you. It is my understanding that Cory was going to make a trip out here yesterday and I have not heard back on the outcome of this trip. He stated that he was going to personally remove the stakes in our yard and they still exist. Cory did send an email last night. I asked if he received a response and he had not as of late this afternoon. We tried to remove what stakes we could. They are driven so far into the ground that they are virtually impossible to remove without breaking them. We tried to remove them with a sledge hammer. This was also not part of the original contract. Please take a look at the contract for bed maintenance. We quoted for $400 of labor which is billed at $40/man/hour (under "Bed Maintenance" on the contract), which equals 10 man hours. We are forced to charge this way for bed maintenance so we are being paid for the services we perform. We spent a total of 17.5 man hours on bed maintenance, which equals $700.00. We also spread an additional 2 yards of mulch to make sure there was adequate coverage in all beds. I am not sure what issues need to be resolved after the guys stopped back yesterday. I will call it a wash for the stones that we didn't break for the additional man hours and mulch used at your property. If we receive payment by 6/15/2012, I will not charge for the additional services performed.  I responded: Jason - Perhaps your contact needs to be rewritten so your customers are not fooled into pay for things such as "drive time" when they think that actual work is being performed. That is not written in your contract at this time, I don't think it's fair that that I should have to pay for that time. I signed off on $400 of weed pulling, and $300 of bed trimming and a $75.00 charge for trim/shape and $900 in mulch. I did not OK any additional work to be done. So if your staff supposedly did extra work here, it was not approved and would have to be called a wash as I didn't approve it. No where in your contract does it say that I would have to pay for any extra work that your staff would decide upon themselves as necessary or any extra mulch. So, I'm afraid that would have to be a wash regardless of when I pay this bill. The stones were most certainly NOT broken prior to the work being done here. Your staff knows that and we know that. I had ONE broken stone prior to the work being done here. So you were not the first to know of any stones being broken. I walk those stones and I know what their status is/was. So your attempt to pull a fast one over me is not working. Sorry. If the lannon stones cost $5.00 I would like your company to pay for and replace those stones -- all 3 of them. Again, the 4th one was already broken so you can exclude that one. Also, your landscaping staff must need training in what is a weed vs a plant or flower if you claim the weeds were all pulled or sprayed because I still have weeds. Also since we are talking about re-training, you staff seems to be very unclear as to when work can be done... I have Lauri asking me to fax over the contract so work can be done at my home the same exact day or the next and then when questioned, Cory says we need to wait 3 days. Which is it? I would like to know what was trimmed and shaped here. We have one of these pine trees that are supposed to be round and have round balls and it wasn't even touched. Cory did NOT send me an email after his trip here. In fact, I could not tell if he came or not. It wasn't until I received an invoice that I responded to any email. So, you are right, Cory did not hear back from me as there was nothing to respond to. I am not calling this job complete or a wash until the 3 stones are replaced. The weeds, stakes and untrimmed things I can live with. The fact that your staff is dishonest and all over the place and needs re-training you need to deal with. If you would like, I will send you photos of the broken stones, the weeds and the tree bush that needed to be shaped. Let me know how you would like to proceed. I would also like to know if this is how you treat all your customers?  His response: If you would take the time to read the few things that you signed on the contract, it would be very easy for you to understand.The stones were never removed from the lawn. Do you think we jumped on them until they cracked? They were broken before we started the job. We do not need pictures of the stones, we have all of the pictures that we need.Thank you for the advice on training my staff. It sounds like you have a degree in Horticulture Studies and should pursue a career in this field.This is not how we treat all of our customers. I will just treat you the way that you are treating me. It's only fair. Now, I will be moving the deadline up to Wednesday 6/20/2012. If we do not receive a check by that day, will will first put a lien on your property (which will make it impossible to refinance or do much of anything with your bank) and then we will garnish your wages. We have all of your emails including the email stating: "I know we didn't mention that before so I can't be