| Year Established | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Business Categories | Masonry, Plumbing in Lynnwood, WA |
I made the mistake of hiring Robert Wagner to construct a pond with waterfall on my property. He claimed to be a Master Mason and told me he had built most of the water features in Bend, OR. Robert and I agreed that my project was a two man job and he claimed that he would have his neighbor and or son-n-law available to help. The only help he brought in was his daughter and all she did was power wash rocks. He estimated the job to take 12 days from start to finish. I rented an excavator for 7 days, as he requested. The cost of this rental was $1780 for a week and half. This was money wasted as Robert never worked a full day and the excavator sat idle. Throughout the entire 4 weeks Robert was here he worked approximately 2.5 days per week. I had approximately 8 tons of rocks delivered, which all remain in my yard. Once he realized he couldn’t finish the project he begin giving excuses as to why he couldn’t work – he had appts, pulled his back, etc. After 4 weeks on the job my yard is a complete mess and just looks like dirt has been moved around. On the last day he worked he informed me that he was going to get some supplies and would be back. He picked up his tools and left and didn’t return. He wasn’t even professional enough to let me know he had taken on more than he could handle. When I called him to confirm he was done, he stated that he thought he could have gotten farther on the project than he did. Farther… he was supposed to complete the project not just make a mess of my yard. He had no problem taking my money and not delivering. This guy is a con-artist, he will bid jobs that he isn’t capable of handling, take payment and not deliver anything even close the agreed plan. I have had other contractors come to re-bid the project and they just shake their heads at the lack of quality, the unsafe condition he left the rock and area in and his flawed design. Robert Wagner is liar and I feel cheated. I believe he deliberately scammed me out of $4000 for doing nothing. I caution you against hiring Robert Wagner to do any job – big or small as he will undoubtably take your money and do nothing but cause you grief in return.
This really only matters if you have a preference, but it is good to ask. If you have a strong ideological belief about unions or nonunions, it's perfectly acceptable to make a decision based on the preference.
Always ask for references, and always check them. Keep in mind though that the only references you'll get are people who the contractor is certain will give him a good review. You'd also be well advised to check online review sources in Lynnwood as well, which will give you a broader view of customer satisfaction for a given company.
These first two questions should only relate to services or good purchased directly from the service provider. Many products carry their own warranties, like roofing shingles or siding. It's useful to know what these warranties cover as well as how long they last. The "warranty agent" question is important, because often warranty agents work with the manufacturer to get you repairs under warranty at a much lower price.
This is important mostly for larger jobs. Clearly a two man operation is going to build a home much slower than a 15 man crew. This is also a good indication of the overall size of the Masonry company, if that's an area of concern for you. The reason you may want to ask about the fleet is that fleet size is a good indicator of the mobility of the company. Mobility may not sound important, but it's hard for the Lynnwood contractors to get to job sites if they lack appropriate vehicles.
