If only zero stars were an option…read more..
Our experience with Longfellow was a nightmare. The whole story is long, detailed and gory, and is told in great detail below. But one anecdote distills it.
The year during which most of the work was done was dominated by Longfellow's lies, neglect and their negligence in causing a massive flood which damaged large areas of our house beyond the construction zone, and caused a cascade of new problems, lies and neglect.
After months of complaints, discussions, long emails that were ignored, drafting of formal legal documents, etc., we finally reached an agreement.
Mark Bosnian (Longfellow's President) and I agreed as follows:
-They would complete the remaining work at no cost and would forgive any outstanding invoices
- I would take down any reviews that I had posted online (which I did)
Soon after that phone call, I realized I had neglected to include one other request. A key element of our project was the construction of an outdoor shower which was very important to my wife. Although we raised it with Longfellow at our initial meeting, and many times after that, it was never done. After a year of hell, it was more important to get Longfellow out of our lives, then to get the shower built, so we moved to end the relationship. Unfortunately, it slipped my mind while I was talking to Mark and it was not included as part of our agreement.
As a result, I sent the following email:
"Hi Mark:
Can you give me a call when you have a minute. It's not urgent, I actually have a small favor to ask.
One of the things that went undone and that we just let go of was our outdoor shower. Personally, I'm not a big fan but it means a lot to my wife and I'd love to be able to surprise her with a shower that works. Ours is shot and needs to be fully replaced. I'm happy to order a kit if you could provide maybe two guys for what I can't imagine will even take them a full day. The only small wrinkle is that some plumbing work will be necessary - it has never worked since we got the house. But I can't imagine it's a big job for someone who knows what he's doing.
We obviously don't need it until outdoor shower season.
I'd be grateful if you'd be open to taking care of that
thanks
lee"
Mark's response? Nothing. Silence, Crickets. Ghosts.
And that's Longfellow in a nutshell. They will say and do whatever is necessary to mollify you in the moment and then they are off to the next sale. You're not even a memory until the next time you make a stink. When you scream, they wake up and it's the same dance. As soon as I post this, I'm sure my email will light up like a Christmas tree.
Stay away from them.
In any event, Longfellow failed to complete the project, leaving one relatively small item uncompleted, so I'm posting my review. Read on if you need to know more.
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This is the demand letter I wrote under the Massachusetts "Unfair and Deceptive trade Practices" Act. A few things about it:
"Tony" is our project manager
We were ultimately credited for the flood costs. But with no backup receipts, detail or explanation for their numbers. They NEVER gave me the documents I asked for repeatedly over 6 months. Hmmm, they could be hiding something or they could be inept and didn't keep records. You choose.
Not included (maybe it slipped my mind?) is the time they double billed us $30,000 for a new chimney. Luckily I noticed. Take it as reflective of their competence, or ethics as you choose.
It is limited by Review size constraints. The whole thing is here: This is the limit of a Review size - the whole thing is here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11mEa3sV_OvTqcKPwlgNXjhN5pXykv-2MZgdbrEyayZs/edit?usp=sharing
Hi Mark -
Although our project is finally nearing completion, there is one important issue that needs to be resolved before we can go our separate ways. I'm hoping you can help us obtain the documents and other information that we have already requested several times, but have not received. Until we obtain this information, we cannot me our relationship since they are required to determine the amount of refund owed to us by Longfellow as a result of a flood in our house.
Background
Our project - to be charitable - has not gone well. Even Mario has acknowledged this plain fact in as many words (Attachment A).
Last February, while the house was in the care, custody and control of Longfellow, there was an easily preventable flood that caused a great deal of damage.
Within days, Tony assured me that we would not have to pay for any flood related costs. That promise was repeated both verbally and in writing. Unfortunately, months later we came to learn that we had been billed for, and paid, yet undetermined thousands of dollars of flood related costs...