***Update: 9/20/2016***…read more
Scott Gage, owner of Gage Tree Service LLC just came out to my house to take a look at our driveway. I walked with him the length of our driveway pointing out the many, many hydraulic fluid stains that were visible from essentially the street up to our garage. On two occasions they sent employees out to attempt to remove the stains with various methods, however, they are all still visible. Surprisingly, the employee who came out the first time to address the stains said that we were not the only ones who had this issue, that there were "several others".
After not hearing from them for over a week since their last attempt to remove the stains, I received an invoice for the tree removal they had originally come out for. I reached out to two different managers to find out if they had given up on the stains, and to inform them I would be getting estimates to have our driveway seal coated, which seemed to be the only way to mitigate the stains. I was told the following day that this issue would be handled by Scott Gage when he returned to town. In the meantime, I did receive an estimate to have my driveway seal coated for $1800. The outstanding invoice was $400, so I offered to put the $400 towards the seal coating and have Gage pick up the remaining $1400. Scott's reply to that was "You're a tool. You're a fucking tool. That's not gonna happen." He then said "If I scratched your tailgate, would you expect me to paint your entire truck?" I said "No, but I would expect you to paint the entire tailgate. Are you suggesting I just have the stains seal coated and leave the rest?"
In previous communications with Mike, a general manager, I learned that the crew did notice the leak while they were here and removed the equipment immediately. However, they made no mention of the leaks and did nothing to mitigate them. With this type of leak, immediate absorption is imperative, and they failed to act. It wasn't until several days later that someone showed up to try to clean the stains.
Scott did point out that they did some extra work that was above and beyond the scope of the initial estimate. Essentially, a tree that was only supposed to removed from about the midpoint to the top was removed completely. The extra work was brought to my wife's attention. Cassandra Shoemaker, the production manager, pointed out that more of the tree was dead than initially thought, so it was recommended that it be removed completely. My wife asked about the extra cost and was told "don't worry about it." While we were prepared and willing to pay the added cost, apparently they decided not to charge anything extra, given, I assume, the fact that they were already there, set up, and it was, in comparison to the original scope, not that much work. Now he throws it in my face.
Scott also disagreed with the timeline I presented as far as what it took for them to come out in the first place. He claimed it was 12 days from the time my wife called to authorize and schedule the work until the work was done. My wife called 8/16/16 at 5:10 pm to authorize and schedule the work. Was told she'd get a call from the scheduler. She called again 8/17/16 at 8:56 am, hoping to speak to the scheduler. No luck. She called again 8/25/16 at 3:20 pm, again hoping to speak to a scheduler. No luck. Four days later, tired of waiting, I called myself, on 8/29/16 at 12:29 pm. This was a Monday afternoon and I was finally told that we were "tentatively on the schedule for Wednesday, but we will definitely be there this week." Wednesday I get a text from Cassandra Shoemaker saying they are behind and can they please come Thursday. I said no problem. Thursday they did not show up. My wife called and was told "we're still planning to come but its going to be later this evening, after 6:30. Or, we can come tomorrow morning". My wife said to come Friday, which was 9/2/16. This was 17 days after we called to authorize and schedule. My wife was never given a date, an estimate of a date, or even a return phone call. It wasn't until I called 13 days later that we were able to get anywhere with them.
In the end, Scott left, saying the work was "on the house" and that was all he was willing to do. He said "Your driveway looks like shit, and if it had been seal coated you wouldn't have these stains." I responded "My driveway looks like shit, not because it wasn't seal coated prior to your visit, but because you leaked hydraulic fluid all over it, and then your crew, noticing the massive leak, did nothing about it." He complained quite a bit about my review, claiming it was "manipulative". I said "No, it was an accurate and factual representation of my experience with your company."
Not addressing the problem immediately and ignoring it was their biggest mistake. Sending Scott to my house to call me a "fucking tool" was their second biggest mistake.
Stay away from these guys.
