This is an example of not doing due diligence. Live and learn. I hired Sesmas because I see a lot of their trucks in the area, but I simply didn't do my due diligence. Had I come to Yelp, I would've steered clear of them.
My story is simple. Asked them to cut down 2 trees and stump-grind. Charged $1,000 for it. I was desperate as I had roots coming up through the ground killing my grass and I was trying to re-sod before Christmas. Sales told me on 10/21 that my trees would be cut down on 10/29, BUT he tried to make me do all of the 811 pre-work. Told him that the site doesn't allow me to do it UNLESS I represent that it is a DIY project. This guy went back and forth with me until I finally convinced him to do what "contractors" do, and make the 811 arrangements. I should have canceled the order then. That's on me.
They cut the trees down on 10/31, and scheduled stump-grinding for 11/6. My stumps were grinded yesterday - over a month later - on 12/10. Why did it take so long? Stump-grinder had to make THREE visits to my home. FIRST visit, he saw the markings and noticed that my fiber lines weren't marked (i.e., my provider did not respond to the 811 request; that's on them). Stump-grinder shows up and sees that my fiber lines are not marked and let me know that he may cut the fiber lines. SECOND visit, AFTER my fiber lines were marked, he notes that he'll end up cutting them. What's messed up is that I'd already sent photos of the markings to the sales guy (photos attached), who did not send those photos to the stump-grinder. Just thoughtless stuff. The stump-grinder came out yesterday and completed the job on his THIRD visit (after I had my internet provider re-route my cables above-ground). My neighbor's internet line still was cut yesterday, eating up most of his day dealing with getting his fiber re-done, and I'll end up reimbursing him if they charge him for the $150 dispatch/repair fee.
It is worth noting that the stump-grinder was extremely nice and I could tell he genuinely cared about the potential impact of his work (i.e., he didn't want to cut my lines, even if I had wanted to roll the dice and give him the green light; I appreciated that; THAT is good customer service). I would love to say that management cared, but I can't, as they thoughtlessly sent me an invoice for the full amount today after all I'd been through with them for the last month and a half. It came from the email of the operations manager who KNEW of the problems with this job, as it was escalated to her (as my sales guy didn't respond to my simple request (attached); the ops mgr called in response to it; the same ops mgr who sent me the invoice today). I paid it immediately, because their decision to send me an invoice for the full $1,000 - given all I've sent them (regarding my confounding text communications with my sales guy) - truly does speak volumes about the company.
Yes, this is a PSA TO USE YELP!! I use it for almost every new restaurant I'm going to try, but I dropped the ball and did not do it in this instance. I truly regret my lack of due diligence that opened the door to me hiring Sesmas. read more