Ameritex Roofing was the prime contractor for the replacement of my roof, skylights, and gutter.
Angie's List asked me to provide as much detail as possible about the specific work done and my overall experience, including project details and cost - so here goes: The crew chief Gonzalo on monday 2017, and an 18-wheeler with all the roofing materials, showed up a half-hour early to get everything staged for the roofing crew of seven to get started at 7:30 AM. It took that crew of seven to finish the job in one day, at 6:30 PM. The crew did an excellent job of protecting bushes against damage from the weight of following debris from the roof (old felt & shingles). The next day, Gonzalo came back to do a post roofing follow-up walk-around to see if anything else needed to be done that wasn't done yesterday. Vince of ABU Gutter Systems, showed up Thursday to replace the gutter which is typically damaged when the existing shingles and underlayment are removed from the roof. Gonzalo showed up on Saturday to install the two skylights. They had to be custom built by another subcontractor to accommodate the slightly smaller size of the original skylights. Otherwise, they would have been installed sooner. The following Tuesday, Uvaldo installed and painted 10 soffit vents. Since I'm retired, I was able to monitor the above work-in-progress and make timely comments and make suggestions when necessary. My satisfaction with key aspects of the job was enhanced by my presence and occasional input. I gave all of the above work crews an ?A? rating for the Quality of their work and Punctuality. Special kudos go to Gonzalo and his seven-man roofing crew, especially when storm clouds threatened to pour rain through an exposed portion of the roof. They all shifted into high gear to get several rows of underlayment rolled into place to prevent water damage in the attic. Well done guys! The roof was ready for the anticipated rain even though it only sprinkled briefly over our house. The major downpour occurred only three blocks to the south. Wheew! I give the Office Manager, Laurie, an ?A? rating for her professionalism, attention to detail, courtesy, and friendliness. However, the ?B? rating for Professionalism goes to the owner, Bill, and the salesman, Robert, for their initial lack of attention to detail on some aspects of the contract. They seemed reluctant to specify verbatim some of the requirements that were important to me, their customer. They seemed to prefer to play it ?fast and loose? with the description of work instructions on the contract in order to avoid having their feet held to the fire (being held accountable) if the customer's/my specifications didn't happen to get met as required. Years ago, another contractor told me that, "If it's not in writing, it doesn't get done." Too often there's a ?slip between the cup and the lip? when it comes to communication between a salesperson and the people who actually do the work; so the workers just don't ?get the word? to do what the customer wants done, that the salesman promised would be done. Sound familiar? That's why I wanted certain requirements spelled out verbatim in the contract - so that there would be no miscommunication about my requirements between the two parties. The ?C? is for lack of Responsiveness in getting their contract ultimately changed from their vague generalities to my verbatim statement of my requirements. The ?D? on the Price relates to changing their initial price from $12,200 on December 9, 2016 to their final price of $13,800 on their contract signed by Bill, dated February 16, 2017, with no justifiable change in materials or labor to account for the $1,600 increase in price. I also had to remind Bill of the 5% senior citizen discount, since it wasn't voluntarily offered. My Overall rating of ?B? is the result of that ?B? on Professionalism, the ?C? on Responsiveness, and the ?D? on Price. Otherwise, I would have given them an Overall rating of "A", since the work crews did such an outstanding job. If the ?Golden Rule of Economics? doesn't apply to those with the gold who make the rules, then who does it apply to - those on skid row who are dead broke? Who wants them making any rules? In short, ?Money talks, but a salesman?s B.S. walks?? The paying customer is always right, even when wrong, like it or not! After all, they're the ones you can thank for your paycheck, word-of-mouth advertising, and your standard of living.
