Peel Fence Systems Inc

... and that's exactly how this business owner conducts himself.

Despite enough bad word of mouth and poor reviews out there, we gave this company a chance because all our local contractors were not taking new clients until 2017 (it is now not surprising this company was so available in comparison). They came in at 30% more expensive than our lowest quote but we were fooled into thinking that "in business since 1972" actually meant something (maybe it did back when you were dealing with original management). So we paid almost $15 per foot (without any haggling) for 160 feet of black 4' chain link fence and gave them a shot (just a straight run on flat open space, no gates, posts pounded into the ground).

I'll keep the details short and to the point (photos attached):

-after being invited into our home, the owner was eager to confirm that we are ready to pay for this job and to write up a quote (using my pen that he asked to keep when he was finished). He took a 50% deposit immediately and told me to call the project manager to schedule a date for the job. I did that as soon as he left.

-on the scheduled date, a single worker arrived to install the fence. He informed me that "all his assistants are sleeping in these days" so he's working alone. (The owner later indicated his embarrassment that this was said to me, though didn't apologize that the additional labourer was not there to help ensure a smooth and damage-free install.) I shook the worker's hand, offered him a drink, and told him I'm in the house all day if he needs anything (I stayed home so that I would be available to see the work when he was done).

-I was surprised at the end of the day when I saw the worker quickly scurry into his truck and hastily drive away without looking back.

-I went to look at the work to find that there were about two dozen chips and scratches (some very small, some very big) in the painted top rails, posts, etc. and that both my property and the neighbour's were littered with garbage from the install--dozens of discarded fence wire pieces and bits of plastic coverings--and cigarette butts (the worker was smoking constantly). Those many pieces of rigid wire would make dangerous projectiles when inevitably struck by a lawnmower (I hope we got them all, they blend in well with the grass).

-after informing the business owner of all these problems I was told that there shouldn't have been any trash and cigarette butts left behind, the installer shouldn't have left without first providing an inspection, and that without people like me informing him of stuff like this he'd never know because, as I was told, the amount of labourers on the payroll cannot possibly all have his proper oversight.

-the owner's solution was to use black spray paint on the damaged areas despite my assertion that this is a cosmetic fix only--the once powder-coated bare metal is no longer adequately protected--and there should be some type of recompense for all of these issues (10% off, 5% off, a dollar, an apology maybe?). I was completely ignored, and the areas were spray painted. This looked atrocious as soon as it was done as you could clearly see the difference in the spray painted areas. It rained a couple hours after and, of course, this cheap remedy is bubbling and chipping away.

-we requested a price adjustment again thinking maybe the owner forgot that this is something we wanted to discuss. Again, we were completely disregarded (the owner asked me many times in conversation "how much did I say per foot again?", so the fact that I was always reminding him indicates that he has complete freedom with pricing and that it's not the same for everyone). Instead of any gesture of good faith, we would receive antagonizing replies thanking us for our money. Finally when asked if this is the kind of work he'd expect on his property, I received an abusive and threatening email (the question was of course ignored). This email contained nothing more than name-calling and a threat to escalate this unprofessionalism even further. I didn't reply figuring enough is enough, we're obviously being toyed with, and it's time to just let the public know of our experience. At least the fence should still serve as a barrier to help keep our baby boy safe when he's older.

So here we are now. I guess this business prefers the 'everybody loses' approach, except those of you fortunate enough to have never had to experience Peel Fence Systems Newmarket (AKA Shiner's Fencing & Contracting). My recommendation is to keep it that way; there are lots of good, honest people out there ready to do a good job for you!

Thanks for reading about our experience.