Chris in Bradford

I hired AK Level & Polish to level 860 square feet of space in my basement. Fazel was exceptional, answered all questions that I had, chose the right product for the job, and performed what was nothing short of a flawless installation. Everything about product and even more so the preparation and installation service itself exceeded all expectations. I cannot think of a single thing that I would change about the experience and will definitely be using this company for some upcoming projects.

Diego quoted $2,300 to mix and pour quantity 100-120 of 50 lb bags of SLC within 1/16th level. I accepted and just before they were to arrive, they called me requiring that I send a $300 deposit to a woman's personal e-mail address (I didn't know who she was). When her bank blocked the deposit, Diego asked me to send the deposit to another e-mail address instead which was promptly done despite my concerns about neither e-mail matching the business name. Diego and team arrived on-site the next day with no spreading tools and a defective laser-level that could not be used. They ended up having to borrow my tools instead to complete the job. The crew ended up only using 76 bags, well short of the 100-120 bags that they quoted on but they were adamant it was enough to finish the job. I asked which e-mail address should I send the remaining balance to and Diego insisted that I pay only in cash because he did not want to put that much money through the business and have to pay income tax (his words). I then paid him the entire amount in cash. Diego asked if he could purchase the spiked roller I loaned to him (after forgetting to bring his tools) and we agreed on a price but he ended up taking the roller without paying. For the next 48-72 hours, large portions of the floor remaining soaking wet with pooled water floating on top. Under the water was loose sand that flowed freely through my fingers. The manufacturer was called and they said mixing was incorrectly done and advise me to remove the loose sand and start over. The entire floor was still found to be significantly out of level by as much as 1/2 inches over a small 5-foot span. Diego agreed to come back at no additional charge to fix the issue and asked me to make sure I had at least 50 more bags of concrete on hand. However, when Diego arrived, he once again forgot his tools and had to borrow mine again. He did not bring anything to spread the concrete and since he took my roller and never returned it, he didn't even have that with him. Without proper tools, Diego ended up just throwing the mixed buckets around the floor with extra water and relied on free-flow to complete the job of pouring an additional 26 bags. Diego said one of his leveling tools was taken by someone else (and not replaced) and then asked me to leave an online review to help him get more customers. I said Id do it if no further issues were found after the floor dries. However, after 2 days, the new concrete pour is once again soaking wet and turning sandy again. Large areas of the floor have no stiffness. Another contractor assessed the site today and advised that there was a massive amount of water added to mix that has led to structural failure of the pour. A smart flow meter attached to the water supply they used confirms that over twice the amount of water was used than instructed. I sent Diego a detailed e-mail explaining how disappointed I was with the quality of the work performed and said that I would not be posting the online review that he had requested. Despite me making no threats to take any sort of action (now under re-consideration), Diego immediately responded by saying that that they will be contacting a lawyer to put a lien on my family home and will be seeing me in court. It's complete nonsense as he was paid in full and in my opinion is attempting to bully me. I wasn't going to leave a review, but after these baseless threats from Diego, it is quite appropriate to leave one now. I have to assume that Diego has no intention of returning the roller that he removed from my property as he has demanded not to be contacted again. In the attached photos, the yellow areas are wet on top and sandy dry underneath. There is no firmness and I cant even begin to imagine what repairs will cost. Im extremely disappointed by Diego initially for the poor quality of work and now by his threats.

In July 2020, Empire Green Sprinklers Ltd. installed a 10-zone sprinkler system on my property. I paid $3044 plus tax which included 5 years warranty and 1 year of maintenance service effective from the installation date. The October 2020 winterization was covered by this appointment, no additional fees were charged, and I was advised during that appointment that Spring 2021 service was covered as well since it was within the first year. However, when I contacted Empire Green again in May 2021 for spring service, they advised it wasn't covered because 1 year meant 1 season and not 12 months. In my case, it meant only 4 months which isn't even a full season. I was quoted $120 for the spring opening which I reluctantly agreed to pay despite being previously told it was covered and said that I would be writing a review explaining what 1-year service actually means. Nothing more, nothing less. As I continued to wait for Empire to book my spring appointment, Melanie responded by demanding that I now not only pay for the spring opening (which I already agreed to do) but also now pay 6 months in advance for winter closing as well. She stated that she will close my account the next day if I did not do so. After I objected, Melanie cited a clause in our agreement which allowed her to do this. However, when I asked her for a copy of prior invoices and agreements to see the wording of this termination clause, she simply responded with "No comment" and advised that I would be hearing from a lawyer over an online review that didn't even exist. Sean (husband and co-owner) stepped in and provided the requested invoices and service agreements that Melanie would not send. He explained that no customer is required to pay upfront for winter service in the spring which put a rest to Melanie's threats to terminate my account if I didn't do so. Upon reviewing the agreement that Sean provided, it was quickly noted that the clause that Melanie was citing did not exist. In recognition of Sean's efforts to help, we mutually agreed to moving forward with more business and winterization was completed in October 2021 without incident which I also paid in full. A few months later, I also noticed that had updated and corrected the wording on their website to better reflect what was included in their service. That was good on their part so I moved on, dropped any thoughts to leave a review, and gave Empire another chance. The following year in May 2022, I scheduled and paid for an appointment for spring service. The on-site service technicians arrived on-site but did not complete the work that that they themselves itemized on the invoice. I contacted Empire Green to very politely asked a few questions around this and they went unanswered for 2 months despite a couple of follow-up e-mails sent during that time. decided at this time that I had enough of Empire Green's treatment of customers (particularly Melanie) and proceeded to leave my first online review of Empire Green Sprinklers Ltd. after being a paying customer for 2 years. After doing so, Empire Green subsequently closed my account, abruptly terminated a 5-year paid warranty without compensation, and then filed a police report that among some other false allegations also raised safety concerns around receiving payment in vacuum sealed bag which is not true either. I do not have any information on what their ulterior motives, if any, were for making such a ridiculous claim but after they advised me that they have more than enough customers, it became evident to me that they do not place sufficient value on new customers. The rest of the employees at Empire Green are helpful and the installation job itself was decent. It really is just Melanie's poor handling of customer that warrants the rating that I am giving this company. Her behavior has been called out by a fellow employee as well but as she is a co-owner, she unfortunately does not really have anyone to answer to.

Warning! I had to pay ARS $120 just to show up and they quoted $400-$600 to replace what they said was a defective ice maker in my fridge. I declined and later found out that the icemaker was fine all along and that the water supply was just turned off in the basement. Total incompetence by ARS. Paid $120 for the visit. Luckily I didn't get conned into paying to replace something that was never broken.