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Old 04-13-2016, 10:38 AM   #21
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plus I believe that makes you a target for a potential lawsuit by the business owner?
My post was not intended to discourage Amethyst from posting her review on AL, and I do not believe an honest review, however bad, should have consequences, if one sticks to the facts.

I worked in customer satisfaction back in the day and believe well run businesses want feedback that is honest and factual.
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Old 04-13-2016, 10:49 AM   #22
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You have another option, which is not to rate at all. Not a bad option if they fulfilled their obligation to the best of their ability but you are not satisfied.
Yes, in eBay this is called a "no feedback" -- where you weren't quite satisfied enough to give an unqualified thumbs-up, but they delivered sufficiently that anything less than a "good" or positive rating when it comes to online feedback -- seen as entirely negative by most people -- isn't deserved, either.

Generally in the eBay world a "no feedback" is considered somewhere in between positive feedback and neutral feedback (and neutral is usually treated as a negative).
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:02 AM   #23
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My post was not intended to discourage Amethyst from posting her review on AL, and I do not believe an honest review, however bad, should have consequences, if one sticks to the facts.

I worked in customer satisfaction back in the day and believe well run businesses want feedback that is honest and factual.
if it's factual then the lawsuit would have no standing - I'm just a wimp I guess - I don't post negative reviews due to fear of being sued


well run business definitely should get feedback - we do. I provide honest feedback privately, just not publicly.
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:18 AM   #24
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if it's factual then the lawsuit would have no standing - I'm just a wimp I guess - I don't post negative reviews due to fear of being sued
Negative or critical feedback is not a basis for a lawsuit. Libel is, but that is when you deliberately write something you know is false. When writing negative reviews it makes sense to stay away from terms like "lying weasel" and "lazy SOB" and stick to things that are descriptive and measurable, (just like Amethyst did in her previous posts).
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:21 AM   #25
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I think the tree service screwed up by sending out too small of a truck to hold all the chips. That is not the OP's fault. When you bid a job, you also imply that you are prepared to come prepared to complete the whole job.
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:25 AM   #26
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Was there a written contract? If not, there is your lesson on this one. When dealing with contractors...ALWAYS get it in writing.
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:55 AM   #27
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I don't post negative reviews due to fear of being sued
Thankfully many people are courageous enough to give negative reviews when they are justified, preventing many others from also having a bad experience.
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Old 04-13-2016, 12:01 PM   #28
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I think the tree service screwed up by sending out too small of a truck to hold all the chips. That is not the OP's fault. When you bid a job, you also imply that you are prepared to come prepared to complete the whole job.
That's right, it's their responsibility to come prepared to complete the job they bid on and are being paid to do. If the truck is too small, then they simply take the time to make extra trips instead of leaving part of the job unfinished.

Also, it usually makes more sense to pay a contractor/trade for a job instead of by the hour.
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Old 04-13-2016, 12:12 PM   #29
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Thankfully many people are courageous enough to give negative reviews when they are justified, preventing many others from also having a bad experience.
doing nothing is always an option; an option I use frequently according to DW
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Old 04-13-2016, 04:06 PM   #30
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plus I believe that makes you a target for a potential lawsuit by the business owner?
I never do these reviews, unless I have an unqualified positive experience. Likewise, I pay very little attention to other reviewers.

These reviews can be extremely important to a business. Bad ones especially. Enough trouble finds me without me looking for it.

And I would not expect online reviews to be very accurate.

Ha
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Old 04-13-2016, 05:01 PM   #31
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In OP's situation, I would have told them to leave the chips on the property beyond what their truck would hold.

After the fact, I'd probably ask to be comped an hour or two (12.5% or 25% off the bill) since they cut the day short. Maybe a little less since they probably priced a 12 hour day for $3,000. 2 hours travel time each way + 8 hours work time. Presumably their guys get paid at least straight time, possibly time and a half for anything over 8 hours.

If I didn't get anything off the price, I'd probably leave a decent review (4 out of 5 stars) and mention the part about paying for 8 hours but getting 7-ish hours. If they did good work, mention that too since that would be as important to me as a consumer of their services as much as the contractual/pricing part of obtaining services.
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Old 04-14-2016, 08:10 AM   #32
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I had no intention of posting a review for a recent purchase, but I got an email from the manufacturer saying they would send me a gift if I posted one.

So I posted a "3 stars out of 5" review, wherein I said it was basically a well made product but had one major weakness that I considered significant.

Sure enough, they sent me the gift anyway and encouraged me to post additional reviews on other sites. I found that odd, but maybe they didn't bother to actually read my review.
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Old 04-14-2016, 09:29 AM   #33
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I wasn't happy, since we had purchased an 8-hour day and there was plenty of work left to do. They said they could continue to trim, but would have to leave all the branches on our lot - something I did not want.
It seems like they were willing to continue the labor - but had a capacity issue with the chipper.

You declined their labor.

That's my take on it.
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Old 04-14-2016, 09:59 AM   #34
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It seems like they were willing to continue the labor - but had a capacity issue with the chipper.

You declined their labor.

That's my take on it.
Good point... kinda missed that on my first reading....
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Old 04-14-2016, 10:03 AM   #35
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It seems like they were willing to continue the labor - but had a capacity issue with the chipper.

You declined their labor.

That's my take on it.
Yes, there are several factors at play here - hours versus job, chipper capacity limits, expectations, etc. I think the situation is unique enough, and convoluted enough, that a good or bad review based on the hours worked would not help anyone else.


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. The estimator was very clear that for the price charged, we should try to get all the trimming done we possibly could in 8 hours - there was no limit placed on number of trees and shrubs. The contract mentions the willow tree, which was not very big, and then "Prune and trim all over property."
So you agreed to have them "Prune and trim all over property"? That does not specifically say "and chip and haul away all chippings". So it does seem like you declined the extra trimming that was offered?

Let's just say - it's all pretty fuzzy? And we have not heard the contractor's side.

If for some reason the OP wants to do a review (I'm not sure why? Why not just skip it?), I'd just stick to the quality of the work, and avoid this whole "8 hours" issue.

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Old 04-14-2016, 04:45 PM   #36
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It seems like they were willing to continue the labor - but had a capacity issue with the chipper.

You declined their labor.

That's my take on it.
Around here, the job is cut, chip, and take away. Most successful companies do all of that.
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Old 04-14-2016, 10:26 PM   #37
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Let's just say - it's all pretty fuzzy? And we have not heard the contractor's side.

If for some reason the OP wants to do a review (I'm not sure why? Why not just skip it?), I'd just stick to the quality of the work, and avoid this whole "8 hours" issue.

-ERD50
Yep I agree.
contracting work is fuzzy, it is the nature of the beast.

It isn't like buying 3 pounds of ham and they gave you 2 1/2 pounds which is quantified and easily measured. You are dealing with nature and estimates, things get fuzzy and you should allow for the fuzziness in reviewing the work.

I wouldn't leave a review at all myself personally.
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Old 04-14-2016, 10:33 PM   #38
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Another classic thread.


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Old 04-19-2016, 06:39 AM   #39
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Update: The company gave me a 10% discount ($300) because the team shorted me on time and their own records proved it. There is a timer on the truck that showed they arrived at 0745 and left at 1500. Furthermore, they had not "declared" their lunch break, so apparently, lunch is not supposed to be on the customer's time, as I had assumed it was.

On the other hand, the time they spent repairing the rut THEY made was still part of the customer's time.

I also learned that the crew chief had lied, or at least dissembled, about not being able to come back later to pick up the branches they could not chip. Oh, that's not true! They could have come back the next day! He thought you meant you expected them to come back that evening!

For the high price they charged, this company expected too much of this particular customer. Yeah, buyer beware and all that...but it's a bit much if I have to caveat emptor their lunch policies and quibble over what the workers "meant" by what they "said." Not going back to this company, even if their main tree guy did remind us of Spider-Man while he was dangling in the big maple with his chainsaw.

And I'm so not serving home-made chocolate chip cookies and brewed coffee to the next crew...in fact, Mr. A.'s take was that the crew misinterpreted my kind gesture as the mark of a soft touch.

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Old 04-19-2016, 06:47 AM   #40
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Update: The company gave me a 10% discount ($300) because the team shorted me on time and their own records proved it. Amethyst
Am glad you were able to get some type of reasonable correction to the price for the shorted service.

I would work all day long if I was fed homemade chocolate chip cookies!
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