Mitchell Construction

This is the third job I’ve hired Mitch for. The first one last summer went quite well so I hired him for a winter project inside. Mistakes and errors caused several delays then COVID hit and we’ve been on hold since.

This latest job was supposed to be done within a couple of days and has taken a month so far. I like to give the benefit of the doubt and treat everyone fairly and with respect. However, when someone doesn’t answer messages or communicate changes and issues, I start to wonder.

Mitch has just contacted me, after a week of ignoring me, to say that the pad will be done tomorrow , June 9th. We’ll see how this goes.

I understand delays are unavoidable but I do not understand not communicating with clients on a regular basis about schedule and issues.

======= update =======
Pad was poured as Mitch promised so I’m adjusting my ratings a bit. These are challenging times we are in and sometimes it is very challenging to meet commitments. I would increase this rating much higher if communication was better.

This is the third job I’ve hired Mitch for. The first one last summer went quite well so I hired him for a winter project inside. Mistakes and errors caused several delays then COVID hit and we’ve been on hold since.

This latest job was supposed to be done within a couple of days and has taken a month so far. I like to give the benefit of the doubt and treat everyone fairly and with respect. However, when someone doesn’t answer messages or communicate changes and issues, I start to wonder.

Mitch has just contacted me, after a week of ignoring me, to say that the lad will be done tomorrow , June 9th. We’ll see how this goes.

I understand delays are unavoidable but I do not understand not communicating with clients on a regular basis about schedule and issues.

This is now my 3rd job with Mitch Carnie. I hired him first last year to replace my back deck boards and railings. He did the work quickly and cost effectively, being careful not to destroy newly planted materials. However, lights he suggested we install have only ever worked for a few days. Mitch has sent people to have a look and replace them but the replacements still failed. Mitch has now told me that he is going to replace all of the lights with a different brand. This was in April and still no sign of anyone.

Over the winter, I hired him to install hardwood on our main floor to 2nd floor stairs, carpet the master bed and basement stairs, install hardwood on the 2nd floor. Mitch said that there would be no problem painting the ~200 spindles white as well as straining the hand railing and treads to match the stain on the floor.

The work started in January and was supposed to be completed in 3 weeks. The first couple of days Mitch sent 3 guys to do the work. Unfortunately, one of them was completely unskilled and caused damage to spindles and veneer on one of the stringers. An attempt to fix this stringer has only made things worse. The job is still unfinished.

Given all the mistakes made in January, Mitch wound up losing money on this job. Foolishly, I thought I’d hire him again to try and help mitigate the losses he incurred. This brings me to my concrete pad for my shed.

I approached Mitch on May 7th and asked for an estimate and how long the job would take for an 8x10 pad. Mitch quickly provided an estimate along with telling me the job will be done in 2 days and he could get to it the following week.

It is now June 8th and the pad is still not complete. They arrived quickly with a Bobcat to remove the grass and soil and then a few days later returned to put in the framing. Concrete arrived several days later and is currently stacked beside my house, blocking my dryer vent (I had to move some bags of course to avoid a fire).

I have been reaching out to Mitch regularly to get some indication when this work will be completed but he is now completely ignoring my messages. I have a pile of substrate on the road in front of my house, concrete stacked down the side of my house and a hole in my back yard lawn where a shed is supposed to be by now.

It seems Mitch always has an excuse for missing dates; weather (valid given wet concrete doesn’t do well with rain), heat wave, trouble getting people to come to work now because of the CERB, busy dealing with other angry clients, etc.

I am at a loss now. I do not know what I have to do to get all this work completed. This is very unfortunate situation as I was quite impressed with Mitch, his demeanor, professional attitude, etc. He has now completely lost my confidence.

Perhaps I need to start a Facebook/Twitter campaign....