[superuke]

Originally Posted by blueash

The BBB does not fix problems and does not rate members differently than non-members. You can trust or distrust whomever you like but the facts don't change. At least a few people filed a complaint with BBB. BBB reported that the business was unable or unwilling to respond to 3 complaints and to resolve a fourth. They did respond and resolve a fifth complaint. You BBB critics have no basis to refute the accuracy of that report. The contractor made a choice to not respond to a BBB request and if you are considering hiring them you may wish to ask the business why they at least did not respond even if they were unable to make the customer happy. Also be alert in noting that there are two nearly identically named businesses... Aristicrete and Aristocrete on the Leesburg BBB site. They have the same address and likely both are actually Aristicrete and the "o" business has an A minus rating.
The BBB does not file complaints, they receive complaints from consumers like us and try to resolve them to both parties' satisfaction without lawyers and lawsuits. And Rhredd, you are wrong. The BBB ratings have nothing to do with membership in BBB. A business joins BBB because it helps in marketing to the consumer that they promise to try to fix any problems and to respond to consumer complaints no matter how rare or bizarre.And by-the-way, on aristicrete.net website it advises the consumer "Before you hire a contractor check them out on" get ready... Better Business Bureau! And lastly, on the aristicrete.net website is a photo of a man in his military uniform. The wearing of a uniform to advertise for a business is a violation of the Field Manual for Soldiers.

You are right on! Very clearly you explained the BBB, I spent 8 years as director and 4 years Chairman of the Board. You are bag on.

[blueash]

Originally Posted by skyguy79

With all due respect I find this hard to believe under the circumstances of the pictures usage that it was done in violation of a military regulation. Please provide me with a link containing that regulation (you're stating he's in violation of) so I can read it and for myself and make my own judgement!

See 10 U.S.C. § 771 (criminalizing unauthorized use of military uniforms, distinctive parts thereof and anything similar to distinctive parts thereof); 18 U.S.C. § 702 (criminalizing unauthorized use of military or Public Health Service uniforms, distinctive parts thereof or anything resembling distinctive parts thereof); 18 U.S.C. § 704 (criminalizing unauthorized use of military medals and decorations); DoD Instruction 5410.20 § 7.1 (restricting use of Department of Defense materiel, including uniforms).

and from http://www.governmentcontractslawblo...terials/#_edn4

federal, state and foreign laws and regulations restrict the use in promotional or advertising materials of government personnel images, uniforms and insignia without specific, prior authorization. Indeed, applicable laws, in many cases, impose civil or criminal sanctions for such misuse.

Federal restrictions require that promotional or advertising materials not include any content that could be interpreted to imply affiliation with, or endorsement by, any agency, branch, office or other instrumentality of the United States.[i] Generally the prohibition includes:

· Identifiable personnel employed by federal entities ("Federal Personnel")[ii]


· Official insignias or other identifying symbols used by federal entities[iii]


· Authentic uniforms, markings or other designations used by Department of Defense entities[iv]

And from the Field Manual FM 27-14:
"You may not use your rank, position in the Army. or membership in the Army to endorse any business or any
business's product. For example, you may not appear in uniform in a television commercial to advertise for a
local business such as a used car company. Nor may you appear in civilian clothes on a television commercial
to advertise for a business and say that you are a soldier. Similarly, you may not allow a business to advertise
using your name and rank. For example, a business may not advertise in a local newspaper that "SP4 Jones says
he was very pleased with our company's product"

I am not an attorney but I had been told by a person I believe would know that use of military uniformed personnel in advertising was prohibited. Hopefully these citations will verify what I had been told to your satisfaction.

[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by blueash

See 10 U.S.C. § 771 (criminalizing unauthorized use of military uniforms, distinctive parts thereof and anything similar to distinctive parts thereof); 18 U.S.C. § 702 (criminalizing unauthorized use of military or Public Health Service uniforms, distinctive parts thereof or anything resembling distinctive parts thereof); 18 U.S.C. § 704 (criminalizing unauthorized use of military medals and decorations); DoD Instruction 5410.20 § 7.1 (restricting use of Department of Defense materiel, including uniforms).

and from Use of Government Personnel, Uniforms and Insignia in Promotional or Advertising Materials : Government Contracts, Investigations & International Trade Blog

federal, state and foreign laws and regulations restrict the use in promotional or advertising materials of government personnel images, uniforms and insignia without specific, prior authorization. Indeed, applicable laws, in many cases, impose civil or criminal sanctions for such misuse.

Federal restrictions require that promotional or advertising materials not include any content that could be interpreted to imply affiliation with, or endorsement by, any agency, branch, office or other instrumentality of the United States.[i] Generally the prohibition includes:

· Identifiable personnel employed by federal entities ("Federal Personnel")[ii]


· Official insignias or other identifying symbols used by federal entities[iii]


· Authentic uniforms, markings or other designations used by Department of Defense entities[iv]

And from the Field Manual FM 27-14:
"You may not use your rank, position in the Army. or membership in the Army to endorse any business or any
business's product. For example, you may not appear in uniform in a television commercial to advertise for a
local business such as a used car company. Nor may you appear in civilian clothes on a television commercial
to advertise for a business and say that you are a soldier. Similarly, you may not allow a business to advertise
using your name and rank. For example, a business may not advertise in a local newspaper that "SP4 Jones says
he was very pleased with our company's product"

I am not an attorney but I had been told by a person I believe would know that use of military uniformed personnel in advertising was prohibited. Hopefully these citations will verify what I had been told to your satisfaction.

Thank you for providing the information I asked for. I'm still not sure that how the picture was being used or presented on the website was an actual violation, but that's not for me to say anyway. I might however run the situation by my uncle that will be visiting me this coming weekend. He's was a Sargent Major in the Army. I might even try running it by his son, my cousin, who retired from the Army with a rank of Lt. Col. It wouldn't surprise me though if they told me that it wasn't for them to say, but rather for the proper Army authorities.

[gfmucci]

We just selected Aristicrete on the basis of our interaction with Joel, the salesman. He was respectful, answered all our questions, and committed in writing to all the prep work that others would not do, like moving the washer and dryer out to another part of the house and filling cracks and holes in the concrete. Sealing all surfaces was also included, something that other bidders did not want to do that I felt was odd.

A 20 percent deposit was required which we don't normally endorse but we felt comfortable enough to proceed anyway since the company has been in business for quite some time.

The next day, today, I checked the BBB of Leesburg and saw the F rating. I called Joel for an explanation and got one that did not explain why the BBB claims Aristicrete did not respond to three complaints. Joel seemed unaware of the BBB rating and lack of Aristicrete's followup. I urged him to look into the damaging BBB rating and to get back with me about it. I can't imagine why they would not address this matter. I understand they use contract tradesmen who need to be held accountable for their work. So do Lowes, Home Depot, and Sears, and they do OK.

I will not judge Aristicrete prematurely. Based on my experience with Joel, I expect a fine job.

At the same time, I will not withhold judgment of the work Aristicrete performs on my property. I will post my review of their work on this thread. And I will let Joel know that I will be accurate and thorough with my review.

Work begins Tuesday, February 5th. Stay tuned.

[Waynecarla]

Aristicrete did my garage floor last April,they did a fantastic job for me,but don't take my word for it come over to the house and look for yourself.I will be there the first two weeks in April all are welcome, 802-343-4536

[gfmucci]

I phoned Aristicrete today, Monday, to find out at what time on Tuesday the prep crew would be arriving. I have other things to do in the morning if they didn't plan to arrive until late morning or afternoon, so I hoped they could give me something concrete, NPI. Shannon, the owner answered. He told me probably between 10 and 11am; that they don't like to start too early because the required grinding is a noisy operation. I said our two neighbors are away so that would not be a problem. He promised to call me in the morning with a definitive estimated time of arrival.

[mickey100]

I take things I read on TOTV with a grain of salt. And I take what I read on BBB complaints with a grain of salt as well. Have been steered wrong by a few TOTV posts, yet have found some fabulous contractors too via TOTV. I guess you have to consider all the information available to you before making the decision.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Uptown Girl

Before I engage ANY contractor, I check with Seniors vs Crime.
In Sumter County, the phone # is: (352) 689-4600 (extension # 4606)

This Dept. of the Sheriff's office is available for phone inquiries:
Tues-Wed-Thurs 10 am to 2pm.

You give them the name of the contractor or company you want checked and they will tell you if there are complaints and if they have been resolved or not.

They will not give the specifics of the complaints, but they told me that they INVESTIGATE them and then categorize them as to wether they are legitimate, fixable or not.

I am glad to have this resource.

Excellent advice. We had some bad experience in Venice Florida back in 1994/1995 where the contractors who were doing our new kitchen had a "lien" on their business...........unbeknownst to us. When we put our condo on the market for sale, it was quite worrisome..........until we settled it with them.......and they paid their bills; ultimately their lien was removed...........we were totally naive...........again, just used to the way things were done back in our small town with a handshake (no contracts) with people we'd known for a long long time, as well as their families.

So, again good advice. Buyer beware.

[LittleDog]

We had Artisticrete do our driveway. They did a nice job. However, the part of the driveway that is right near the garage entrance developed a few cracks on the ends. I called Artisticrete and a couple of days later they repaired that part of the driveway and left some paint for touchup in case I needed it. Just wanted to say that they did followup in a timely fashion.

John

[wendyquat]

Aristocrete did our driveway and sidewalk. Great job, no problems!

[gfmucci]

Here is my promised review of the work done on my property by Artisticrete.

First, the surfaces I wanted to be coated included the driveway, garage, entry/walkway, and patio areas in the rear of our courtyard villa.

I had about 6 estimates. The biggest price variation between them was whether grinding the original paint off was included or not. Four of the six companies said that grinding was recommended. Three would not do the job unless grinding was done. Two agreed to do a "melt" - a processes of softening the original paint so that the new base coat would be sure to stick. A couple of companies didn't do grinding at all.

Given that most firms would not guarantee base coat adhesion without grinding, I went with a middle price of the firm that recommended grinding: Artisticrete.

A word of advice and warning for homeowners who have their concrete surfaces ground down: It is messy. One of my two concerns with Artisticrete is that they did not communicate with me about the extent of concrete dust and splatter that would be created by their work. Ideally, they would have put up a "splat barrier" along their work areas so that my mulch, rocks, shrubs, fountain, and lawn furniture located 2' to 8' from the work area would not get coated with a film of concrete/old paint splatter from the grinding. The next best thing would have been if they informed me of the extent of splatter they would create so that I could have covered or totally removed the items from the area. No, the splatter cannot be merely hosed off. It needs to be scrubbed off with either a bristle brush or a sponge.

While Artisticrete did absolutely everything I asked them to do, and ultimately did a very nice job that my wife and I are happy with, the problem was I had to remind or ask them at various steps along the way.

Two examples: There were a number of holes and chips in various areas of the patio. Filling those were specifically included in the estimate. Instead of filling them before the base coat was down, I had to remind them to fill the holes before they proceeded with the finishing steps of the job. And then the workers used the wrong material to fill them with. They used a soft pliable caulk that never hardens. After I called an off-site supervisor about what I observed, they finally replaced the soft material with the proper filler. This error delayed the project by a day.

My overall concern with this company is their lack of supervisory involvement and communications with the customer. I don't necessarily expect nor require the actual workers to effectively communicate, although it would be nice if they did. However, in the absence of workers communicating, it would be nice if the supervisors or owners were more accessible and involved with the work being done at least a few minutes each day. This job took 2 days longer than it should have - during a period of excellent weather (except one afternoon where the threat of rain took 3 hours off the work day) - primarily because of the lack of oversight by those in the firm who knew what needed to be done.

Oh, in my previous post I said I was promised by Shannon, the owner, that he would call me in the morning with a definitive estimated time of arrival. He did not call as promised. However, his crew did arrive when initially speculated.

So, my experience with Artisticrete has been a mixed bag. They will do what you ask and ultimately do a good job but you need to ask and watch their work. You need to stay on top of the job at every stage. They will not communicate with you except to occasionally ask you about border locations or speckle intensity. There are some instances where you as a homeowner may know more about what needs to be done than the on-site workers as my experience with the wrong filler illustrated.

My opinion of the BBB rating is that it is unwarranted and may be more a result of a urinating match between the strong-headed owner and the BBB.

I delayed posting this review for several days because I was hoping that Artisticrete management would perform a "final inspection" to assure customer satisfaction where I could have conveyed some of my concerns about the shortcomings I observed. But that was wishful hoping.

If given that opportunity, I would have told them that the process was like watching sausage being made; the process is really ugly, but the result is tasty, with a lot of residue to clean up.

I cannot evaluate this firm compared to others because this is the only experience I have had with a company doing this type of work. Perhaps the nature of the job and the people available to do this kind of work is such that a higher level of performance is not very likely from anyone. I don't know. I hate to believe that is the case.

[DenPat]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan

we had them do our lanai floor...39 x 15 and absolutely love the final finish but we had to have another contractor come in & fix a mistake that artisticrete made.Not happy with the way artisticrete couldn't or wouldn't make things right.We would never recommend them!

We were considering Artisticrete to do our lanai. Would like to talk to you about the problems with them. We are also in Gilchrist. Send me a PM please.

[runyon1]

Believe in the Better Business Bureau. Also Crime for Seniors has 18 complaints against them. They ruined my driveway and promised to complete. Won't return phone calls and if you can reach them they will tell you they are coming to fix everything and never show.

[kodalittle]

We used them and had to have the work redone by another company. They are the worst I have ever had to deal with. Product was cheap and started chipping away after 7 months. I have nothing good to report about this company. Now there is 7 complaints with the BBB. Thank God we went with PSL Construction for the job or we would have been stuck like everyone else. PSL stood behind their work and made the back yard look awesome.
Jacquie

[kodalittle]

Originally Posted by DenPat

We were considering Artisticrete to do our lanai. Would like to talk to you about the problems with them. We are also in Gilchrist. Send me a PM please.

I wouldn't use them...personal experience.