Business ProfileforFowler's Construction, Inc.

It has been several months now since Fowler Inc. has walked away from the job as of this review. I wanted to highlight their performance after we had our tub functional which they installation. Months have clicked by with the tub is still out of service. My evaluation of the company covers their work quality, reliability, cost, and professionalism. Of the two primary technicians assigned with the bulk of our remodeling, I found them to be honest, committed, and competent. I believe if they were allowed to work without limitations and micro management the remodeling task would have been completed much closer to schedule, with less delay, or work stoppages. When you require your employees to attend a 09:00 meeting everyday to determine assignments, task them to shop for material, drive 45 minutes to the job site the team arrives in time to unload, setup, evaluated where to start work just about time for lunch. Then the crew would work till time to shut down, pack up to drive back to clock out by 5:pm. On shopping days four hours is about the extent of productivity. On non-shopping days the tech's would arrived around 10:00, sometimes just one tech. I believe this was more a management issue than a skilled labor issue. When questioned, the word was Fowler had personnel problems which required more over sight. I think, in our case, we were lucky to have two tech's assigned and hated it when they were a no show. Too many days we made arrangements to be present when the crew was a no show. You kinda figure they aren't coming when its noon and they're a no-show. I have an initial estaminet that is less than half the final cost. In fairness we expected there would be changes and adjustments to address unknowns, revisions and things that just come up. You don't know what you don't know, right? But a change in one room shouldn't cause cost changes to a line item in a different room or task already accomplished. To say, "Its just how the program works" or "its software issues" or a learning curve for the program shouldn't change pricing in an unrelated area. Fowler Inc. may say that they completed the task as agreed and the cost over runs were justified and forthright, but I can show with their own documents that updates changed line items cost that were not even associated with task being revisioned. Finally the biggest issues, the walk in tub! We knew little about "walk in tubs" at the time but the sales rep / manager seem knowledgeable having worked at ***** and recommended a tub that would fit our needs and space. Having maintained connections at *****, he ordered the tub for installation as part of the project. The instructions called for a leak test prior to completing installation. I got video of the tub sitting in my driveway still on the pallet with water in it as their attempt to do that. Different story when it was actually installed and hook up with water lines, drain lines and fittings connected. Hard to check the jets, hookups, water lines, drains, and fittings when all you do is take a water hose to a tub while it is still on the pallet in front of the house. The tub gets installed, the bathroom built around it and after all hookups are connected and power applied with water in the tub surprise, surprise. Leaks everywhere, six in total. Some slow, some moderate, and some massive. So the tech's would evaluate the leaks and work to resolve them one by one. Finally they get down to three from six and that is where they left it when they walked off the job. The project was complete except the tub. The word was "we fixed it three times now it is your problem deal with the manufacture." The tub has never worked without leaking. So we contacted the manufacture and they commissioned a plumber to do the fix upon receipt a new part coming from China. I submit Fowler Inc. who recommended this tub, purchased the tub and installed it, should have coordinated with the manufacture to complete the project. Legal advise was to try to come to a settlement before adding legal cost to the problem. By now we had been shifted to leadership on the ServPro side of the house which is a part of Athens Fowler Inc group. We aired our concerns they made some modest adjustments and we paid the ticket. The representative on the ServPro side of the house seemed to be the only one that really gave a rats rump about working with our issues. In spite of the back and forth with cabinet problems, no-shows, leaking tub, management problems, feeling like a rented mule when they walked away on an incomplete project, some of the work was well done. The two technicians assigned were good guys, still you know how they say, never say never, I would NEVER do another job with Fowler Inc or recommend that company under the same management in Athens TN.