ComplaintsforHastie's Capitol Sand & Gravel Co.

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We ordered medium bark from Hasties Capitol Sand and Gravel on 11-13-2013.The medium bark was delivered on Thursday, 11-16-2023.The website for Hasties Capitol Sand and Gravel, www.gohasties.com, gives a picture of their medium bark, and says it ranges between 3/4 inch and 3 inches in size.I took two pictures of bark pieces that greatly exceeded 3 inches in length.I talked with ****** from the company today, and explained that there were several pieces in the delivery load that greatly exceeded 3 inches in length. I asked him to have someone come and pick up all of the material and issue me a complete refund. He refused to do this and also did not offer any other compensation or credit.I have included a scanned image of the bill in this complaint. The 2 pictures I emailed to the company, showing the size of large pieces of bark, are also available on request - they are too large for this form to pick up.I am asking for Hasties Capitol Sand and Gravel to come and pick up all of the material, and issue me a complete refund.

  Business response

  11/30/2023

  ******************,
  
  I want to start by thanking you for all of the orders you have placed with our company over the past several years.  Our company does our very best to provide excellent customer service and I am very sorry to hear you are unhappy with your medium bark.  After reviewing your complaint and searching your history I think you meant to order small bark and you ordered medium by mistake.  It does happen sometimes.  You have ordered small bark twice before and we would have been more than happy to look that up for you if you had asked.  You have also ordered our playground and walk on bark too.  Instead I think you went to our website and picked medium bark.  The website does have a disclaimer that pops up each time you visit the page that says natural material does vary in color, size, and shape.  The few sticks you pulled out of the substantial pile does measure over what the website states however the other 95 percent of the bark not photographed is within that measurement.  If you would have come in to see the material in person, like it also strongly suggests on our website, Im sure you would have immediately recognized you actually wanted small bark. That being said, you still have bark you do not want which isnt the goal.  The nature of our industry makes it difficult for any material to be returned to us but we will certainly give you a refund if you would like to bring it back.  We would also bring out the small bark you actually want.Please let us know if you are interested in this option.  

  Customer response

  12/05/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:
  First, your website describes medium bark as 3/4 to 3 inches in size.  I measured a random sample of the bark I received.  80 percent of the pieces in the sample exceeded 3 inches across.  Yet you said The few sticks you pulled out of the substantial pile does measure over what the website states.  However, the other 95 percent of the bark not photographed is within that measurement.  This statement is grossly inaccurate and also you are accusing me of lying!  I know what I received, Ive looked it over carefully, and it exceeds in size what your website states.
  
  Second, you said that your website strongly suggests that a customer come in person to see the material.  That also is not true.  The disclaimer when the bark was delivered read, The material may vary slightly in size from that shown on the website.  Nothing was stated, strongly or otherwise, that a customer come in to inspect that material.  And no such suggestion was given, no caution of any kind was stated, over the phone when the material was ordered.
  
  You said a refund would be issued in I returned the material myself.  I do not have access to a vehicle to accomplish that, and a hauling service, to return the material,would charge over twice what it cost to receive the material.
  
  The above problems with this company are not those of a company that is highly rated by the Better Business Bureau.  I ask for a further review of this complaint by the Better Business Bureau.

  Business response

  12/08/2023

   

  The disclaimer on our website says....

  "Due to variations in color, size and texture in natural products we cannot guarantee a perfect match. We advise that you come in to one of our four locations to see the material for yourself."

  Customer response

  12/14/2023

  I am rejecting this response because: the "disclaimer" described in the company's latest post does not address the issue I had with the material that was delivered.  And none of the other issues I presented in my previous post were addressed.  The fact that these issues have not been adequately addressed by the company shows that they really have no interest in moving towards a resolution of those issues.  For these reasons, this company does not deserve the highest rating of the Better Business Bureau.  I ask for a complete review of these matters by the Better Business Bureau.
  

  As I stated before:

  First, your website describes medium bark as 3/4 to 3 inches in size.  I measured a random sample of the bark I received.  80 percent of the pieces in the sample exceeded 3 inches across.  Yet you said The few sticks you pulled out of the substantial pile does measure over what the website states.  However, the other 95 percent of the bark not photographed is within that measurement.  This statement is grossly inaccurate and also you are accusing me of lying!  I know what I received, Ive looked it over carefully, and it exceeds in size what your website states.
  
  Second, you said that your website strongly suggests that a customer come in person to see the material.  That also is not true.  The disclaimer when the bark was delivered read, The material may vary slightly in size from that shown on the website.  Nothing was stated, strongly or otherwise, that a customer come in to inspect that material.  And no such suggestion was given, no caution of any kind was stated, over the phone when the material was ordered.
  

   

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Ordered baserock for a paver installation project. We were told they would deliver by noon. Rented a bobcat and taper and hired a few guys to help move and tap down the base rock. Delivery did not show up at noon, called and even went into the office to ask for status but still no delivery. Finally had to cancel the order at 4pm. Will need to re-rent equipment and obviously paid the workers for their time.

  Business response

  11/14/2023

  Dear ****************,
  
  Thank you for reaching out through Better Business Bureau to inquire about your delivery.  I have researched the order and have decided not to accept responsibility for your equipment rental cost and lost labor.  We are sorry that you had additional expense you were not anticipating in your job.
  
  First, it is our companys policy to accept time requests from customers but never guarantee one.  Unfortunately,there are just too many variables in our industry.  Trucks breakdown, drivers call in sick, gridlock traffic, etc. and I apologize if you misunderstood.  Furthermore, we never recommend delivery the same day you have rented equipment and paid workers in the event something like the above does happen.  It is always a risk running such a tight timeline. 
  

  Also, are you working with a contractor or landscaper?******************************* is actually the customer who placed your order.  He originally scheduled the delivery for Saturday the 11th and asked for crushed rock.  On Tuesday the 7th ****************** called and asked if we could move the delivery up to the following day,Wednesday.  Our sales representative said we would able to get it out and he seemed very happy with that.  A specific time was never discussed. 
  
  There was contact made with our office after 12 noon on Wednesday as you stated and an eta (estimated time of delivery) was given between 12 and 3pm.  This was accepted by you.  The truck was on the way to pick up the material.  Then, ****************** called back again and changed material after he realized he order the wrong thing.  He actually wanted envirobase.  We said no problem, changed the order and re-routed the truck to another quarry that carried that material.  **** minutes later ****************** called again and said he would like to cancel the order all together.  We said no problem and refunded his money.
  
  Shortly after this ****************** called for a third time that day and said he would still like the material. Send the truck.  At this point, we had re-routed the truck out of the 2nd quarry and back to our yard in **********.  We apologized but said we could no longer deliver any material that day. Our time, truck, and gas had been wasted in two attempts to complete the order ****************** asked for and when he canceled, we cut our losses too and refunded his/your money.   
  
  Im not sure what ****************** was communicating to you but this is what happened here.  If he is responsible for your loss, we suggest you contact him.  We did not contact ****************** to reimburse us for our losses.  We did not hold any money back from the refund for driver wages and fuel.  Our company knows this is sometimes how it goes in this industry.  

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