You might want to email him and get the real reasons as to why....If I'm not mistaken this is the HVAC turned exterior maintenance?? I saw a similar company come into town here with what everyone said was a similar reputation and they did not last long... They go in and promise dramatic savings and then just churn through naive contractors till each one of them figures out they are getting the raw end of the deal; money and reputation wise...at least that is what happened here with a similar company.
If these are the same one's doing the Targets they are paying guys sometimes 70% less than what the accounts were producing a year earlier.
We were also contacted by this group for some sub snow removal work. Proposed contract was very confused, made little sense. The whole approach was rushed. I got the feeling that the lowest guy would get the job; regardless of ability. I haven't heard much else about them. Experience left me both cold & relieved.
A friend plowed for them last year without any major complaints. This year all the places he plowed for them contacted him directly and now he does them without a middle man.
I've read both good and bad about US Maint. We were contacted by them with a little bit of a sketchy plan at hand. They wanted us to measure and bid a corporate campus for a contract they had. After further research (not wanting to waste my time) I discovered that the corporate campus was going out to bid for next year and the national property maintenance company had not been selected. I contacted US Maint and asked about the current situation and they clarified for me that they were puttint together a bid package. They implied, if not so much as said, that they had the contract for this job and would be selecting a contractor for the work. Needless to say I passed on the quote, but I did go out and measure the property in the meantime. It would have been a nice job, but not under the circumstances. I told them that after they had the job that I'd be happy to bid on it.
They also handle the Rite Aid's locally. Too bad because the Rite Aid's look horrible. They go with absolute low bidder and then don't manage the job very well in my opinion. Worse yet they are known for sending ou a price sheet telling you what they will pay you for the job, after they have taken their profit off the top. This is where their low payout reputation has come from in my opinion along with the fact that after you submit invoices they are slow to pay or will question service visits.
To be fair I have heard stories about contractors who have had good relationships with US Maint. I think it comes down to how you handle it. As long as you are not dependent on the work and can walk away from it at any time, I think it would be okay to work for them.
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Lawn Lad, Inc.
Cleveland, Ohio www.lawnlad.com
My best advice is stay far far away from US Maintenance. I work for a company that is still fighting them legally for over 2 thousand worth of work that they are trying to dispute paying regardless of their clients satifaction with our work. Be very careful. Some account managers and departments are good as we currently do some work for them and have not had issues, but other clients/departments will try to stiff you big time. They even tried to hire our guys out from under us (clear violation of contract). Use extreme caution and document EVERYTHING if you do decide to work for them.
Last year they told all their subs that they would be deducting 5% from all invoices because of pressure from clients. Amazing how they made it high on the list of top grossing snow contractors even after reducing their prices!
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