Buyer Beware When Choosing Georgia Asphalt Companies

By Barbara Howard


When having a new driveway or patio installed, finding the right company to deliver the concrete on time, and for a reasonable charge, is not always easy. There are many fly-by-night companies in existence in the Atlanta area. It is vital that a homeowner knows who they are hiring when choosing a Georgia asphalt company.

Utilizing an online reference listing is a good place to start, as they can confirm whether or not the license and insurance is up-to-date. Additionally, they can provide references by people who claim to have used their service. These references are difficult to confirm, so asking an agent for the company you are considering for their best references, along with phone numbers and a photo of the work done, might not be a bad idea.

When hiring someone to deliver this type of material, the driver is often a subcontracted individual. When getting acquainted with the organization you intend to hire, be sure to find out who their drivers are. It may not be a bad idea to get the phone number and license number of the driver in order to verify that this individual is legally able to perform the task for which he is hired.

There are some companies operating in the North Atlanta region who appear to be legitimate, but not all their drivers are. Some companies in operation have drivers that do not hold a CDL, or their license is suspended. Not only that, but some of their drivers are related to the officers of the company and may not have the skills or licenses that would be required of other employees due to this nepotism.

If you establish that there is a family connection that runs deep, then it is buyer beware. While they might do perfectly acceptable work, they short-change the subcontractors working for them as an established method of doing business. They make outrageous profits every day, but try to pay their drivers less than $100.00 for what winds up being a 10 to 16 hour day.

Making profit is all well and good, but the profits they are making are so high that they clearly are overcharging the customer. This family works throughout the state, and often take their drivers on longer runs in other states as well. They may offer excellent pay for a summer of travel, but when it comes time to pay up, they absolutely never deliver the amount of money promised, and usually the driver gets less than half of what he expected.

It appears that they know exactly what drivers in the area are going through a tough patch, and they take advantage of that fact. They will attempt to short-change their driver each and every time he drives for them, making up a million excuses about why they will not be paying what they promised. Ultimately they take an individual who is going through a tough period, promise him enough money to solve the problem, then leave him even worse off than he was before.

As prudent individuals, we must be wary of who we pay to perform any construction or improvement upon our properties. There are still people out there who are able to slip through the cracks and operate under the radar in such a way that allows them to make more money by harming others. It is time that such operators get flushed out into the open and their economic strangle-hold be loosened from the towns in which they live.




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