BTL Railings was recommended to us by the landscaper that did a significant amount of work to our front lawn. We wanted to install a wrought iron railing around the front of our property and on the porch and stairs. Nelson, the owner of BTL Railings impressed us initially as friendly and experienced in doing railing installation. Apart from being somewhat slow to respond to our attempts to get a hold of him a few times, we had no evidence to suggest there'd be any problems in working with him. It took Nelson a few weeks longer to begin installing the railings than initially estimated, but that was not too big a deal. He did good work of the install and we had no issues at that time.
One of the things that seemed reassuring about Nelson was the fact that he repeated to us a few times that, "If you have any problems with the job, just call me". We hoped we wouldn't have to, but a few weeks after the installation we notice a new stone slab we installed by the landscaper for a step had developed a crack in it which dislodged a fist size piece of stone right at the point where Nelson had fastened the railing. It was obvious that this damage was due to the workmanship, a weakness in the stone or both.
We began calling Nelson and also sending emails to have him come by and assess what should be done. We later discovered he was in Europe so we waited a few weeks and then again began phoning to leave messages and emailing. We have likely sent out 10 messages to date. So far we have heard absolutely nothing from Nelson or anyone at BTL Railings.
What separates a good company from a dubious one is their response and reliability when things don't go according to plan. I had hoped we could trust Nelson when he said he would respond if anything went wrong but obviously he mislead us with his "promise". It's sad to find yet another company that looks good upfront but does not do what they promise in regard to guaranteeing their work. If Nelson had come and we could discuss a plan to fix the problem, I would be writing quite a good review. Unfortunately, he let us down by stonewalling us with silence and disrespecting us as customers. In light of this, we could never recommend him or his company to our friends or other consumers. We would be concerned they would also find him untrustworthy and experience the frustration and disappointment that we have been dealing with these last several weeks. I would definitely avoid this company unless you wish to take the real gamble that everything goes perfectly. As they say, "Buyer beware!"
