RC Jones Company of Greenville, SC: A Woeful Home Improvement Experience?

The memory is so clear. My wife was very uncomfortable while we strolled the isles of the annual home and commercial improvement, repair and restoration trade show. The RC Jones Company booth caught her attention long enough to distract the now ever-present YOU-DID-THIS-TO-ME vibe that all dads-to-be must endure.

John, the salesman, said the right things. An appointment was made. The caveat was apparent; we may have to cancel due to circumstances beyond our control. That caveat turned out to be a beautiful gift from God. We rescheduled.

I tried to not to like him. That ingrown man thing just kept pounding me to believe that John was nothing more than a plate of chicken wings and a cold beer to imbibe when I pleased. Cut emotions. Do not trust. Think. Question. Protect. Do not trust. C'mon, ya gotta give me a break on this one. All guys do it. It's a protection issue. This is a HUGE amount of money for us. If handled improperly it could severely cripple our family for years to come. Well, as it turned out, we both loved John.

He had brilliant ideas. His credentials were great. I had no doubt that he knew what he was doing. He told us that he, specifically, would be the project manager on this account and that we wouldn't have to move out of our house. With that, the deal was sealed. Although minutia fell within the details, the short of it is that we had the home and plans inspected, got the loan, signed the contract and gave a $10,000 deposit.

If you've ever watched Vh1 Behind The Music, this is the part where the lead singer gets hooked on heroin. (cue: dark, depressing music)

As soon as the deposit was signed and handed over, communication all but stopped. Phone calls went unanswered for days. Promised beginning dates lapsed. The excuse was that the company was waiting on the permits. ...and here we go.

I called city hall to check on the permits. They'd been ready for almost two weeks. I called (and emailed and texted) John, leaving my new-found information for him. Guess what? He called back. The work began the following Monday. Imagine that.

My precious little girl is now nearly six-months old. My back yard is partially destroyed and littered with construction debris. My deck has been ripped off the side of my house and left to sit in my driveway. I'm paying a much higher construction loan interest rate while nothing happens. Phone calls for the past two weeks have gone unanswered. An unfinished exterior wall sits at the center of it all.

Coming Soon: Part two of my experience with RC Jones of Greenville, SC. Actually, RC Jones is based out of Mauldin, SC. Here is a tease: The thing that sealed the deal was John telling us that he would be our project manager and that we wouldn't have to move out of our house. We trusted him, me begrudgingly. The footer laid. The wall goes up. Work stops. My wife called the company owner after two weeks of phone calls not being returned. It seems that John no longer works for the company. I wonder when RC Jones Company was going to enlighten us with this tidbit of information? ...to be continued.

(Editor's Note) We are the target audience for home improvement, repair and restoration companies such as The R.C. Jones Company. We are of the right age and income. I understand that such a target audience tends to find product and service references via the Internet. My review is not intended as one of malicious intent, but only as a truthful review of promise, service and contract with the RC Jones Company. I will continue to update the RC Jones Chronicles with the experiences of my family, as we see them, over the coming months and until the project is complete. The RC Jones Company provides home improvements and commercial improvement, repair, restoration, construction, and several other similar services. They are based out of Mauldin, SC, and service cities surrounding the Greenville, Spartanburg, Simpsonville and Anderson South Carolina markets. The J.D. Hale Company (JD Hale, Co) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RC Jones Company. Jim Hale is the owner of the RC Jones Company. JD Hale construction company advertises using the following words: Build Remodel Roofing.

The RC Jones Company Chronicles
Part I - The RC Jones Company of Greenville, SC: A Woeful Home Improvement Experience
Part II - The RC Jones Company Chronicles: The Project Manager Switcheroo
Part III - The RC Jones Company Chronicles: A Soccer Metaphor of My Week
Part IV - The RC Jones Company Chronicles: What Now Pow Wow
Part V - The RC Jones Company Chronicles: Hoffa Found Alive, Concept Confuses Project Manager
Part VI - The RC Jones Company Chronicles: Always Have An Exit Strategy
Part VII - The RC Jones Company Chronicles: A Glimpse Into Personality

Buckeye Panic

Todd Nance, John Bell, Domingo Ortiz & Dave Schools - Widespread Panic - Columbus, Ohio 10.04.06

Maudlin Mavs

Mauldin Mavs Football - October 2007

First SC Apple Store Opens at Clemson University, More Coming

Finally! With the departure of CompUSA, the Upstate--all of SC actually--has been jonesin' for Apple pieces and parts. Well the wait is over. The first Apple store has opened its doors on the campus of Clemson University. This is the first of a rumored three openings in the state.

As most of you can see, I'm departing from my usual photo/video blogging to bring you this news. Why? It's simple really. Macs rock. Apple simply has the best OS on the market today. Also, access to this information is pretty easy for me. I work on campus. Oh wait, one more thing, MS Vista sucks worse than Windows 95. Yes, I am a Mac snob. You should be, too. ...and on with the news.

Mac users once hid in the shadows around the Tiger campus. They occasionally found a little relief in the form of help from those within the School of Education, the only people on campus who know better. Most of the time, however, computer support on campus had the standard solution to all Mac problems..."We don't support Macs."

Oh how things change. Mac users at Clemson University are now getting a huge support...in a big, over-the-top way. Clemson Computing and Internet Technology (CCIT) has opened a retail Apple store in the heart of campus. Located in the Loggia of the University Union, the Apple store now offers all Clemson users the convenience, affordability and personal attention of a local outlet at prices even better than online or the regular educational discounts. Plus, you can receive personalized service and advising on products and features.

“The goal of the store is to offer our customers the products, services and information they desire as we (CCIT) provide better support for this growing community of Mac users,” explains Jason Domke, director of CCIT’s business office.

The Clemson Apple Store, the first in South Carolina, carries a full selection of Apple products including laptops, iPods, monitors and accessories. Currently, customers can take advantage of a special Back-to-School offer from Apple and receive a free iPod with the purchase of one of the recommended Apple laptops. [source ]

Rumor #1 - A Store in Greenville
New store coming to Magnolia Park. This city's site was originally planned for Haywood Mall, but there was no appropriate space. So in August 2007 Apple switched to this 670,000 s.f. town center being created after the former mall was demolished along I-85. It will include retail, retaurants, cinema, offices and hotel space on 65 acres. It would be the second-largest mall in the state, and the first Apple store in the state. Mall opens in Fall 2009. [source]

Rumor # 2 - A Store in Charleston
This once-seedy section of downtown has been turned into the "SoHo of the South," with many familiar Apple store neighbors (J. Crew, Abercrombie, GAP, Pottery Barn, etc.). The street offers 500,000 s.f. of retail and is 96% occupied. Apple reps visited the city's Department of Economic Development in mid-2006, snapped site photos and asked about zoning/heritage approval procedures for a space renovation. Speculation is on 301 King St., a 2-story brick building formerly occupied by the Cumberland's Pub & Grill. An architectural design proposal was submitted to the city review board on March 3, 2008. Job listings posted June 9, 2008. Could open by late summer, 2008. [source ]

For all of you Ohio State Buckeye Mac Users, feel free to download one of my latest Wallpaper designs - Mac OS X Buckeye Edition.

Surf

Brookwood Church at Discovery Island Water Park - 6.08