CES NW, Inc - Puyallup, Washington

Joshua C. M.

Buyer beware. Here is the saga of my terrible and ongoing experience with CES NW Inc. I was referred to this firm to conduct surveys for a property we were looking at purchasing. I emailed the representative one morning that I’d like to SCHEDULE the survey as soon as possible and then called him within the hour to do so and I was told by the representative, Seth, that their work was actually contingent on Habitat first completing first their flagging of wetlands and that I should notify them once that work was done so that they could then begin. (In my resolution attempts they even admitted to me that phone conversation did indeed take place.) We never set an appointment or timeline; CES NW Inc was NEVER given permission to visit the property at a specific time as would be required by the sellers so it was not trespassing and the gate could be opened. At the end of that phone conversation with Seth, I agreed to notify them once the flagging was done and after several weeks of attempting to get the flagging done with another firm that was too busy to come out, significant issues came up on the property (an unpermitted structure) and we withdrew from the purchase contract. Nearly 40 days after my initial conversation with CES NW, Inc I received a massive invoice for work "completed" on the property from Craig, work that I had been told could not proceed until Habitat did their part. I was shocked, especially given that I had not notified CES NW, Inc that they were good to proceed. I attempted to resolve this with senior management, including noting detailed phone records and the fact that no appointments were ever authorized or made and that there was a complete lack of communication or follow up by Seth or anyone else at CES NW during the 40 day period, and I was met with a smoke screen of deflection that I had signed a contract (when in fact all I had been given was a proposal/quote of services, which were never authorized to be completed by me or the seller at any specific time. Frankly, it is unprofessional in just about any profession to conduct onsite work without an appointment—CES NW does not understand this apparently) This to me, is the main issue with CES NW—poor customer service and little to no communication. Moreover, they claim to have completed work, when in fact, that would mean they were trespassing on the property as the sellers had not consented or authorized any work to be done. Fast forward 1 month—I had been on a family trip out of state when I came down with a serious staph/MRSA infection and was in the hospital receiving treatment. I returned to find that CES NW, Inc had had their attorney send a letter threatening me with a lawsuit for libel because I had posted a negative review. I was stunned—why would a company threaten to sue over a negative review instead of attempting to resolve the issue? I attempted to contact the manager Craig numerous times to resolve this and was kept from speaking to him by the office manager and was told that their collection firm was handling it now. I then filed a complaint with the BBB and even offered as a point of reconciliation to pay for the hours that Seth would have worked the day we spoke on pulling property data; CES NW Inc did not address my offer and now I just received another threat to sue me for the collection instead of a phone call from Craig. It’s sad to me that this company fails to see the value of good customer service and, in this case, a professional resolution instead of threats and intimidation.

Todd D.

They have been working on our property and have been amazing to work with. So glad we used CES NW

Don L.

Fast and accurate work, priced reasonably.

Robert C.

Not a structural engineer

Byron D.

Very knowledgeable

Michael L.