I am Brian Padilla, owner of Brian?s Welding ? the contractor that was just negatively written about in the review from Andreas & Andy Mattes, in Saratoga. The project that Mrs. Mattes mentioned was for a very unique double gate for the top of the stairs in her house. My project manager Adam did a drawing of a beautiful gate and gave Mr. & Mrs. Mattes an estimate for $950 (generally these gates are between $1500 and $2000). The hinges we installed did not open 180 degrees. We promptly replaced these. A problem with the latch occurred because this double gate requires one section to be attached to the floor using a ?cane bolt? which is secured to the hardwood floor with a small bolt. Mr. Mattes would not allow us to install this bolt, causing the latch to not work properly because one section of the gate was not secure. Working within this limitation we replaced the latches and made it work. Mrs. Mattes was satisfied and Adam gave them a $100 discount for their trouble.
Thinking the job complete I went with Adam to visit the jobsite. The gate was absolutely beautiful. Not only did Adam match the existing guardrail, but he also personally did a faux finish to match the existing guardrail. We thought that all concerns & issues had been resolved. Mrs. Mattes now informed me that her husband was very mad and unhappy with our work. We had underbid the job and now we realized that the customer?s expectations had been and continued to be unreasonable. This customer would never be satisfied. At this time I asked them if they would like me to remove the gate, ending the project and returning everything to the way it was before we started (I figured I would have only lost about $2,000 in time at materials). We had never received a deposit and would not charge them anything. Mr. Mattes said no. I feel if he was truly dissatisfied with the gate he would have allowed us to remove it. He liked the gate too much to give it up. He just didn?t want to pay us.

From my years of experience I knew that there was absolutely nothing we could do to make this customer happy. Adam tried again to work something out. Shortly thereafter I received a call from Mr. Mattes stating that what we did at his house was a ?science project? and he demanded a discount. I reminded him I had already given him a $100 discount for his trouble with the hinges. I felt I had already settled for $850 for a $2000 gate.
From initial design to completion, Adam has done an exceptional job. I feel he went far above the call of duty and he was very patient with this customer. Adam made 4 visits and the installers had been at the job site 3 times. We responded to every situation in a timely manner, working around Mr. Mattes? business trips, Mrs. Mattes? schedule and their young child?s nap time. In spite of these obstacles we completed the project in less than 3 weeks. I feel they harassed us so that they could get a beautiful gate for almost nothing. Despite all of our efforts we were unable to compromise. Getting the gate at a discounted price is not enough ? they want to tarnish my reputation as well.
I have been in business since 1979 and I have an excellent reputation. I employ 20 men and women. I am a member of the Better Bus. Bureau and have a file full of letters of recommendation. We have billed for over 5800 projects since 1997 and have always resolved issues to the customer?s satisfaction. I have been featured on the History Channel and have been featured in Sunset magazine on 3 separate occasions. My business has been built by word-of-mouth. All of my customers are from referrals. I no longer need to advertise.
Working for these people has been a nightmare. I am probably not the only contractor they have used these tactics with so future contractors?. Beware! This is the type of customer that will never be happy, want something for nothing, and after all of your efforts will still smear your name across the internet.

This was my worst business experience in Northern Cal. Incompetent project management. It took them 5 attempts to do a simple job right. Only to be yelled at and insulted by the owner for the short comings of his employees. Anybody who is looking for decent service and quality craftsmanship be warned! Unless you have oodles of time and money, don't contract this outfit!!!!
After questioning Brian's business ethics he told me he had enough business without us..

A beautiful gate was put in, but I had to constantly follow up to insure gate was to fire code and then the key pad has failed twice. I later met with the sales representative, Adam and he made good on making everything work. All-in-all, I would recommend this company to a friend.