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Rip Off by San Antonio Iron Worker Shop


Sarita

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Had a bad experience with a local ironwork shop in San Antonio, just east of Superlake, name of shop is Herreria Nuñez. I had taken in a small clay chimenea along with a little iron grate for the bottom, to allow air flow for the burning wood. The iron grate, about 5x9 inches oblong, belonged to a friend, I had borrowed it as an example of what I needed copied, which, frankly, could have easily been made of scraps off the floor, just a few small pieces.

The owner would not give me a price quote for the two I wanted, said he 'would have to think about it'. (What exactly I wondered, but now realize it was how much to rip off the sucker gringa.) I told him to call me with the price before proceeding, as I have been an unwitting victim of this kind of ploy before, and handed him my card with contact numbers, and he agreed.

Several days later he calls and says they are ready- I am shocked and told him he was to call first with price. I ask what the cost will be, he tells me 400p!! Honestly, they can be bought new for 30-40p, but I hadn't found one small enough. This price is outrageous and I refuse. I took a Mexican friend in with me today to pick-up my chimenea and sample grate, and guess what? The grate is 'missing', he claims he doesn't know anything about it, then denied I left it there for him to copy. I was furious! I know have to pay someone else to custom make a new one for my friend to replace the one this bozo took.

Be careful where you do business- some are very sleazy. :011:

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I've hired those guys for several jobs because I've always been happy with their work, and their price. In the past I've never had a problem getting an accurate quote before giving them the green light to do the job.

"Honestly, they can be bought new for 30-40p, but I hadn't found one small enough."

Happy hunting.

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dont ever leave anything w/ any one. keep it simple. you dont want to be held hostage. read my post about being stuck like glue. (re: cable company rip off). be happy you didnt lose much $, just time & its draining i know. next time, theres nothing to "think about"- they can think as long as they want, while you go somewhere else.

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I just used them today and had a simi not similar experience. I just got new plates and needed license plate bracket fabricated an the gut said 80 pesos for the front. I said OK and 80 peaos for the back of my car. Then when I went back (since it took 4 pieces) they wanted 80 pesos apiece. I said no way. I asummed that the front was 80 peso for both brackets. Two simple bends in the metal and a couple holes.

Anyway, i said I asummed it was two brackets for the front (80 pesos) and 80 for the back and they agreed. Did a fantastic job for front and rear and I am good to go. I saw your fireplace bracket there. Just dick with them like they dick with you. they have your fireplace bracket and want to sell it. Remember, we all get the gringo tax unless we dicker.

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I had metal fence posts made recently at another place in Riberas, Salazar's. They did a very professional job, on schedule and for the quoted price. I will go there from now on. They can be found on the frontage road below the carretera, lake side, just east of Mirasol, near Fitos pizza place. Wish I had known about them before going to the other guys.

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This is so disapointing to hear. The father has done a number of jobs for us and we have been very impressed with the professional quality of the work. Yes, at times the cost of the work was not cheap, but we'll pay a higher price for preimum top quality iron work.

I'm not defending them, but not quite sure why the rip-off. Sometimes I think on custom jobs many local companies will charge a higher price to "hedge their bets" so they don't underbid a work job. Often they're not sure what will be their final cost to fully complete the job.

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I had metal fence posts made recently at another place in Riberas, Salazar's. They did a very professional job, on schedule and for the quoted price. I will go there from now on. They can be found on the frontage road below the carretera, lake side, just east of Mirasol, near Fitos pizza place. Wish I had known about them before going to the other guys.

We used Nunez for a few things and then tried Salazar. Same quality but much lower price. We will use Salazar from now on.

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This is so disapointing to hear. The father has done a number of jobs for us and we have been very impressed with the professional quality of the work. Yes, at times the cost of the work was not cheap, but we'll pay a higher price for preimum top quality iron work.

I'm not defending them, but not quite sure why the rip-off. Sometimes I think on custom jobs many local companies will charge a higher price to "hedge their bets" so they don't underbid a work job. Often they're not sure what will be their final cost to fully complete the job.

This is the point: he would not give a bid/quote. It was an extremely small and simple item, basically, a 5x9inch oval of very small guage iron rod with a few cross pieces. He certainly knew what was involved & how much it would cost, he just played me. I wish I had gone elsewhere at that point, but based on the glowing reviews on this WB, I chose to stick with that shop. My Mexican friend asked them how much they were charging for these tiny grates and was shocked, he said his iron worker friend can make them easily, at a fraction of that price, as I figured. As we left he (my Mexican friend) said I am being ripped off on purpose because I am a gringa.

I suspect that, as a single woman walking into a business, I am a marked target. Some people get dollar signs in their eyes, particularly men who don't seem to treat us as they would another man. I am sure many of you will object to this, but 2 years of dealing with dozens of various businesses and countless tradespeople and workers at my property have been quite an eye-opener to this phenomenon.

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Sarita, I know it doesn't help for me to say this but I personally will not deal with anyone that does not give a price up front. I understand that would not stop someone from ripping you off if they've a mind to, but I just do not trust those that do not.

Yes, unfortunately women are very often treated differently. My wife will quickly back you up on that one.

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Okay, I have to tell what happened when we used Nunez. This was maybe 4 years ago, so please bear that in mind. We had him come to our house is Chula Vista to fabricate an arched trellis to go around the arched door from the house to the patio. I had drawn a picture with relevant markings showing where the arch started, etc.--Da Vinci would have been proud--AND it was labeled in meters. Or course, he chose to ignore this completely and to make his own measurements. He returned with the completed arched trellis. He could not get it thru the door to the patio (which was interior to the house), so he had to lift it over the hedge and bedroom to get it into the patio. Then he discovered that he had mismeasured the arch, which started not at the point of his drawing, but of course at the point noted in my drawing which he had not taken with him. So, he had to remake the trellis on our patio. We smiled;) The price was not bad but we prefer to use people who respect BOTH OF US. As a female, I would not tolerate dealing with anyone who was not comfortable dealing with women. Look around and don't compromise! There are plenty of workers here who will treat you with respect.

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I was at Mail Boxes and walked down to see what the infamous griil would cost? It was gone but the one I saw was rectangle? Was that it?

Kind of oblong, black, there were two made. On reflection, I should have grabbed one to replace the one they 'lost', though I think they sold it... whatever. Am going to Salazars.

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I can´t speak for others, but the dealings I´ve had there have always been fair. They did some repair work on a small cart for me and I was really pleased with the price and the fact that they did it on the spot. The first time I was there, the father was a bit reserved, but I spoke to him in (probably mangled) Spanish and just tried to be as friendly as possible. Sometimes attitude really IS everything. They may not be the cheapest, but I know what I get is quality. FWIW, I´m a female.

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I'm sorry you had a bad experience with these guys, it sounds like they were reluctant to do this particular job for some reason.

I've had these same guys make a custom fireplace grate and fireplace tools and I was very happy. I did negotiate on the both the price and delivery. It was ready on time and nicely done. I brought the little shovel tool back a few days later to have them adjust it a bit, and they did it on the spot for me. All done by a lone female with no problems. I would go back again.

Merry

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