ALTERNATIVE PORTABLE BUILDINGS

We put down a $2,500 deposit for Alternative Portable Buildings to install an 8x14' shed on our property. The person we were told would be building the shed was recovering from hip surgery, so we waited a few weeks for his recovery prior to the installation being scheduled. Having worked in the insurance industry for 15 years, I know the risks associated with having work done on your property and know you want to ask for proof of insurance (the document is called a "certificate of insurance" and is typically readily available in the construction business). He responded, and I quote, "You can get someone else to build you're shed. If you need proof of insurance, find someone else. I'm not doing it." And then he hung up. I was absolutely flabbergasted. I gave him a couple hours to calm down and called back -- first to apologize for offending him (though the conversation certainly raised all kinds of red flags) and then to explain the reason insurance is important. If the person doing work on your house gets hurt (and our builder had just recovered from hip surgery!) and they don't have business insurance, you can be legally responsible, and many homeowners policies will not cover someone doing work on your house. However, he never even gave me a chance -- he said "I don't want to do your job; I refunded your money." And he hung up again! I checked my credit card multiple times, and the refund of the deposit hasn't hit, but we shall see. I feel confident that the credit card would fight it on our behalf even if he didn't refund the deposit, so I'm not too concerned about that. And I'm thinking we dodged a bullet because this is obviously not a reputable company. We originally found them through their positive reviews on yelp, but now I'm wondering if their reviews are from friends and family!! I can't imagine that hostile of a personality getting positive reviews. However, he did just recover from hip surgery, so maybe that's a factor. Or maybe he's just covering for not having business insurance. Hard to say but regardless, now that the initial blow of the frustration has passed, me and my husband feel content - bullet dodged. Imagine if we had to call about an issue AFTER he had installed the building?! Or God forbid he did get hurt while constructing the structure?!

The owner/building of this company is incredibly rude. Like infuriatingly rude. So glad we saw the true colors of this unprofessional company before they did any work for us. When we first decided we might have a company build our shed (as opposed to doing it ourselves; we enjoy DIY home projects but we've been a bit too pressed for time recently), we checked out Tuff shed. They are wholly overpriced and use subcontractors. Alternative Portable Buildings was the second place we looked at (because they're the next closest to us). Their prices are reasonable and we really liked the sales person. The builder -- no, just no. Thankfully, they're not the only game in town. Urban Shed Concepts (right in Phoenix) and Discount Sheds (a little further out in Apache Junction) have the same reasonable prices, have excellent reviews, and the look of the sheds is SO MUCH nicer. They also have customization options. If you're just looking for a place to store your tools, it doesn't really matter, but if your wife is looking for a she-shed or you want an office or a pool house, you don't want one of the cookie cutter sheds at Alternative Portable Buildings. Even if their Home Depot-looking sheds were cheaper than the other companies (which they're not), I certainly would trade price for service.