Cedar Creek Energy

Workers drinking alcohol at worksite

Despite some significant problems, I do appreciate that Cedar Creek Energy did help me install solar paneling on my roof. I also liked many of the staff. The challenges however were significant, and after some consideration, I think it's worth offering forewarning to potential customers. First, I encountered inaccurate/unreliable marketing information and poor contracting practices: I worked with Nate Pingel. He was very enthusiastic about touting Cedar Creek Energy as the best in the business, and assured me I would have an outstanding experience. He gave me a "bid" for my solar installation, and indicated that the price included the cost of a potential meter upgrade, which he shared that I might not need. He indicated that if it was not needed, then the price would be dropped by "over $2000". I believed him, and signed the contract without carefully checking whether it specified that I would receive a reduction in cost if the upgrade was not in fact needed. I then paid a $1000 required down payment, which was "non-refundable". Afterwards, I inquired, and was told that the meter upgrade was not needed. So I asked for the price reduction, and was then told that a mistake was somehow made, and the bid I was given did not include the cost of the upgrade. Nate did seem to be suggesting that since there was a "mistake", nothing could be done about the $2000+ promised reduction. I explained that I had been considering other contractors, and had relied on the accuracy of the bid when provided. Eventually we compromised, and the price was reduced by $1000. It was livable, but didn't leave me feeling great about the company's ethics. There were also some other incorrect statements. For instance, I expressed interest in a solar battery, both for emergency backup during outages, and to help power my home at night. Nate claimed that I was misunderstanding what the battery could do, and that it would only kick in during an outage, and wouldn't otherwise do anything for my home. I was surprised, but I assumed he must know more about solar technology than I do, and I believed him. It turns out now however, that the battery *does* in fact help power my home as needed, which in itself is great. But because I received inaccurate information from Nate, I didn't ask for a second battery, and would otherwise almost certainly have wanted one. Since I didn't find out the correct information until after the installation was complete, I will now have to separately add the battery, and didn't include the cost of it in my solar loan, so it will have to wait. I communicated next with my project manager. After the initial contracting issues, he assured me that he was committed to making sure that the rest of my installation went very well. I believed that he meant it (and still do). However, on the third of four days of work I went out of my home to my backyard to ask a few questions of the electrician. To my shock, I found the workers sitting and standing in a circle, drinking beers with one of my upstairs neighbors (on my property). It was incredibly awkward, and got me worried about safety, because of course the workers are sometimes operating on the roof. It was close to the end of the work day (I'd been told 8am-4:30pm, and it was a bit before 4:30pm), so my hope was that they were done climbing, and that did prove true. But there are still liability issues for me, as a homeowner, if workers are drinking alcohol on my property. It put me in a risky position, and was unexpectedly stressful during an already full week. It was definitely not what I wanted out of the installation, and I noted later after re-reviewing the contract that the contract does promise "workmenlike" performance. That is, I believe that Cedar Creek workers drinking alcohol on my property without my knowledge or permission, during the work hours the company had provided, was likely a breach of contract. I wrote to my project manager that night, and spoke verbally with the electrician the next morning. I was friendly, and initially hoped that my concerns were taken seriously. Last week, I wrote to my project manager again, raised the contractual obligations in question, and asked him to consider reducing the remaining cost in compensation. I did not ask for a specific amount, and it was mostly, for me -- about looking for some accountability. The project manager passed my request on to the company executives. Yesterday, the manager wrote back to me, and copied the company's CEO, Rob Appelhof. The response was certainly civil, but the content was troubling. Basically, he did seem to be relaying excuses, claiming that the workers were just trying to be polite to my neighbor, and that they were "off the clock" (which was odd). None of this helped reconcile the fact that that Cedar Creek staff were drinking beer in my backyard, that I am bound to this company if I want them to honor any warranty issues, and am paying full price despite the breach.