Z.A.G.

Marsha Zilles of Z.A.G. was hired as an architect to design plans for a remodel of my house in Santa Barbara. In 44 years of developing and owning a large amount of real estate she was the most incompetent and mean spirited professional I have ever dealt with. Her incompetency consisted of regularly failing to proof read plans drawn by her draftsman. Twice she submitted plans to the County Building Department that were missing pages. Rooms were incorrectly measured; the garage was short by an astonishing 10 feet. She was unaware of the procedure for following the County permitting process on line and continually caused delays due to not understanding the process and numerous personal problems. Her mean spirited defensive manner consisted of numerous late night derogatory emails that were repetitive in nature, proclaiming her brilliance but failing to deal with any real issues the project involved. Her billing was not done in accordance with her contract (bill by the second week of the month for the prior month’s work) and never itemized with day, time, and description of work performed. An invoice would be provided after many months, unsupported by documentation, and then threaten to sabotage the project if not paid immediately (her invoices were always paid in full). For six months I had a local building permit and she continually said I didn’t know what I was doing and could not possibly have a permit. When she finally saw the permit there was no apology, just a statement that the building department erred in giving it to me. Throughout the process her behavior was that of an adversary and not an advocate of the project.