The licensed contractor that we used did a great job. One of the other licensed sub-contractors that he used was Orion Pools. Orion applied the pebbletec type plaster and inlayed quarter tiles on the steps and loveseat.
What makes Orion a great company? Rob from Orion greeted me when he first arrived to give me an overview on what to expect. During the plastering I was able to peek periodically at the progress.
At the end of the work, they had forgotten to inlay the tiles into the plaster. Although the plastering had ended around 1:00 pm, Rob stayed to correct the mistake and make special preparations for each of about 17 tiles.
That painstaking work kept him here until 9:00 at night.
In my opinion, one of the trademarks of a conscientious professional is not only their ability to do the job well but to be able to handle any problems along the way.
Everyone is human. We all make mistakes. What separates the amateurs from the professionals is a great finished product like Orion pools provided.
Too often you see the local TV news interview homeowners who were ripped off by unlicensed contractors. It better to have a "happy ending" by using a licensed contractor in the first place.