UPDATED Sept 5/17: Terrible quality; Watch your contract
Update September 2017:
After posting this review and also sending my concerns to the SW home office, I was contacted immediately by the regional manager, Cory. He arranged to come on site within a few days and following his visit, he made all arrangements for the crew to return and do the job right. He also had the local Squamish operator stain the front and back decks at no additional cost given all the issues we had. This experience tells me two things about StudentWorks: 1. When in doubt, contact the regional manager. This is their bread and butter and they truly want you to be satisfied. 2. The quality of work will vary greatly operator to operator. The Squamish operator showed little to no interest in ensuring the job was done right. He wanted to be paid and move on as quickly as possible. If you can, get direct recommendations or references for the local operator you will be working with, as opposed to StudentWorks in general.
Original Review:
Hired based on answers to two key questions: Are your painters experienced so I get a quality paint job? Do you fill knot holes/cracks and caulk because my siding is old? Got a resounding and reassuring yes to both. Turns out neither were true.
On day 1, it was a free-for-all with no apparent plan. Some guys painting trim, some guys painting siding side by side. Paint colours overlapping, no taping, no drop cloth, paint on my wood decks, paint on my eaves and soffits, paint dripping down the walls. I sent a note to the franchisee with my immediate quality concerns. The quality did not improve.
To remove the massive amounts of paint from my decking they sanded out sections, meaning I know have to put the time and money into refinishing my decks. The franchisee seemed only concerned with collecting incremental payments, regardless of my continued discomfort with the quality.
When I inquired about filling holes and caulking, I was told that wasn't included. It 100% was part of the sales conversation, as witnessed by my husband. It was not checked off on the contract. They said it was not included. I was foolish to not scrutinize the contract.
As part of the contract negotiation, they included a small patio railing area "free". The patio looked like a five year old painted it. When I asked for this to be fixed, the franchisee said "it's not like you paid for that" insinuating that I should accept the shoddy work as-is. I rebuffed and they did add another coat.
What was most troubling was the franchisee having what appears to be a total lack of oversight or concern for quality. I was asked to do three "final" walk arounds. Each time, it was up to me to point out the glaring errors. Areas not yet painted, large quantities of paint on fixtures, areas lacking a second coat. The lack of professionalism, obvious lack of experience, and questionable sales/contract negotiation unfortunately made this process quite gruelling.
I would not recommend this service for these reasons. I had good faith in what they sold me. They did not. After three rounds of substantial fix-ups my house looks decent, albeit for the caulking, holes and cracks that need attention, and the decks that need refinishing - both of which I will now have to pay someone else to complete.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $6,500.00
- Company Response
Thanks for your feedback and our sincere apologies. Here is our response from our District Manager: I went to see Deena yesterday. They had valid issues with the work, and we both agreed that we will be coming back on Wednesday July 5th. We have agreed to the work that needs to be done, and they are extremely pleased with our response and work are willing to do.