Marc

I recently purchased a replacement stove element from Sutton and Sons - family run business who has been around for many years. A few things that impressed me about this transaction are 1) their turnaround time, from phone call to part available for pick up, was 1 day. Wow! and 2) The fee they charged me for this part was quite competitive and fair! A genuine part too. Thanks for that, Sutton and Sons. 3) They're willing and happy to give you advice and instructions over the phone on how to do the job yourself therefore, doing away with having them to install the part for additional labor costs. I cannot comment yet on their in-house appliance repair services but they'll be the first people I call when I come across an issue I cannot rectify myself. Thanks for you help, Sutton and Sons.

My basement floor drain backed up six months ago.. I had a plumber come in and 'snake' it - w/ a camera inspection - for just under $500. Everything was working fine up until recently when it backed up once again. This time I thought why not get the drain flushed once and for all...flush out all of the debris built up during the past 100 years (century home). I called around for some quotes, which were quite expensive - some asking for up to $1000 for a flush job. During my search I stumbled upon a hidden treasure: WM Groves. They quoted me very, very fairly for a flush job w/ post camera inspection. So, I decided to go with them. They came in, flushed the drain and followed up with a camera inspection. It turns out that there was a significant build up of grease just passed the back water valve. Pre and post appointment communication was good; they ended up emailing the invoice to me - with final results - which I appreciated. WM Groves is a hidden gem in the city of Hamilton and I'll be sure to use them going forward for all drain snaking and flushing requirements. Thanks again.

Last month I called Convertible and asked if they could send a technician over to diagnose my broken AC unit. They were able to send Adam over on very short notice. Thanks for that btw! Adam was able to determine the issue - fried capacitor - and replace it no time. The charge for the call was very fair too. This was another great, textbook service call provided by Convertible. Thanks and will be in touch int he future. Cheers. ***Hi Marnie, I just want to say thanks for replying to most of the feedback left by customers here on Homestars. By you replying it let's your clients know that you're paying attention and you really care about our thoughts on your service. Please keep it up! Cheers***

Summary of the service --> Yesterday I called Serhiy. on short notice. and asked if he could stop by my Hamilton home to inspect a clogged below-grade drain pipe; he quickly accepted and made the trek all the way from the Toronto area into Hamilton in short time. To remedy the clogged drain, Serhiy proceeded to snake the drain and remove some roots that had penetrated the clay pipe. . In addition. for good measure, he followed up with a camera inspection to determine the current integrity of the pipe. Afterthoughts --> I am very pleased with the service that Serhiy provided to me: He is reliable - he made the one hour trip into Hamilton with a short response time; He provided an effective service that cleared my drain right away; he is knowledgeable / tech savvy- he was able to explain what he was doing and even went as far s to text me pics / video of the inside of the drainage pipe. Pretty cool stuff; and, I want to stress that he is quite cost effective and fair with his pricing- he billed me a very, very fair price considering the fact that he had driven all the way over from Toronto Thanks, Serhiy, for your dedicated service. Keep doing what you're doing and your business will continue to flourish. You're my new plumber for life! We'll be in touch. Cheers.

Hi Marnie and Antoinette, Our 19 year old Carrier furnace stopped working in the evening of May 5. I called your dispatch line and you were able to accommodate me. Thanks for that. Tahir stopped by in no time, quickly diagnosed the issue - a burnt HSI unit - and repaired my furnace with ease. This was all done for a reasonable price. Thanks, guys, for the great customer service and I will be sure you start using you for all of my HVAC requirements going forward. Cheers.

I discovered the Eavestrough Company on Homestars. Wendell L. - owner - stopped in to price it out Wendell is very knowledgeable in this business, and is a straight up shooter: tells it the way he sees it with no sales pressure tactics...he's been around a fair bit and has nothing left to prove. His quote was very competitive. The software package that the TEC uses is formal and professional, the quote / invoices are emailed to you in a PDF format. You pay nothing up front, only when the job has been completed to your satisfaction. The job was performed according to the contract and the job site was cleaned up quite meticulously. Another thing I found convenient is the fact that I could pay using my mastercard therefore, allowing me to accumulate points! Cha ching$$$ Faye, the way you communicate with your customer base is very well appreciated and a standout from all other companies. Keep it up!

This is the third time I've done business with Dmitry at Arcana Windows, and once again he's been an all around pleasure to deal with. Since this was the third time around for me, Dmitry recognized this and, as a result, I was rewarded with a very, very competitive price quote. Dmitry will reward your loyalty; he's gentle, not pushy one bit; flexible, he'll afford you a few days before you pay the bill; and his communication is great, he's always responds to text messages right away. Also, his installers are great, no issues there. Thanks, Dmitry, I will continue referring people to Arcana, and I will contact you the next time I am in need of additional windows or doors Thanks again! ****Update: Post completion of the job, I noticed that a floor sweep on one of the new doors required adjusting. I called up Dmitry and he stopped in and made the required fix. The lines of communication are always open with Dmitry, so not to worry there***

My furnace stopped operating during a recent cold snap, and of all times this had to take place on a weekend. Yikes! I called a couple of places and Reliable was the only vendor to answer my call. Rob, one of the general managers, was honest enough to ask me - over the phone - to perform some trouble shooting steps. No success, so he made his way over later that day to diagnose the issue; he was a man of his word and returned that following Monday to carry out the repair. I found Rob to be a very honest, soft spoken, and gentle individual. Two great examples that demonstrate how honest of a character Rob is are: I wanted to reimburse Rob after the initial visit but he politely declined and said not to worry since he did not fix anything yet; also, after fixing my furnace, Rob commented that my furnace was working great and that I should keep it as long as I can. I might also add that they charged me a very, very fair and competitive price to replace the vent motor in my Amana furnace. Thanks, Rob and staff, you're a great bunch of honest chaps who I will now be calling in the future for all of my HVAC requirements. Cheers!

I had Darren inspect my newly purchased 2.5 story property in Hamilton. Darren is a polite and personable gentleman. I called him on short notice and he was nice enough to accommodate me into his schedule, even though I had to cancel on him on one occasion. Darren is quite knowledgeable with his craft, answering all of the inquiries I through at him. He was even able to pinpoint some knob and tube wiring. I especially like the fact that he knew the building history behind Hamilton's century homes. Some added advantages to using Darren: he provided the inspection report on the same day, with great colourful pictures, great detail, and a binder to boot; he's not another run of the mill inspector, he's actually certified and accredited by BBB and NACHI (he attended his inspector schooling at Mohawk) he accepts both credit and debit card mobile payments. Wow, this was super convenient. Overall, an effective inspector who's a straight shooter, quite honest in his dealings with customers. Thanks, Darren! Good luck with your future inspections.

I discovered Mark and his company through Homestars. I called and requested a quote on the installation of an external air vent, a vent leading from my furnace room to the outside. Mark arrived when he said he would, and he bought his 'trainee' along too. His work was average at best and he honoured the quote that was given to me over the phone ($350). I will admit that $350 was a competitive quote relative to what some other companies were charging. Two things about the job that I wasn't too happy about are: upon completion, Mark remarks that he has to leave right away and scurries off without cleaning the leftover debris from the newly cut hole. This debris was left inside the home, at the base of the newly cut hole. and, 2, he, or his 'trainee', did not return some shifted furniture back to where he found them. He took it upon himself to grab my tenant's foot rest and use it as a stool, and proceed not to return it to the original spot.

I was very satisfied with the job Arcana did on my first home so, I decided to call Dmitry once again and have him quote on a window/door install for a second residence. He took into consideration that I was a returning customer and give me a really , really fair and reasonable deal for a few windows and one door. The install went great. Once again I found Dmitry to be a fair, gentle - never uses pressure tactics - honest and personable sales rep. Thanks, Dmitry!

I recently had my ducts cleaned by Luke M. @ Superior Air Duct Cleaning. Luke M. did a very thorough job cleaning all the supplies and air returns, all the whole communicating with me the process of what was transpiring in front of me. He made it a point of showing me the before and after results...wow, what a difference! I found Luke to be a polite, personable and knowledgeable gentleman. Good luck, Luke, in all of your future endeavours. Cheers.

I discovered J and R Aluminum through Kijiji. Rob Sowa, the owner, came by one Sunday in June of 2014 and, gave me a competitive quote for the job. He is a well informed and personable gentleman. For the most part, I feel his team did a decent job but, there were some concerns: After Rob left I did an observation of the gutter guard and noticed that it had been done sloppy; one section was caving in. I called Rob, sort of in a panic because I wanted it fixed before the roofers came to do my roof, and he said he'd come by the following Monday - he never did stop by or call me back. Just last week (June 2015) I noticed that the freeze board was sort of popping off of the wood behind it. Upon close observation, I noticed that they neglected to insert screws on the bottom side of the freeze board along the whole one side of the house. I wont bother calling Rob, I'll just stop by Home Depot and pick up some screws, do it myself. As you can see, judging by my review and a couple of other postings, this company can be sloppy at times. You'd think they'd do a walk around inspection upon finishing up, eh. Pros: Rob is personable and accommodating to your needs; competitive pricing; gives you a cool down period before having to pay him for the job; he did not ask for a deposit. Cons: his after service is sketchy at best; they can be sloppy at times. Would I call Rob again? Absolutely not! I have no patience, nor tolerance, for any company who pulls a no show and hides on their customers after the job is completed. It is always a company's responsibility to provide fair and timely after sale service. Thank you.

I bought a house that came with a fridge. A few months after purchasing the home I decided to plug the fridge in and try it out, with no success. The fridge would power up but not cool down. I called the appliance doctor and they arrived the same day - quick service seeing that everyone else was booked. It turns out that the fridge was not cooling down due to the fact that the home's thermostat was set to under 10 celsius (something to do with a sensor) I suppose the repairman, if he really wanted to, could have claimed it was something else that was borken and charged me plenty to fix. He didn't, he was very honest and truthful with me and for this I am really appreciative. By the way, Tracy, the woman who works at the office was very nice to me over the phone. Thanks, Appliance Doctor!

I discovered Arcana Windows & Doors on this site. I asked Dmitry if he could stop by to provide me with an estimate for the replacement of 12 windows in my downtown Hamilton home. Dmitry is a courteous, fair and well informed sales rep. He provided me with a very, very competitive quote - his company is one of the top three window installers in the Hamilton region for price and quality; their manufacturing facility is located in Stony Creek so, at least you know they're employing our own citizens - and was never ever pushy in his sales pitch but more so of a gentle manner I agreed with the quote and had the job done roughly three weeks after. Wow, the installation was performed amazingly: the capping is so bright and I can't stop admiring the new windows. I will definitely 1) recommend Arcana to anyone looking for new windows and 2) contact Dmitry next time I am need of some more windows. Thanks, Dmitry! Happy Holidays.

I discovered Joe and his company through Homestars. He performed a home inspection for me in Hamilton. Joe knows the Hamilton area pretty well. I believe the person in the previous review hit the nail on the head on all accounts. Joe was very punctual, showing up earlier than me to perform an initial review of the exterior. During the inspection, Joe would bring all concerns and insights to my attention. He also used an assortment of high tech tools, such as a camera mounted on a mast that allowed him to view the shingles without even venturing up onto the roof. I found his inspection to be quite thorough; he was able to spot a large gaping hole in the attic floor. Phew! He's a polite,intelligent and articulate individual. At the end of the inspection he provided me a verbal review along with a company binder. A soft copy report was emailed to me within 2 hours - excellent! Please keep in mind that Joe is only one of 35 certified home inspectors in Ontario. He's not a run of the mill inspector, he's paid his dues through plenty of schooling and seminars. An awesome inspection done at a very reasobale price - $425. Thanks.

I discovered Paul here on Homestars; he had a few favorable reviews, so, I decided to give him the opportunity. I called him and he got back to me right away (generally good with answering his phone). He's a busy guy these days, but at one point he was willing to come by late at night with a flashlight to provide me with a quote - very dedicated! He gave me a competitive quote (you pay after the job is complete) arrived back the next week and did the job with a great result. My chimney now has a cleaner more refined look and I suspect this tuck point job will extend its life for some time to come. Thanks, Paul, and I will definitely refer you if anyone asks.