B - Markham, ON

I chose to get quotes from a few companies and this business provided me with a good price. The communication was ok, it fell off after a few back and forth emails trying to settled on a date. We were very happy after we got an appointment; the tech was punctual, friendly, and very thorough. He even said the BBQ wasn't that bad and that he was happy to call the office and cancel if I so chose, but I decided to go ahead with it since he'd come all that way. Our 3 burner Weber BBQ is is much better condition after the almost 3 hours he spent on it in the sweltering heat.

When I first called this company, after doing a google search for local carpet cleaners, the phone was answered promptly. I was told because they were short-staffed they would call me back, which they did in the time specified. The gentleman on the phone was very friendly and helpful and it was a bonus that they had a promotion going on. Our carpets were picked up the very next day by a pleasant man and returned 5 days later; delivery was included in the cleaning price. We are very happy with this company and would recommend them to others.

Mike came out to our house on-time and with a big smile on his face. He's possibly the friendliest contractor I've ever dealt with. The cost of his visit was explained up front and is lower than most other plumbers I've used. He spent a lot of time at our place addressing a number of issues and giving us a quote. His company is one of the only ones I've found who can do the plumbing as well as the tiling and other work we need done in our leaky shower. Mike patiently answered all of our questions and definitely knows his stuff. He was able to fix a few small things right away (loose drain plug and wobbly toilet). His quote for the bigger job was fair and from a binder with set rates so you know exactly what you're paying for.

Miro at Royal Decks is very good at keeping in contact with customers. He provided us with a free complete written proposal for what we wanted, including a 3D rendering of the project. His quote was the lowest of 3 quotes we obtained. The project was completed in the timeframe promised (except for a weather delay) and it cost exactly what we were originally quoted. Miro is professional and polite and does the job right. It was very easy working with him. We are very happy with our deck and would recommend him to anybody.

Raymond was the sales representative who came out to sell us the units and he was punctual, professional and knowledgeable. He gave us options for deferred payment and discounts. Whenever we have questions or concerns Raymond replied immediately and he has no problem coming to our house. We are very happy with the system we purchased and would definitely recommend this company to any body thinking of getting a water filtration system.

Chuck is very accommodating and helped us with our many repair issues. When our last contractor left without finishing the job, Chuck made it right. Warren is exceptional; he is tidy, punctual, friendly, and he took it upon himself to touch up some of the paint on a wall where the previous contractor had left marks. He knew we needed little nuisance things repaired and noticed and fixed a loose faceplate without us even telling him. These guys give contractors a good name!

Danny of DCM Renovations was referred to us by my brother-in-law who is a civil engineer. This company was just starting out but we decided to go ahead since my brother-in-law had seen their prior work and chosen them after speaking to 5 or 6 contracting companies. Danny told us the job would take about 4-6 weeks but it went over 8 weeks and it ultimately was never finished. We had paid half of the cost up-front and paid the balance once most of the work was completed, relying on his honesty. He asked for the final $1000.00 promising to come back and finish a few things, so we paid him. It has now been over a year since the job was started and we still can't use our master bathroom (plumbing). We have called DCM Renovations, sent emails and text messages with no response. The work was mostly good and Danny was good at listening to what we wanted but the crown moulding in the master bedroom was horrible (seems were very visible and crooked) and the paperwork was not detailed or very clear. When he never came back we had to hire another contractor to finish the job and re-do the crown moulding. Danny pointed out a serious flaw in our foundation (which required the builder to come out and fix) and also helped us in dealing with a water leak in the basement so I don't doubt he knows what he is doing but it is unacceptable not to finish a job properly and not respond to your customer. I haven't found any obituaries for Danny so I'm hoping he hasn't met with an untimely end but to give him the benefit of the doubt there always is that possibility.

We had two closets (one small walk-in and one entrance closet) fitted out with shelving and some of the shelves were not cut to exact size and the little metal tab/rest parts that hold up the metal bar come out a little and I need to press them back in, but I don't think they will come out entirely resulting in the bar falling. Overall the units are stable and serve us well. The sales and service was excellent and the price was very competitive and the design was appropriate to our needs.

We contacted another natural gas contractor we had used in the past for help with what is supposed to be a plug-and-play BBQ connection but they didn't get back to us. When I called Furnace Experts the technician was able to come same day and get our outside BBQ natural gas hook-up working. He was friendly and kind and the cost was extremely reasonable.

John came the same day as I called him - which was great - but he didn't have a door knob similar to ours, so despite going out for over an hour to buy some parts he needed he ended up replacing our nickle coloured door knob with a gold coloured one; now the deadbolt and knob are different colours and it bothers me every day. Unfortunately my brother was the only one home at the time and wasn't able to manage the issue.

We hired this company after getting several quotes from local painters. Eric did the job quick but he underestimated how much paint he would need for the bedroom (which was dark red) so he had to buy more paint resulting in us paying more than we expected. We don't know the first thing about painting so he suggested we use flat paint throughout (including the kitchen and bathroom) and now all the walls are marked up and when we try to clean them the paint comes off. He used Benjamin Moore paint and the manufacturer says we should have either used a different line of their product or eggshell finish rather than flat. The cut (or edge between the wall and ceiling) was so bad in spots that people asked if we had done the job ourselves and our contractor (who did the basement) had to touch it up to make it look decent. Eric did the job quick and he was nice enough but we are going to have to re-paint everything in a short period of time and we won't be hiring him again.

We went in and purchased a central vacuum last summer. The people were friendly and knowledgeable and the prices seemed better than other places. They also told us they were the supplier of Cana-Vac, the best vacuums on the market. The installer came and was quick but didn't attach the muffler to the main unit. Within 2 months of starting to use the vacuum 2 plastic parts broke off the main head and the handle started to crack along the on/off switch because it only swivels to one side which puts pressure on the handle when you have to turn the other way. I called to ask when I could come in for service and was accused right away of abusing the unit. Then I was told that the man who would look at the problem was only in Tuesday mornings. Typical - they are open 6 days a week for sales but totally inaccessible for customer service. Needless to say I work 9-5pm and I am not taking a vacation day or sick day just to have my vacuum serviced, I will just live with the the vacuum the way it is and just hope the handle doesn't break off entirely. Clearly this company is not interested in anything beyond the initial sale.

I needed a 5mm clear 61 x 30 inch mirror for my bathroom and this company gave me the best price of the 5 or 6 places I called. The mirror was ready within a day or so (quicker than they had said) and they called me to tell me it was ready. When I picked up the mirror the gentleman helped us load it into the car without us asking. I had to call them a couple of times because I wasn't able to go in right away but I always got through to them and they assured me the mirror would be kept safe for as long as I needed. The only thing I thought might have been better was if they had wrapped the mirror in some paper or cardboard - or at least told us to bring a blanket or something - as we got it without any kind of packaging but we were able to transport it safely and the less garbage the better so it worked out.

I called Affordable Lock Services and got an answer on the first try. They lady at the office was very helpful in determining our needs and setting up an appointment for the very next day, which was a weekend. Matthew the locksmith arrived within the appointed time and was very friendly, professional, knowledgeable and polite. He explained how to maintain our locks and did a great job overall, even cutting us a spare key right in his truck. The only reason the company doesn't get a 10 is because I wasn't told that the weekend appointments cost more than the regular appointments. To be fair I didn't ask what the cost would be at all but I think when I was told that they offer evening and weekend appointments they should have mentioned that those appointments cost more.

I called for a quote on furnace cleaning and the service people were knowledgeable and polite. To be honest I can't remember where the phone call left off (I think they were going to call back to book a day) but the furnace service person randomly show up on a weekday without us booking an appointment, which ended up turning out ok because my husband just happened to be working from home that day. Palmer Bros. were the ones who pointed out all the numerous code violations on our tankless water heater unit installed by [competitors name removed- ed] (whom we do NOT recommend). The service person also cleaned a calcium spot on our gas fireplace glass for free. Overall it was a good experience.

We went with Mr. Tankless (and other company - Installer) because their advertising was everywhere, they seemed large and reputable and my brother-in-law used them (they had issues afterwards as well). Now I wish I had done more research. The Mr. Tankless salesman didn't mention the unit with the buffer that would have prevented the "cold water sandwich" to us. Beware there is an $89 annual cleaning/maintenance fee which pretty much eats up any savings you get from the unit and if you don't do the regular maintenance you void your warranty. After the installation (which was done during a basement renovation, which the book says is a no-no) our contractor was feeling faint so Active Temp had to come out to fix a gas leak. Imagine if we didn't have the contractor working down there what would have happened! Our own contractor had to seal the tankless unit's vent pipe that goes outside because the Mr. Tankless installer, Kevin, failed to do so. Then our furnace cleaner (Palmer Brothers) pointed out a number of code violations on the tankless unit which we never would have noticed had a professional not pointed them out to us. We tried to get Mr. Tankless/Active Temp Control out more than 5 times and they finally came to look at it but every time we booked the repairs nobody showed up. Finally we went to the TSSA (on the recommendation of the furnace person) and the representative told us there were very serious problems that needed to be fixed immediately and Active Temp showed up within 20 minute of her call to them. Needless to say they STILL didn't fix every problem and didn't clean up after themselves. We had to chase after them to come out again and we had to chase after them to properly fill out and submit the red tag so that our gas wouldn't be shut off. We are EXTREMELY upset that Mr. Tankless/Active Temp Control did such a poor job and shudder to think what could have happened if we didn't have experts on site to notice the problems. Natural Gas devices must always be installed my professional licensed installers. If you have had safety issues with this company report them to TSSA asap. Update: August 30, 2011 - the installation is STILL NOT DONE RIGHT. We are now having a contractor come out to do the job correctly before Enbridge cuts off our gas supply. ADDITIONALLY I cannot believe that we are now being billed for our previous water heater tank because apparently Mr. Tankless/Active Temp did NOT RETURN THE TANK TO the company to which it belongs nor did they pay the outstanding amount so we are being billed. Now I owe over $500 for the missing tank, I am beside myself. For those interested in suing (which I am now forced to do) the contact names on the Better Business Bureau website are: Ms. Sarah Behashtei (Owners Assistant) Mr Farzan Naghipour (Owner) Mr. Glen Thomas The installers name on the tag on the tankless unit is (which I bet is made up because he is not on the TSSA website) is Hamed G. Doust #00762004 even though the guy who came out initially was a very white young guy who told us his name was "Kevin". If anybody has had luck in serving these people please let me know because the TSSA can't even locate them anymore.