Reviews

10/10

I was working out of town, my neighbour called me to advise a section of our fence had blown over. The posts had rotted after several years. Lakeshore issued a quote by email, arrived on schedule, emailed me pictures of the completed work that day. 1 year later, that fence is rock solid. They did what they said - on time and with excellent results.

Approximate cost of services:
$1,000.00
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Company Response

Diana,
Thank you for your review. My apologies, I did not receive notification of receiving it, so am just responding now. We are happy to hear that your fence is rock solid, and happy to have been able to help! Hope you had a great holiday and New Years!

Sarah and Keith


First Review

10/10

From 3 detailed quotes, I chose Artistic Floor Design to install new hardwood floors in my home (family room, living room, dining room and 12 step L-shaped staircase.) Although I own a fairly small home (1300 sq feet) this was a major renovation as it required: removal and disposal of all wall-to-wall carpet on floors and stairs, installation of 5/8" sub-floor, removal and disposal of existing 3 inch baseboard and re-installation of new 5" baseboard, removal and refinish of existing railing and pickets on staircase, installation of oak treads on stairs and oak veneers on risers (hand painted to custom colour), custom stain of stair treads, custom stain of existing oak rail, re-install hand-painted pickets, custom varnish on stairs (and install hardwood (Brazilian Mahogany). Ted and Matthew were prompt, reliable, detailed, thorough, and most importantly, they did an excellent job. Matthew is a perfectionist (like me!) and after meeting with them I immediately realized the workmanship would be top rate. I chose to re-paint the 44 pickets and the staircase stringer on the stairs myself(to save some money) - it was a LOT of work and I wouldn't do it again (I would rather pay someone!) I also provided the following materials: hardwood for floors, the paint, the baseboards, the varnish and stain for stairs and railing, and the 5/8" plywood sub-floor. I purchased these items from Home depot, Benjamin Moore (paint) and stair retailer (varnish and stain) for much less than paying someone else to do it for me. Artistic Floor Design provided the oak risers and treads, and all labour. Ted arrived every morning promptly, worked hard all day every day and discussed each new item with me in advance. For example, we discussed the stain on the stairs and he provided me a sample first, before I committed. He explained what varnish to buy, and gave me a sample before I committed. He custom fitted the hardwood floor nosing to ensure the new (raised) hardwood floor would meet my kitchen floor since the installation of the subfloor meant my hallway was higher than my kitchen. I was very pleased with Artistic Floor Design and would recommend them to anyone. The entire process took about 3 weeks, it was a bit longer than I had hoped but the workmanship and price was worth it. Artistic Floor Design was very competitive, and close to $1000 less than the other two quotes. They delivered!

Approximate cost of services:
$5,900.00
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0/10

I called to have clay that I dug from my garden (this past summer)which I had left on my driveway in a mound. Derek arrived promptly to estimate the job. He advised $150 to pick up the clay and haul to the dump. I approved. Derek and his crew arrived on time as promised. I was busy inside my home and did not watch or supervise him. Derek rang the bell to advise the job was completed. I went outside to pay him only to see approximately 3/4 of wheelbarrow full of dirt still remaining on the driveway (edging into the grass) and the workmen spreading other clumps of clay back on my garden. One workman sat on my lawn picking the clay out of his boots - (he left that blob of clay where he sat) I asked Derek to complete the job and remove the dirt and also - why was he spreading clay back on the garden. He ignored the latter question but stated that the grass had grown over the dirt (?)and it could not be removed. I said that was ridiculous and said it would take me two minutes to rake the dirt from the edge of the grass. I opened the garage door to grab my rake and as I did so, it was clear his crew was packing up and leaving. He said pick up the dirt myself and spread this remaining dirt on the garden - I told him that was the point of having him come (I didn't want the clay fill) and that I expected him to complete the job as promised. He became very argumentative, yelling at me. I told him not to take this tone with me, I was not deaf, and that he had no right to speak to me that way and finally, that I expected the job to be completed as promised and asking him to remove all the clay was not unreasonable. His tone and demeanour did not change - in fact it got worse. I told him to get off my property. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Approximate cost of services:
$150.00
What could this company do to improve their services?
Treat all customers with respect regardless of job size or cost. Yelling at customers, calling them names and mocking them when they make a request you don't agree with is never an acceptable method of problem resolution. Take a course in anger management. Develop customer relationship skills, with particular emphasis on dealing respectfully with women. Learn the art of compromise. I offered to rake the dirt off the grass - you had the truck in the driveway. It would have taken not more than 5 minutes for you to shovel up the dirt I raked and leave with it. You had 4 men with you - I was by myself. Instead, I spent 20 minutes to: (1) rake the dirt off the garden your service people dumped back on it(clay on top of triple mix is not a good combination for plants), (2) rake the blobs of clay off the grass left in the middle of my yard by your service man, and (3) load up the remaining dirt left on the driveway's edge into my wheelbarrow and then cart it back to the back of my yard and up a steep birm to dump at the fenceline. Finally, practise good manners. Do not leave more mess for the homeowner to clean up than was there when you arrived. Leaving huge lumps of clay picked from your boots in the middle of my lawn is disrespectful and sloppy and inconsiderate. Do not accept paid work if your intent is to provide a less than acceptable level of service. If you accept a job - honour the contract.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Company Response

First of all we are not in the dirt removal business, we did it as a favour seeing as you live close by to us. The amount you are arguing over was minimal and not worth this type of response. We did not make any money over your job, it cost more to dump it plus the man hours, as I said we were just doing it to help out a neighbour. We deal with many Condo Corporations and Golf Courses and have never had any issues with the quality of work we perform.