K - Toronto

After getting a major run around from another company, who has been servicing the house I recently bought since they installed it decades ago, I reached out to Barrie Lawn Sprinklers to see if they could help get my irrigation system up and running. Rob was responsive and set some time aside to make his way over here to check things out. He spent a solid 3 hours getting it all up and running, (as much as could be done - one of the zones has a problem that needs more work). He fixed some of the electrical issues and took the time to explain how it all works. In the end, I'm incredibly happy to finally have an irrigation system that runs. Definitely recommend Barrie Lawn Sprinklers / Rob.

Had a kitchen renovation + closet conversion to bath - Richard was the plumber brought in by my contractor. At first, everything was great. He's a nice guy. Moved the plumbing in the kitchen, replaced the stack, installed an in-wall toilet system. Then there was a lot of confusion between invoices and suddenly I had all the plumbing ones. I spent days trying to separate what was part of my initial renovation quote (moving plumbing, hookup etc) from what was being invoiced to me as I didn't want to pay twice. Also wasn't happy that some of the pex lines were run under the ceiling joist, so the drywall is butted right up against them on the ceiling. Once we figured out was was covered through the initial cost and what was still outstanding, I paid all of that. As per the contract and invoice, what was left to complete was all the final hookups (kitchen sink, dishwasher, toilet system, sink in bath) which was supposed to happen this week. I was just told by my contractor that Richard won't be able to complete it until middle to end of September. So now I'm stuck trying to find another plumber in the 8th week of renovation. Very unhappy and definitely do not recommend.

Needed to replace the shingles on my porch (curling and flying off) and posted in a neighbourhood Facebook group for recommendations on local roofers. I was directed to Roofing Systems Plus. Was immediately contacted by them that day and the following morning Charlie popped by the house to assess the roof and provide a quote. After getting the necessary details (shingle colour, type, etc), I gave the go ahead and Charlie and crew showed up bright and early the following morning (today) and within a few hours had the new shingles up. Happy with their speed and that Charlie messaged me throughout their time at the house with photos of the updates. Really communicative and responsive. Recommend!

The brick column supporting the front porch of my house was on a lean when I bought the house, with the wood beam on the opposite lean supporting the porch roof. It was pretty precarious, to say the least. I hired StraightUp Masonry to dig out the column, put in a footer and rebuild it to match the original bricking. They also installed 2 limestone slabs and new cedar posts on both columns. Tony and his crew were absolutely amazing. Very courteous, cleaned up everything afterward, and even repointed some of the brickwork above my front door. Definitely recommend these guys. Photo below of new brick column going in.

I replaced 18 windows in the past with Canadian Choice, so they seemed like the obvious choice for my latest need to replace/update 8 windows. After getting multiple quotes from different providers, I decided on Canadian Choice because of the history. The sales guy (Jemal) came out on a weekend and I placed the order. Gave a deposit of $935. Installer came out a week later and advised my daughter that replacing the 2 “fake” attic windows might be a problem because the attic is inaccessible from the inside, and that he would call me to discuss. He never called. A few weeks passed and I heard nothing, so I reached out to Canadian Choice and spoke with a gentleman who told me he would get back to me ASAP. That never happened. Another week passed, and I called today and spoke with Richelle who didn’t know what was going on and couldn’t find my file. She promised to get back to me – but didn’t. Later that day, I got a call from Jemal (sales guy) who tells me they can't do the basement windows because they're “inaccessible”. Because we recently merged two houses, and the basement was jammed with stuff back when Jemal was originally here, I thought he meant that, so I advised him it had been cleared out and the windows are now fully accessible. He was confused and had to call the installer back. Shortly after, he called me back and said they can’t install the basement windows because they're "inset" from the bricks…that it’s as if my “house was built around the windows”, which of course is not possible. I don’t know of any window that isn’t inset from the bricks and my basement windows are no different from any other window on my house in how they're set in the frame. He tells me they can't do the job and will issue me a cheque for the $935 down payment that cleared weeks ago. I ended up immediately reaching out to a friend of mine who is a contractor and he indicated something isn’t right because there’s absolutely no reason why the windows cannot be installed. I have now requested a full explanation be emailed to me ASAP because none of it makes sense UPDATE - May 14: I received an email from Richelle from Canadian Choice, who indicated the reason they can't install the windows is because the basement windows are inaccessible from the outside and that there's no room to cap the new window once installed. Both of these statements are false. All basement windows are fully accessible from both the outside and inside, and they can be capped. Richelle also communicated they can't replace the 2 “fake” attic windows because the attic is inaccessible from the inside. There is no access to the attic from the house - this is true - but other installers have told me this can be done without issue. Richelle also communicated they "don't want to turn away business", which is odd since they haven’t mentioned anything about the 3 large windows on this order that make up the majority of the project cost (walk in bay window in the living room). Seems an unusual approach for a business to be all or nothing. It’s like ordering off a menu only to learn the dish isn’t available and the restaurant asking you to leave. After some back and forth that included photos, Richelle from Canadian Choice offered to send a Senior Technician out to the house to have a second look at the basement windows, which I obliged. I assume she then saw this review because I received an email from her stating "Thank you for your review on HomeStars. I will make sure a cheque in the amount of $935.00 is in the mail today." and nothing else. I guess sharing my experience with Canadian Choice Windows here means no one is coming out to the house to give a second look. I'm a VP in Customer Experience. I work in the business of experience design all day, every day. Take it from me - avoid this business. They are very unprofessional and have terrible customer service. I have waited weeks to be told nothing is going to happen, which has delayed a slew of other things now - and their reasoning is based in false information. The other important facet to this is they’ve breached the contract we both entered into. The pink contract we both signed binds us into this agreement. #17 states any amendments to the contract must be agreed to by both parties in writing. For reference, I've included a photo of what the basement windows look like. UPDATE: May 22 On May 14, I received an email from Richelle @ Canadian Choice indicating my downpayment of $935 would be sent out that day. Today is May 22 and still no cheque arrived in the mail so I reached out via email to Richelle to find out when she sent it, keeping in mind I gave it to them 6 weeks ago for a job they refused to do and breached a contract over. She communicated to me that she never sent it because she thought they were sending another installer out to review the job. For context, I didn't agree to send another installer out until the May 16 (after she asked me if she could) to which she NEVER EVEN RESPONDED. Ergo, no second installer. Talk about getting the run-around. The manner in which Canadian Choice is handling this is absolutely ridiculous, with some questionable business practices. I can't believe it's this difficult to get my money back for a job they refused to do. UPDATE: JUNE 25 Since I'm now seeing CC's response to this, I believed it was important to provide an update to my review as their response is inaccurate and quite misleading. At no point did I refuse to allow a senior technician to come out to my house. In fact, it was the complete opposite - I agreed to have another installer out because I had 2 other window companies advising me that the information provided by CC's installer was wrong. On May 14, 2019 @ 12:12 pm, I sent an email to Richelle @ CC stating the following: "Yes - I would like a senior technician to visit the house and tell me the basement windows cannot be installed." and then at 1:14 pm, I received an email from Richelle stating: "Thank you for your review on HomeStars, I will make sure a cheque in the amount of $935.00 is in the mail today." to which I responded with, "Does this mean you’re not sending the “senior technician” out? Because I posted a review of my experience with you to Homestars? Sounds pretty unprofessional. I’ll be sure to share this as well." to which Richelle responded with, "No this does not mean that at all, you said HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE - DO NOT RECOMMEND I thought it was safe to think you wouldn't want us out there again. Please let me know if I'm wrong." I let her know she was wrong, but the Senior technician never showed, was never arranged, and that was wholly on CC, not me. I have an entire email chain detailing the exchange, so I'm not sure why Canadian Choice is being untruthful in their response.

I ordered a cubic metre of pea gravel for my backyard from these guys online. They delivered it today and when I got home, immediately noticed the damage to my porch. The brick column was clearly hit and the limestone cap is now about 4-6" off centre causing the 6x6 pillar to lean significantly. Important to note that both of these support a large roof over my porch. My daughter was home when this was delivered and expected the guy to have paperwork for her to sign, but he took off after delivering the stone. It's difficult to believe he didn't know he hit this because these are pretty large. So he took off without saying anything, which makes this a huge potential liability. I called them immediately when I got home - no answer, no option to leave a voice message so I ended up emailing them. Will wait and see if I get a response and how they will fix this. The irony is this column was just rebuilt - the pillar and porch are brand new. We just finished the porch 2 weeks ago so I'm beyond furious with this level of negligence. Definitely do not recommend these guys. They also left 3 tonnes of pea gravel leaned against that column. UPDATE: Talked with them this morning and Matt from LessMess basically told me I need to prove that his driver did this, because the multiple photos spanning the last 2 weeks of the redone porch and the fact that 3 tonnes of gravel is leaning against it isn't enough. I have now had to engage legal counsel.

I've used El Cheapo for two separate moves now (a full 3 bedroom house each) and was impressed both times. They are punctual, respectful of your property and super reliable. In each move, the lead (foreman) and movers arrived on time, were friendly and were very quick without being negligent. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone looking for a mover.

UPDATE - April 28, 2016 After some back and forth, Dodds contacted me to advise they would reimburse the amount of the additional charges that are in question. We are happy with this decision. ________ We purchased a garage door from Dodds last August (downpayment) and had the door installed the other week when the house was ready in terms of renovations. When setting up the install appointment, we were advised to have 10 feet inside the garage cleared for the workers. We had our contractor go by the house and clear the necessary space inside the garage. (We do not live in the house - we are 80 kms from it.) On the day of install, we were contacted by Dodds advising they couldn't complete the job because a car was in the driveway 'blocking access to the garage' (even though the photos they sent clearly show the new panels inside the garage with at least 6 feet of access to the garage on either side of the car). Important to note – my issue is not with their inability to install a garage door with a car there. My issue is with their lack of communication. Had we been told we need to clear both interior AND exterior, we would have had the car moved as well. We were told only about the interior, hence why we only arranged for that. It’s safe to assume that had we known, we would have made sure there was whatever space they required outside the garage as well. In addition, we were not told there would be an additional charge of $270 for this. So, when the total amount charged to my credit card ended up being $1066.72 downpayment when it should have been $795.52, I was a bit taken back. So buyer beware. The door itself is fine – but their lack of communication just cost me $270+. Related: The owner has indicated in a different forum that the contract details this information about the requirements for install and the price. But I have never received nor signed a contract. I have an email from the salesperson from 2015 advising of the install price and a receipt that was left in the garage after the install. Multiple emails and voice calls to the company to get this contract have resulted in nothing.

Bought a high end Kitchen Aid fridge from the Kennedy Rd location this past Saturday. The whole purchasing experience was relatively ok. Helpful sales lady, all good. Delivery was set for today. This is where the experience makes a sharp turn and heads south. I got an automated call this morning saying the delivery would be between 8 am and noon. Never arrived. I checked the site around 11:30 and the time changed and now reflected between 1:00 and 4:00. At 3:00 it once again changed to between 2:56 and 6:56 (weird I know). Then again to between 4:13 and 8:13 and then AGAIN to between 5:20 and 9:20 PM. At about 7 pm they finally arrived. Before my fridge even made it onto the front porch, the freezer door was already dented. The delivery guys tracked in and out of my house in boots - dragging mud everywhere (raining outside). Left all the packaging for the fridge beside my house and got pretty upset when I wouldn't sign YES beside "no damage in delivery". I paid $3000 for this fridge and that was ON SALE - this isn't chump change. Hopefully Bad Boy doesn't screw me over because their customer service has been subpar so far. Would definitely NOT recommend.

After using Canadian Choice over the summer to replace a walk-in bay window in my master bedroom, I decided to bring them back in to replace an additional 15 more windows. Their team showed up on time, (I wish I knew their names), and immediately started ripping out all the old windows and replacing with the new. They were fast and courteous to my newly installed hardwood floors and interior renovations. They cleaned up every bit of mess inside (even some that they didn't make) and outside upon completion. The job was done incredibly well and I am nothing short of impressed with the outcome, the windows, and the 2 man crew who did it. I would definitely recommend these guys to anyone looking for windows to be replaced.

After reviewing multiple quotes obtained on a window installation (2nd floor, bay window), I decided to go with Canadian Choice - Alex. The window installation went fine, the guys installing were great. They cleaned up afterward, the window itself was done great. I have now contacted Canadian Choice back for a second quote on 9 additional window replacements. Would recommend.

Hired these guys based on reviews found online to move me from the suburbs into Toronto. The truck was only 15 minutes late showing up (totally acceptable) and the guys were great. Overall I had zero complaints about how smooth the move went, until that is, AFTER the move when I realized my 40" LCD television was no longer working. (for the record, it was working the morning of the move, but hasn't worked since). The TV was packed in its original box complete with styrofoam, etc. the day of the move. It was the last thing we packed. Upon unpacking it and setting it up in my master bedroom in the new house, I discovered it was no longer working. The TV turns on/off, but there is no picture which indicates the bulb was busted in the move. I immediately contacted Firemen Movers and the gentlemen I spoke with the first time asked me why I waited a week to contact them (which, for the record, I thought was complete BS). I work full time. I have a 3-bedroom house to unpack. I have a daughter to register for school. There are a million things I was dealing with, so hooking up the television in my master bedroom was NOT at the top of my list of priorities. Needless to say, I got nowhere with him except "this has never happened to us before" and a promise to call me back after the weekend. I also contacted a TV repair company who indicated this will happen if the TV is mishandled (dropped, bumped, etc). After 3 weeks of back and forth phone tag with the moving company, I finally connected with them today to be told there is nothing they will do because they are not responsible for anything they themselves did not pack. So, either I hire them to not only move me but pack me up as well (that would have easily cost $3000 in time alone) or I pay $1200, pack my belongings myself, but risk being stuck with a barely 2 year old $1400 LCD TV that doesn't work. Awesome situation. So, given the way they've dealt with this - would I recommend them? Nope. I would not. Based on the way they have chosen to handle this.