Reviews

10/10

Excellent experience having water heater tank replacement done by Joyce! Perfect experience from initial call, to quote, to booking, to installation, payment and permit inspection. Quality products, quality work, and fair, upfront pricing with no surprises or hard upsells. I paid exactly as quoted and am very satisfied with the work. Very friendly, professional and knowledgeable office manager Diane, whom knew the various products, rebates, and rough prices. I sent them some pictures, but due to installation conditions, they needed to do a no-charge in-person quote. I was glad for them to do that so that nobody would be surprised. The technician/estimator Mike, came on time and respected COVID19 protocol. After completing my due diligence and consideration of various quotes I decided to go with Joyce. Due to COVID, the flue-damper water heater that I wanted was actually unavailable locally - but Joyce managed to find an alternative of similar price. Installation went smoothly, and job site was tidied up. The techs, Mike and Dave, were friendly, efficient and respectful of the property. I discovered that the two techs, and the office manager were the long-term owners of the company and from the excellent experience I had, it definitely felt like they were interested in long-term customer satisfaction. I'm glad I went with Joyce and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again!

Approximate cost of services:
$1,800.00
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Company Response

Thank you Abe for your business and your review is very thoughtful. We as a small family business, our customers are very important to us to continue into the future. Enjoy your new water heater!
Diane and the Joyce Heating team

10/10

Used duct dudes for duct cleaning of our house. Great guy, great work. 10 out of 10. Jason, the duct dude himself, returned my call with an explanation of his process and availability (he's busy, so call ahead!). He came out on time as scheduled. However, He found a deficiency, which he could have ignored and worked through anyway (like all the previous duct cleaners had done) - but instead, he showed me how I could remedy it and offered to re-schedule at no extra-charge. Effectively he missed out on doing one of two jobs for the day (he spends at least 3 hours per job), to ensure that I had the opportunity to address the deficiency that was of no-fault of his own! When he came back to do the cleaning at the re-scheduled time, he was courteous, thorough and easy to deal with. Great guy, great service, great work.

Approximate cost of services:
$375.00
What could this company do to improve their services?
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10/10

Ted Gilmour did a pre-purchase inspection of a house in Vancouver. I chose him because of his website and rave reviews here. The previous reviewers are all right on the money – Ted is extremely detailed, thorough, delivers on exactly what is advertised as per his website and then goes the extra mile with his post inspection follow up and help! When I saw Ted’s website, an editorial of sorts on the home buying world - full of buyer bewares and cautionary tales – I could tell that he was candid, honest and not afraid to ruffle a few feathers and offend the whole real estate ‘system’. I knew that Ted was kind of guy that I wanted and MY side, and truly be my advocate. And wow – did Ted ever deliver! He completely exceeded our expectations. On inspection day my wife and I joined Ted as we literally went over every inch of the house and every inch inside. Those 8 hours were an eye-opener as he showed us the numerous issues with the house, which on its own is already great. But even more importantly, the time we spent with Ted was a course on how to maintain a home. He was pleasant and extremely patient with his explanation of the problems and possible remedies, as well as maintenance items that we would need to upkeep to prevent future problems. We could tell that he not only loves his job but that he genuinely loves helping people with their homes! We met him the next day where he presented his BINDER of a report, completely written in his own words, exactly as shown by the example report on his website. We sat over coffee as he went over EVERY SINGLE PAGE and PHOTO. He also reported on the maintenance items, so now we have a complete “owner’s guide and maintenance manual” for our house. (We have one for our car, it only makes sense to have one for the house!) So, everything I’ve described up to this point is exactly what is advertised on his website, and thus Ted delivers exactly what you pay for. But actually there’s more than that. Ted then goes the extra mile with his follow up and keenness to continue helping after the initial inspection! In fact, it’s a been a year since he’s inspected the house that we did end up purchased (sorry for the delayed review Ted!) and he even emailed me to check up on how we were doing with the repair and maintenance and OFFER GUIDANCE on how to address any remaining issues. In fact, we asked for advice regarding re-roofing a few months after moving into the house and he responded within hours! WOW! That is service above and beyond. Ted Gilmour IS the complete homebuyer’s advocate, more so than your realtor, more so than your mortgage broker. I would never buy another home, do any major renos or let anybody else I know do the same, without having Ted Gilmour as the home inspector! (Some advice to first time home buyers and especially house buyers: every house will need maintenance and every house will have issues – some can and some cannot be fixed. The important part is that you are able to make an informed decision and that’s where Ted’s expertise is so valuable.)

Approximate cost of services:
$1,000.00
What could this company do to improve their services?
Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
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Company Response

Hi Abe,
I really appreciate your testimonial submission to HomeStars, stories like yours help homebuyers seek out and demand better, dedicated service.
It's so good to hear from you, I assume you’ve been taking care of our discoveries. I'm very happy that you chose me as your inspector, your home had many challenges and thankfully, I believe, we were able to make those discoveries which led to discussions on repair strategies. As you noted; holding my clients hand through renovations and improvements is the cornerstone of my business. And yes I do enjoy it. I don't do construction anymore but I still love the involvement in the process. You were on a tight budget, I'm always impressed when people choose me when there are so many tempting and less expensive choices.
And as you know I never tire of progress stories and a call for guidance.
Happy trails...
Ted