Patrick in Mississauga/Etobicoke

i had this company install about 40 feet of new wooden privacy fencing and lattice in my backyard, and through the asphalt of an adjoined driveway to create privacy from some horrifying neighbours. Everyone from the crew woked professionally and carefully in a tense situation. Glen gave me a reasonable estimate, did the job when he said he would and with complete quality. Cleaned up and didn't nickel and dime us for little extras to finish the work. Great small business with an honest owner.

I have called Paul and his team at Plumb Perfect for three different service calls, and on a scheduled call to replace a whole house main shutoff valve. Every task was done professionally, quickly and with accurate estimates. They are great for emergency calls and scheduled services.

Very professional. Excellent quality of workmanship, fair estimate. After a home inspector recommended an upgrade to 200 amp service for our 1970's era house, Frank and his team questioned why we needed it, and helped us settle on only the necessary tasks. When the workers cut a space in the drywall for the outlet, and then had to cut another space, Frank acknowledged the error, and asked me flatly - "what I can do to make it better" - and accepted a price reduction to compensate for the labour I would need to put in to fix the wall. Good people - go with this company!

Here is an edited version of the letter I sent to the Better Business Bureau regarding the conduct of Olympia Windows and their associates. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES**** Re: Case #1136388 On the contract, it states that the job will be scheduled and completed by the end of the first week of June. Friday June 3rd was the original, promised “one-day” installation. On Friday June 3rd, a company employee, and another labourer who did not identify himself, arrived 3.5 hours late. During a call to the company 2 hours after the scheduled arrival time, the secretary told me that the installers were “held up at the window manufacturers”. When the labourer arrived, he informed me that he went to the dentist, had blood drawn, and then went to pick up the windows. That is the first inaccuracy in the story. Had the workers arrived when they promised, the job would have been completed on that day. These are not circumstances “beyond our control”, as the company president has stated. On Monday June 6, I called the company president to report that the interior work was poorly done, and that the exterior work was left unfinished over the weekend. He was completely surprised, and when I asked when his crew would finish the job, he exclaimed “What? He’s not finished? He has two doors to install today. No, he can’t do it.” The company was clearly unaware of their crew's inability to deliver the work on time. It took much discussion and persuasion to get the company to understand that the interior work was poorly done, and that the job needed to be completed immediately. When the crew leader arrived at my house later that afternoon, he stayed in the driveway talking on his phone for 20 minutes. He was immediately rude and confrontational to my wife. Rather that identifying himself and greeting my wife, he says to her, “I hear you complained about me to the office.” Despite this hostility, my wife brought him into the master bedroom to show him the numerous areas where the sealing and caulking was either incomplete, poorly applied, or applied on top of dirt and debris. The labourer's response was defensive and angry. He told my wife that it was “fine, you paint over the mistakes.” When my wife asked again that the mistakes be repaired, the man advanced on her aggressively, and once he was centimetres away from her face, and our five month old baby, he yelled at her “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB, I’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 23 YEARS!” Faced with this hostile and threatening behaviour, my wife asked the crew leader to leave. He then proceeded to take 15 minutes to put on his shoes and leave. He had to be asked several times to leave the home. I was informed about this behaviour later that afternoon. I left several messages with various employees but the company president was “unreachable”. Does the president of the company not have a cell phone or pager? The president finally left a message at my workplace on the morning of Tuesday June 7. I was able to speak with him that afternoon. He refused to acknowledge the abusive behaviour of his employee and I informed him that the employee would not be allowed into my home. I also informed him that I would like to be present while the rest of the work was completed. Given what had happened, one might think that he would act quickly to finish the job. But the best he would offer was to have the job finished on Thursday June 9, a full six days after the promised completion date. On Thursday, the president arrived and inspected the work. He WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREED that the job was poorly done. Despite this admission, he did not apologize, nor did he acknowledge that his employees had completely misrepresented the quality of their workmanship. Given this admission, it was both insulting and inaccurate of him to state that “maybe not understanding this type of renovation made her very sensitive”, with regards to my wife. The president further rationalized the poorly performed labour, stating that another previously unnamed labourer accompanying the crew leader had probably performed the work in question, and he was not to do so, because he was a “helper”. As I had watched the crew leader performing the tasks in question, I told him that this was not the case, and completely irrelevant to the situation. The president then repaired the improperly performed work, and another installer completed the exterior work. When I inquired about redress for Olympia’s failure to honour the terms of our contract, the president became dismissive. When I asked why he was acting like the victim in the situation, he told me “My guys have been with me 23 years. You better believe I’m gonna protect them.” He refused to discuss a reduction in price, or other means of compensation. Given the previous actions of his employees, I felt that it was safer to resolve the issue through an appropriate third party. I paid the balance of the contract because the president communicated in a belligerent manner that I had no alternative. Olympia may have completed the expected labour, but they never resolved the situation. The actions of this company and employees are hardly an example of the “highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through voluntary self-regulation…. and service excellence.” I sincerely believe that Olympia Windows & Doors Ltd violated the following sections of the BBB Code of Ethics: “We will be truthful regarding goods and services offered”; “We will honour guarantees offered”; “We will respond to any problem in a timely and conscientious manner”; “We will maintain a healthy business environment by reinforcing mutual respect and openness between customer and merchant”. Let me make this completely clear: I did not pay the balance of the contract because I was satisfied with the situation - and to this day, this company never responded with any ethical response. Update - April 2011 - The BBB refuses to take any action against this firm, and ended the complaint process - the BBB is useless; thank goodness for sites like HomeStars, which allow customers to alert other unsuspecting citizens to the potential for abuse and incompetence.