Katie and Gordon in Ottawa

We didn't have a huge amount of junk to get rid of but we had some home reno junk that was too big to put in the garbage and we don't have a truck to haul it to the dump. These guys hauled it away quickly and the cost was reasonable. We'd hire them again.

We bought a king-sized mattress when they had their boxing day sale. Yes, it was crazy expensive, but it was completely worth it. Lessened my back pain and they also don't transfer any motion when your partner moves around in bed. The mattress smelled kinda weird for a few days (like mushrooms or something) but it wasn't that nasty chemical smell you get from most memory foam stuff and it dissipated pretty quickly. Their service was good and trying out the mattresses in the store in Westboro was no-pressure.

We hired Quick Dry to clean carpet in one room and two staircases. They have an ad on their website for 2 hallways and a room for $59; for two staircases and a room they quoted us something higher than that (which is fine; stairs are more expensive), but the end price was WAY more than the quote. If they had told us it would cost $350 to clean the carpets we likely still would have hired them, but we were really unhappy that the quote and actual differed so significantly because it felt like a bait and switch and it messed up our budgeting. They did a good job cleaning, but their business practices left us feeling unhappy and we won't hire them again because of it.

We hired City Locksmith in December 2012 to change the locks the house we'd just bought. They were prompt and flexible with their scheduling and they replaced two locks. We gave them information about our doors in advance so they could make sure to have the right parts with them when they came to replace the locks. A few months later the deadbolt on one of our doors started catching so it took a few tries to get it out of the barrel each time, but it seems to have resolved itself after about a month so we didn't need to call them to come fix it.

We hired Advanced Air Quality in December 2012 to clean the ductwork in the house we'd just bought. The people living there before us had a cat so the ducts were full of yuck (and I'm allergic so a good cleaning was imperative!). Advanced Air Quality did a good job getting everything cleaned out and when we need to clean the ductwork again we'll likely hire them again.

We hired Ring Electric to fix the electrical issues that were found in the home inspection when we bought our house in December 2012. A team of people came to do the work so it was done quickly. Everyone we dealt with was friendly and professional, and the cost was reasonable. They fixed a loose receptacle and a reverse-polarity outlet, changed some plugs, fixed an oddly-wired 3-way switch and a mystery switched outlet, fixed a double-fed circuit, moved our furnace switch, bonded the gas line, replaced the dryer breaker, repaired an open junction box, installed a GFI and new outdoor cover for our backyard outlet. We'll definitely hire them again if/when we need electrical services in future.

I have taken two different sewing classes at Darrell Thomas over the past couple of years, and they were really good. So far everyone I have dealt with there has been helpful and friendly. There are always different people teaching the sewing classes, but the person that taught both of the ones I took was a good teacher and very personable. DT doesn't carry a huge inventory like big box fabric stores, but they carry a lot of specialty stuff, most of which is pretty expensive. Their basic fabrics are reasonably priced though, as are their sewing supplies (needles, patterns, measuring devices etc.). And they give people a discount while they are taking sewing classes with them to encourage them to buy their supplies there. Also, they fundraise for the Cat Rescue Network, selling fabric remnants, donated fabric, sewing magazines, etc. So you can get some great deals with that stuff and be helping a good cause. Overall I like them and would take more classes with them.