Lianos Interiors

Kitchen Planning & Renovation
Newmarket ON L3Y1M6
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JENNYandPIERRE North York
JENNYandPIERRE North York
11 reviews North York, ON

First Review

9/10

Kitchen + two bathroom

It has been over 2 years since the completion of our renovations and wanted to take this opportunity to say that we are NOW very happy with the quality of the workmanship. At first, we weren't pleased and our initial review reflected how we felt BUT as time passed and the memories faded, we can honestly say that we are extremely pleased with Alex's work. There were certainly hiccups along the way but fair to say this will happen with every renovation! We've been living in our home now for 2 1/2 years and we have only witnessed a strong and well built product and that pleases us a great deal. Not a single nail pop or peeling paint, just to give you an example! Having said that, Alex and Lianos Interiors proved worthy and honest and we'd certainly reccomend him and his company to anyone looking for a GREAT contractor! It took a long time but we finally realized that we did hire the right person and the right company to do the work...congratulations Alex for turning us around and making us see that you are one of the good ones!
In case we didn't say it then, we're saying it now...THANK YOU!
Jenny and Pierre

Approximate cost of services:
$95,000.00
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Company Response

We are a DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION firm and pride ourselves in offering better than standard service, products, and workmanship than our direct competitors. Our website clearly demonstrates the type of work we do and illustrates some of the many successful projects we have completed for many "more-than-happy" clients.
We do not buy bulk items but only recommend and repeatedly use top brand products and materials like Toto, Riobel, Rubinet, Lightolier, high end custom cabinetry, marble, granite, etc. just to name a few.
We are accessible during normal business hours when needed by the client but have been known to also pick up the phone during evenings and weekends, including Sundays, when necessary. We monitor the project's progress regularly, however, we have established relationships with qualified and fully licensed sub-trades, who are also business owners, and who are specialized, knowledgeable, and highly skilled in what they do thus requiring minimal supervision.
The business has not grown by avoiding “client satisfaction”. We work diligently to accommodate the demands of a growing business because of consistent customer satisfaction and in some cases an overwhelming amount of referrals through previous clients.
We work hard to make our clients’ vision more tangible with our knowledge of design and construction; a distinguishing characteristic of our business. This added service is offered by very few other contractors who typically look towards an interior designer exclusively (at an added cost) or back to the client who typically is not as aware of all the choices available to them. It has been a tremendous benefit to our clients as we have assisted them in both designing and executing the construction on their space, while meeting and not “controlling” their budget.
Time lines discussed at the onset of a project are guidelines in every case. There can be factors beyond the contractor's control that will undoubtedly cause delays such as unforeseen extra work, untimely client changes in the design or selections of finishes, etc. We do not view these as delays but simply part of the process of achieving the best results. We communicate these time extensions at every occurrence of such situations so as to make the client aware of our new completion date.
For these and many other reasons, I strongly encourage any of our potential clients who are reading this review not to use it as the sole criteria for selecting us as their designer/contractor. We would be happy to offer our portfolio of previous projects and provide references (previous clients) to put aside any doubt of our ability to perform.
Please go to our website for more information.

Previous versions of this review:

JENNYandPIERRE North York
JENNYandPIERRE North York
11 reviews North York, ON

First Review

5/10

Kitchen + two bathroom

Our renovation included one full kitchen and two full bathroom reconstructions. The project was quoted to be approximately 9 weeks in duration but it actually took 7 months. Although he delivered three very nice products in the end, his time management is either very poor or he chooses who will suffer through a longer period in order to satisfy a personal agenda. On average over 7 months, we observed that his crew worked about 2 days per week which meant meeting his original schedule was impossible. He does little to nothing to accelerating the work in order to meet his time commitment. (ie. working on weekends or longer hours). His attention to quality and detail is ok however the client must pay special attention to his trades’ people and act as the quality manager to ensure his crews deliver the quality you expect. On numerous occasions we had to point out corrections and in one case they challenged our observation that something was not square. I had to send a picture with a square in the photo to demonstrate. This may be typical in the home renovation business however that is not acceptable to us when we are paying professionals to do what we cannot.

Customer response time is good before the sale but gradually deteriorates as the project progresses. He does not return calls promptly (takes days) and when he says someone will be there on x day….he actually means x + 5 days. Again, all typical in this business but unacceptable and cause frustrations to the client.

Good:
- Knowledgeable
- Nice and personable
- Generally open to change
- Throws in a few extras at no charge
- Completes the job….eventually.
- Pursues the client to make the sale.
- Basically a trust worthy person.
- Builds to code.

Not so good:

- Not committed to a warranty….so far.
- Not easy to get in contact with by phone once construction has started.
- Does not return phone calls or reply to e-mails once final payment has been made.
- Doesn't demonstrate much creativity to facilitate space and cost saving solutions.
- Expects to have creative control. He should as before assuming. We hired someone to fulfill our vision…..we did not want someone to create our vision.
- Time estimates are very inaccurate.
- His crew does not work long hours or weekends to recover a schedule.
- Attention to detail can be improved.
- Does not make frequent or regular site visits with client present for status reporting.
- Client must be the quality manager to ensure contractor delivers exceptional quality.
- Does not provide good quality fixtures if it is a non-conventional item from his bulk purchases. Will choose low end if a one-off installation. (ie. external shower system was a cheap choice made by the contractor that we did not approve.)…..makes client feel like corners were cut for profit purposes. (ie. painting elegant French doors by hand as opposed to having them spray painted in his shop. This went against our wishes.
- Does not consult with client with many solution choices to a challenging space.
- Seems more interested in growing his business than making the client 100% satisfied with result.
- Feels like our good nature, patience and beginner knowledge and experience was exploited.
- Does not review designs and finishes in detail prior to installation which adds the risk of rejection by the client.
- He controlled our budget. (That is the client’s business)
- Does not take notes and therefore will forget who said what and adds confusion to the process.

Approximate cost of services:
$95,000.00