Next Stage Design + Build

"We appreciate the review from this homeowner in Sunnyvale! Our team enjoyed working with you!"

"Hello [Member Name Removed], My apologies that the appointment did not go as anticipated. Summer is our busiest season, hence the 2-3 week back log. We initially scheduled a two hour appointment based on the description that was given to us on the phone. According to your assigned Home Repair Specialist, the bifold door hardware that was client supplied was a complete remodel kit to install the existing bifold doors. Custom modifications had to be done to the existing bifold doors to accept the new hardware resulting in the doors taking a full two hours to hang. At times, projects do not go as simply as expected, therefore our Home Repair Specialists will let our clients know what is feasible and what is not. We were prompt in calling you the same day (within one hour of the carpenter's departure) to address these matters and quickly referred you to a trusted licensed plumber to take care of your toilet and faucet installation. Again, we apologize that your expectations were not met. We do our best to be transparent about our processes and always strive to communicate this to each and everyone of our clients. Best Regards, Jill White CASE Design/Remodeling"

"For this client, we did meet to provide a free onsite consultation. At that time, we discussed the project scope, discussed some ideas, and even discussed some additional items not related to the initial call. Budgets were discussed, but a formal quote was not provided. We did not follow our usual process on this potential project by providing a quote in a timely manner. For this reason, we apologize and wish to express our regret at not providing the service for which we are known. We accept full responsibility and would like the opportunity to make it right. We will be reaching out to this client privately to make amends."

"This homeowner did come to one of our kitchen and bath seminars and before attending, had a phone discussion with our remodeling consultant, Gary, as she mentioned. When Gary called her he felt it was a very nice conversation. After hearing her description of the work she was considering, Gary provided her with a typical budget range for a similar scope of work. She was clearly disappointed to hear that what she hoped to accomplish for $25,000 would likely cost closer to $75,000 as she indicated. Gary went on to explain different ranges of projects over the phone explaining that with moving walls and adding and moving plumbing, the project would be a custom remodel with significant infrastructure changes. During the seminar, our owner Jim, reinforced these same remodeling options and price ranges. She did ask about the basis for the costs involved and he explained that as a legitimate design/build remodeler, we hire legitimate employees and pay payroll taxes, carry full liability and worker's comp insurance and provide holiday and vacation pay among other benefits to attract and keep the best people. We also use showroom quality fixtures and finishes so we can provide and stand behind our warranty. Our prices include all costs involved including all labor and materials, and design, drafting, and building permit fees. This homeowner also expressed frustration that her husband was restrictive with her budget with which to accomplish her goals. Gary suggested that she have him attend the free seminar as well. She said that he was not willing to do so, but was simply holding firm with her budget constraints. We would have liked to have provided for this homeowner's remodeling needs, but her allocated budget was definitely a constraint. We sincerely hope that she is able to eventually fulfil her goals and needs, and has a positive experience."

"Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your feedback about Jesse and his work!"

"We have checked our records and have no information that this homeowner called us. However, we did move into a new building over the holidays and had a number of glitches with respect to our phone and IT systems during that time. We sincerely apologize if this happened. If you are still in need of service, we are happy to offer 2 free hours of Handyman Service to make up for the miscue! Thank you for sharing your feedback!"

"Thanks for the nice comments about getting back quickly regarding your inquiry. We appreciate the feedback about monitoring calls on the weekends. We do monitor calls on the weekends for clients who have projects in progress. In fact, they have the e-mail and cellphone number of an assigned project manager who is on call to make sure any questions can be answered. This enables us to address the rare issue that may come up over the weekend for a project in progress. Because most, if not all, handyman projects and home repairs projects we do are not emergency repairs, there is not enough demand for us to staff a 7 day per week, 24 hour response line to answer questions about a potential project. Plumbers, electricians, and HVAC companies are the primary companies that provide this level of service for obvious reasons."

"This homeowner has a completely different perspective that ours. As has happened in the past with others, this homeowner purchased the "handyman for a day" for work that we could not properly assess without seeing the project in person. We did our due diligence to communicate with him promptly and efficiently. There were 1-2 weeks delay in regards to his responses. He described the project as: a small buildout of a wall and a door. Some materials needed ie 2 x and sheetrock, moulding " We offered to schedule a free consultation to review his project to make sure it could be done for the amount that he paid Angie's List . [Member Name Removed] was not cooperative and implied that we should be able to quote the work by the photos he sent. The photos were not clear and there was not enough detail in his narrative. We schedule consultations to fully review the work needed to ensure accuracy of the project, but [Member Name Removed] wouldn’t hear of it. Our goal is to set realistic expectations and meet or exceed them but we cannot do this unless we can follow a process that ensure this can happen. It is ironic that he uses the term "bait and switch". First this is not accurate. We consistently schedule free on-site no-obligation consultations for any homeowner that has a project that can't be described clearly over the phone or with photos and a narrative. Ironically, we felt were being baited into a project with an unclear scope of work and then be forced into completing it a fixed price that we could not guarantee. We notified Angie's List of our concerns about this homeowner's issue and they refunded the amount to the homeowner per his request. In addition, we have strongly expressed our concerns to Angie's List about homeowners using their offers as a way to complete larger but unclearly scoped projects with a limited budget. This only creates dissatisfaction and mis-set expectations."

"We're sorry that this homeowner did not take the time to contact us directly about his concerns. At our final walkthrough, he did not express any of these issues and appeared to be pleased with the final outcome which, as he noted, was completed on-time and on-budget. The project did run on schedule as the client noted. Unlike many design/build companies, we do have designers on staff to ensure that the design is completely defined and priced before the work begins. The homeowner did agree to the price and the scope before signing an agreement to build the project, which was completed in the budget range. We are always upfront that we use trade partners for tile, countertops, glass, drywall, and plumbing We did make a mistake on the window which happens rarely but took complete responsibility for it. As the homeowner noted, the schedule was not impacted. There was an issue with the tile and granite alignment which was resolved. When solid surface materials are integrated with tile, to avoid these problems. we typically use one company which prevents this issue. That will always be the case in the future. We no longer use the glass company that was referred to. They were a new partner that we needed to use due to the long backlog with our primary provider. As for coordination, we introduced our project team at the pre-construction walkthrough but the gentleman who wrote this review did not attend that meeting. Our lead carpenters are backed up by a production manager in the field and a production coordinator in the office. We thought our team roles were clearly expressed in the walkthrough but only Ms. Client attended. Our pricing is very competitive with other design/build firms. Hiring a general contractor and independent designer can save if the homeowner is willing to provide the coordination between the two entities and make sure the scope is complete. We appreciate the feedback about the job close-out. We do send weekly updates on progress and the upcoming week. We are working to make our schedule available to homeowners on-line to make it easier to get regular updates."

"Thanks for the feedback. We understand your point about the special and our capacity. This is typically the busiest time for our handyman work and this year has been the most hectic. Unfortunately, it is hard to hire staff for these peak periods and make sure they have work all year long. We are very particular about who we hire, too so finding people for short durations doesn't work. Please keep us in mind for the future!"

"We appreciate the kind review. Our team really enjoyred working for you!"

"The only record of this homeowner contacting us is with her using different last name back in July of 2013. She contacted us on July 3 and an on-site consultation was scheduled on July 15. With a week, we e-mailed a proposal to her and never received a response back. It may be that her e-mail was incorrectly captured but if we get a bounce-back, we always call the homeowner to get a correct address. Occasionally, spam filters are a problem as well. We always appreciate it when homeowners give us the benefit of the doubt and give us a call versus assuming the worst and writing a negative review."