ROOMS REDUX

This stager is UNPROFESSIONAL, tempormental, and all around aweful. Choose another company

The actual staging work was fine - not great, but they definitely made the condo look better than if it had been empty and provided a realistic picture of how furniture would fit in the place.
Unfortunately, no amount of gorgeous design (which was totally lacking, but even if it had been design perfection) makes up for the fact that upon removing the furniture, they severely scratched and scraped our cherry wood floors and banged up the walls, and then expressed complete disregard and lack of remorse or accountability.  When we reached out with pictures of the damage he was quite rude and then said he would not talk about it or apologize for it and that we had to work directly with his insurance company if we expected to be reimbursed for repairing the damage but there was a deductible that WE would have to cover.  What an unprofessional company that has complete disregard for their customers! 
Their price was less than a couple of the other staging companies we were referred to but for an extra couple hundred bucks you can get a much better product (as I stated, they didn't do that great of job) and you won't have to deal with unprofessional people and potentially have your property damaged in the process!

We had an awful experience with that company.  My realtor referred me to this company.  I contacted them, and the owner didn’t call me back for three weeks.  That was already a red flag.  I liked the realtor so much, that I decided to give them a shot anyway.  Then, the owner gave us the estimate.  I didn’t call him back right away because the estimate was too high.  I sent him an email a while later explaining my issues, and he sent a nice email back and made some modifications for me.  We made an appointment for the day he was to come to work, but I forgot to call to confirm that.  We gave him a three day window for appointments.  I asked if he was planning to come, and he told me he was not because we hadn’t sent any deposit.  He told me that even though he had never asked for the deposit, I should just know that his business model was to give 50% down before any work was done.  He didn’t show up because he didn’t get my check on time, even though I sent it in.  My realtor ran to his company to pay with his own check to make sure he could do the work for me.  He came out and helped and our house sold quite quickly.  Because our home sold so quickly, we were playing catch-up.  The workers came and did some of the work.  I painted the whole house myself and the house looks brand new.  I wanted the workers to take the furniture out very carefully so that I didn’t have to repaint the walls.  When my husband came to check out the work, he found that the workers were drinking alcohol on the job, and dropped a piece of furniture down the stairs, making a big hole in the staircase.  I sent an email to my realtor upset about the work.  We paid a penalty at closing due to the problem.  Later we found out that the workers had taken the alcohol they were drinking from our refrigerator!  We had bought a bottle of champagne as a thank-you gift for our buyers, and the workers had taken it and drank it themselves.  The owner told me that his worker was injured – this isn’t surprising as he was drinking alcohol on the job!

Overall the staging process went quickly and the quality of work made the place look very presentable.  Everything was on-time and in accordance to what was listed in the contract.  The big issue with the service came when the staging was removed.  My real estate agent had informed them to remove the staging on a Friday as I was to spend the weekend in the condo in preparation for a move.  The staging was removed fine, but they also removed my OWN bed.  

Phillip called me to inform me that the bed was not going to be returned until the following day.  I told him that I had no place to sleep and that either the bed should be returned that night.  Without taking any responsibility for the situation beyond saying "my people made a mistake" he did not offer any solution.  I requested that if he was not able to return the bed that night, then because he had created a situation where I was unable to sleep there, that he cover the cost of the hotel.  At first he rejected this and then later offered a $100 credit.  As I told him this would likely not cover a hotel in Chicago (my concern was not to get money but merely a place to stay without having to take a loss).

I had to get my real estate agent involved in order to negotiate the agent booking a hotel and him committing to foot the bill.  The receipt for the room my agent booked was sent to him for reimbursement.   When the check arrived a month later it was only for the $100 forcing me to take a $50 loss for what was his company's mistake, after having spent $1600 on their services.  The following emails were exchanged leaving me entirely dissatisfied with their professionalism and ruining the overall experience.  Despite the quality of the staging (not removing), Phillip's horrible customer interaction was not worth the experience.

Emails below (last names removed):
Phillip,I just received your check for $100 dollars.  When we had discussed the issue on the phone, I had made it clear that my only requirement for the evening was a place to sleep, either my own bed if it could be returned by that evening or a hotel accommodation.  You had suggested the $100 credit originally, which I promptly declined due to the cost of hotels in Chicago.  Todd had made the arrangements with your consent and even forwarded you to receipt (attached again).  I was shocked to see that due to the mistake of your people, you expected me to foot the bill for a night that was caused by their negligence.  While your staging skills and services were excellent, the ownership over damages caused by your crew is totally unacceptable especially given our conversations and agreements on the phone.I have worked with many excellent contractors through Todd in the past and this is the first time I have been disappointed in the interaction.  I will cash the $100 check but expect the rest of the incurred cost to be refunded by check also.  If this is not resolved, I will do my best to make sure the entire event is documented on Angie's list and yelp reviews.Regards,Chris

Hello Chris, Thank you for confirming receipt of the reimbursement check. As I have stated from the start I offered a $100 reimbursement, whether you heard or believed it is not of my concern. I followed thru with exactly what I said I would do for you. I also see $44 was parking and not a room charge. If you decide to use social media to express your thoughts about RRC I want to make sure you mention that we staged an empty, dark, gray garden apartment in the slowest time of year, incorporating dated furniture to create a visually pleasing presentation to buyers. We also gave you a half months free staging, requested by Todd , on your behalf (saving you $112.50). During this additional time of free staging your property went under contract. This $112.50 more than covers the remainder of your hotel bill. Most clients would be appreciative of our efforts, some even have the courtesy of saying Thank You. I guess you do not appreciate the work going above & beyond by having to clean out dresser drawers with bottles of lube & condoms so we could throw them out for you. I am not worried in the least of your threats to bad mouth us on social media. One ungrateful, bad apple does not spoil our standing in the Chicago real estate market as we've had hundreds upon hundreds of successful staging's with very happy clients. You do what you need to do to vent your feelings but I will not be losing any sleep over it. Good luck to you.Philip PopowiciRooms Redux ChicagoCell: 312-835-1192Fax: 773-561-0496www.roomsreduxchicago.com

He did a great job determining what needed to be added to help make the property shine. He also allowed the seller to cut costs by purchasing items and using what seller already had. This person does a good job, has a good attitude and overall was good to work with. When the property sold, he was available to come pick up items on the day of move. However, picking up a truck to remove items (he needed the truck because he agreed to buy an item from me which I no longer wanted) and that process caused a delay. However, he called in advance to let me know and we were able to work around that. If you use him make sure that you don't rely on email correspondence. It is best to call the office. This person also has a cell # and fax # which you can get if you have him work with you. Re: survey: responsiveness - he is good & therefore busy, only a # of times when responsiveness was an issue; re: punctuality, only recall it an issue once due to something beyond his control.