Lifestyle Group Residential Remodeling

"The member noted that we had our interaction with her on July 26, 2014 in the review above. We wanted to point out that this was quite inaccurate on her part as our visits with the client took place on April 15th and April 24th of 2013. So, this is a report submitted more than 2 years after our visits with the member. The grades aren't terrible here, but we pride ourselves on getting A's and when we don't, then we take a hard look at the cause of the grades we received. In this case, we really struggle because while the member mentions that the cost for the project was too high, she went so far as to make exact selections with us regarding the tile to be used (which happened to include the very fancy (and expensive) glass mosaic tile and a very nice quartz countertop for the bathroom... quartz being among the most expensive products you can use in any bathroom space. We just want other members who might potentially call us to understand a bit more detail about the interaction with this member because in the end, we always make it very clear that we don't care what a client spends on their project. We can always help them save. In this case, we believe the 2 years that have passed since our visits have clouded the member's memory as to the expensive products she was selecting for every detail in the project. Thanks for reading and have a great day!"

"We are very glad the member thought the information was helpful and the experience was good aside from their disappointment in the price. With regard to the price, a typical full renovation of a basic 5x8 bathroom starts in the low to mid-teens. In this case, it was a smaller footprint of a master bathroom compared to others we see, but it was not a space where the client lacked interest in adding bells and whistles. The full custom tile shower with the decorative furniture style vanity like you see in the Restoration Hardware magazines, complete with an upgraded stone countertop and undermount sinks all drive the price up very quickly. Then, add to that the interest in removing part of the wall to the bedroom for the installation of a pocket door, which then requires drywall repair in not only the bathroom, but now also on the bedroom side... plus it requires trim work and painting in the bedroom as a result of these activities... and you very quickly get to the low to mid 20's for the project scope we were given. Please believe us when we say we would love to have been able to give this member everything on their wish list for their budget, but unfortunately in this particular case, it looks like we couldn't have done the most basic renovation for the space if what the member indicated is true that they expected to spend less than half of our $24,000 project price. For what it is worth, we did make every effort to point out every option for savings, as we do with every client, because at the end of the day, we understand working within budgets and we know that the space could be great using slightly less expensive products. One last comment if you are reading this and considering a project... many people are very hesitant to share budgets with us, but we do our best to communicate the benefits of doing so. Think about the experience of this particular member. They met with us for an hour at the house and had to make plans to come home early from work so we could discuss the project, take our pictures of the space and get dimensions that would allow us to come back and complete the design. Then, they came in for the second visit and spent more time dedicated to a project that was more than twice their budget. We try very hard to have that open conversation and we always share that we don't care about the size of the project or the budget, but from the first conversation, we could have been helping them understand the costs if they were open to sharing that information. We tell people that sometimes we end of being the "bad news folks" because we can't tell them what they want to hear... but in the end we will always do everything we can to be helpful. In some cases, being helpful means not wasting the client's time by giving them realistic price information that may not lead to a project, but also doesn't lead to their spending several hours of time exploring a project that doesn't fit their budget and will never happen. We hope this makes some sense. So, just know we are happy to have phone conversations on the front end and be as helpful as we can at a high level to save you some time on the back end if you prefer. If you have FaceTime, it is amazing what we can do with technology! You can literally show us your bathroom project as if we were standing there with you and we can give you a very good sense of cost for what it is that you want just to make sure you are thinking in the right price range. Thanks for reading!"

"Most of the time, it is rather easy to reply to a member report submission. We may at times have a disagreement in the member's perception of the events that took place and wish to state our side of the story, but we can politely explain our position on the situation to you and trust that you as a member will use reasonable judgment as you evaluate our ability to be a good partner for your project. We know you look at our history of reports and take everything into account. With this particular report response, offering a rational, polite response is a bit more difficult. This report is 4 years old and that to us as a company is beyond ridiculous. It is even more frustrating given the fact that the member simply doesn't have their facts close to straight. If they did, then they would not have made up the date of November 10, 2010 for the work completed date when in fact they placed their first call to us on Friday, May 20, 2011. We returned that call on Monday, May 23rd and then they called back to discuss their project on May 25, 2011. We visited their home on June 8, 2011 and they came to our office for a second visit to discuss the design on June 15th. In that meeting, we discussed the design and pricing details of the project and provided an initial estimate of $72,888.01. After talking about opportunities for cost reduction, we made changes and then shared a second estimate for $60,230.73 a short time later. The member refers to a big mistake in the design surrounding a door. This is simply inaccurate and the delay in report submission must be clouding their memory... or maybe with the mistaken dates they are throwing out it is possibly they have us confused with another contractor entirely. It is our belief they have the wrong company, but who knows given that the report is 4 years old. All we know is this very disappointing that a report this old is just now appearing and we question the validity of every aspect of this report."