Beacon Painting Co

"I have no record of an email, call to my office line, to my cell, or text from this individual. I'm not sure what contact information he was using, but there is no record anywhere, going back at least a month, that he used any of my data available here."

"We were able to save this client a significant measure of costs on her project by matching existing colors in her house to limit the surfaces we had to attend to. In so doing, we needed information to establish the original colors so the spaces would look consistent. After explaining the process necessary to make that possible three different times. Once during the estimate wherein that became a requirement to establish the lower price. A second time early in the process to follow through with the paint matches. And again later when a last uncertainty arose. By that point her disinterest in coming to terms with the bear minimum resources she needed to supply to us became clear, and I became somewhat short tempered with the time I had put in to her benefit, without requisite support on her part. These sorts of experiences are one of the prime frustrations of working in the service industry wherein people look for low costs and exceptional service, without compromise or contribution to make such a double play possible. When people cooperate, are engaged, and/or appreciative, it is highly satisfying. When that's not the case, staying upbeat is difficult. That said, I generally found this project went smoothly, the results were good, and I'll certainly stand behind the results. So it's disappointing to hear the client did not feel served, and I'm sorry about that."

"I bid this project with the husband that owned the house, and I was clear when he awarded me the job that we were not available for about six weeks or more. He did not find that acceptable, as he wanted to be able to make use of his pool undisturbed by subsequent painting work after he'd opened it, and I believe some guests were due around that time frame. So I leapfrogged him ahead of three clients to an earlier spot on the schedule, warning him clearly at the time that we had one project that the crew to do his house was committed to right around his earlier spot on the schedule. This was someone that was closing on a house one Thursday and their moving vans were arriving the following Friday, a bit more than a week later. I thought we could complete it before hand, but I made a point to tell him I could not guarantee it because weather always plays a role, often a problematic one. By the time we began the project, it was clear that delays leading up to his project meant that his work would be interrupted by that other client we'd committed to, but that we would work until the very last day, and return to his project immediately after the other place was done. And that before the interruption we would complete whatever parts of his house he felt were his highest priorities. I again advised him the day we were leaving of what to expect. When I later called to tell him we were ready to return, the painter his wife speaks of so highly above was so tired that he requested that Saturday off, following the interior project that caused the interruption. We returned to his place that next Monday and worked until it was done. The painter I assigned to his home is someone I have known for 25 years now, and someone whose skills, demeanor, and professionalism I have complete confidence in. He wasn't working for me as a random workman, but as a known quantity that I felt would serve their best long term interests. My judgement has been, as long as I've been in business, that the price and the quality of the work are the clear priorities for my business and for the clients I serve, and that alacrity, while important, is decidedly less important, so long as I warm clients what to expect. It appears that the wife of the household here feels differently, and was not part of any of the original conversations in arranging the work, so it is unfortunate that her priorities were not made more clear from the start, and that we were a bad match. It is deflating to be vilified for making a very conscious choice to assign perhaps the best painter I've ever employed to someone that can only complain about my role in the process, even after I was diligent in communicating our limitations."