Custom Decorators Co

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Lou the Salesman, was very proud of his business that he was the previous owner of. He should be ashamed beyond ashamed. I told him I was in no hurry to get the work done and they still would not honor their quote. Keep in mind their quote was 1k higher than the other quotes I had received, but I felt comfortable with the sales person. So glad I did not do business with this unethical business!

Needless to say, not hired. If you can't show up for an estimate, I doubt that you would show up for the job.

Came to our home on 1/7/2016 to take pictures and discuss options. This company when under previous ownership did a very nice job on cabinets in our adjoining eating area. Was told we we receive an estimate for several of the options discussed.

On 2/12, I contacted the company, who basically said they do not do small jobs, which is contrary to their website and what we were told by the gentleman providing the estimate. Our galley kitchen has 10 cabinets. We were not given the courtesy of a follow up phone call, and our kitchen renovation was delayed 5 weeks due to this company's lack of courtesy and professionalism.

Emptied  cabinets and drawers - Doors and drawers taken off site; refinished and delivered and installed.

Lou is the front man now, having once owned the business.  I had worked with him nearly 10 years ago to refinish my kitchen cabinets, and I contacted him again to do these repairs.  Don Lankey owns the company now, and he did the excellent repair work for me.  The work was timely for such a small job that I'm sure was fit in in between larger jobs.  Lou kept me informed on the progress throughout, which I appreciated.  I was very pleased with the paint match and very happy that they would do such a small job and at minimal cost. This is a business you can count on for quality work that can save you from replacing cabinets.

Worked with Lou in the beginning. He brought a binder filled with recommendations ..sold me on the longevity of the cabinets and the process they put into them to get them refinished.

Then this is where it goes south. The new owner Don came out with a crew of two others to perform the work. I am so disappointed, disgusted, mad about how these cabinets turned out- and the response I received once I voiced my disapproval on the work performed. A week after the cabinets were completed, they started peeling in various places. I was told it was my fault- which it was not- it was the quality of the refinish job. My cabinets all have chips, runs, areas where a second coat should have been applied. I do not give these cabinets two years..when I was told by Lou ?they would look the same in 20 years.? DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. There are many others that do what they do.. save yourself the agony of dealing with a bad end result/unprofessional owners and use someone else.

The end result was very good. Service was very good also. After the final work was completed, they returned to provide some touch up and trim parts for us. The work took about 6 weeks total, but communication was good and the technicians were polite and responsive.

They fixed the problem that occurred in a professional and timely manner.  While I wasn't happy that a problem did occur, they were responsible and corrected the issue without charge.

I contacted Custom Decorators to find out more about their services and get a price quote.  I spoke with Lou directly and made an appointment for the following week.  I left work early the day of the appointment to ensure that I would not be late.
After waiting for 35 minutes past our agreed upon appointment time, I called Lou.  When I told him my name, he said that he recognized it.  Though, he seemed surprised when I reminded him that he was supposed to be at my house.  However, then he proceeded to tell me that he actually called me numerous times since we made the appointment.  Including once on the day of our scheduled appointment.  I explained to him that I had my phone with me all day and that I did not show any calls from him since the day we made our appointment.  He proceeded to tell me that the reason he did not leave a voicemail was due to the fact that mine was full.  It was not full or even remotely close to being full.  I explained that to Lou.  He then told me that my number got mixed up with a bunch of others  but he was sure that he called.  He was on his forth attempt at providing me with an excuse for his not keeping his appointment when I told him that I did not need another one.
Stuff happens.  No one is perfect.  However, trying to lie multiple times to a potential client does not instill confidence.  A simple  honest apology is much more effective.  Had he not made numerous, lame attempts trying to cover up the reason he missed the appointment and just apologized, I would have given him another shot.  I am glad I found out more about Lou now, than after purchasing any of his services.  I can only imagine what would have happened had things not gone right and the excuses Lou would have used to make it my fault.
If you make an appointment with Lou, call him the day of, to confirm that he plans on showing up.

Contacted Custom Decorators by phone to obtain a quote on cabinet refinishing.  Lou handled the call and the visit to my home.  He was very thorough and explained my options through his company and other available options.  He explained cabinetry terms and hardware and was a wealth of information.  After all was said and done, I decided to go with an option not available through Custom Decorators, but I feel bad because I would rather have dealt with Lou than anyother contractor that I have discussed my kitchen.  If you are looking for refinishing I would recommend Lou and Custom Decorators.

The process was very professional from our first meeting with Lou to thanking them for the wonderful job they did on our cabinets.

Because of the severe thunderstorms that hit the Pittsburgh area that week, Lou lost power in his refinishing shop for almost a day.  He called us early Friday morning the week before the appointment to tell us what happened, and that he would need an extra day to finish the job.  That was certainly not a problem, but we were impressed that he called us well before the appointment to let us know.  The new appointment was set for the very next day (after the original appointment) and somehow we weren't surprised that (1) Lou called the evening before to confirm the appointment, and (2) he and his helpers arrived - fifteen minutes early!  (This just doesn't happen in this day and age!  Nobody comes when they're supposed to come to do a job, but this was the third time that Lou was there when he said he would be!)  The first thing they did was to completely seal off our kitchen from the rest of the house with plastic.  This was no easy task because our kitchen overlooks our sitting room and there is open space between the kitchen and dining room and the hallway leading to our bedrooms.  They mounted a large, flexible exhaust hose in our kitchen window that stretched out into our back yard, and masked everything in the kitchen that wasn't going to be refinished.  They brought in a large fan that forced all of the dust and fumes from the refinishing agents and stains (for the cabinet frames) out though the hose and into the yard.  At no time could we smell the chemicals or stain.  After only about six hours, the job was finished.  The plastic was gone, the doors were reattached, and the drawers inserted, and everything was clean..  The cabinets look brand new!  We expected a difference, but this job was exceptional!  We are extremely pleased with the work that Lou and his company did, but most of all, we are extremely pleased with Lou Criscella.  He is a total professional and an artisan.  He is honest.  He is punctual. He is considerate.  He leaves nothing to chance, and is very meticulous and detailed in his work.  Last, but certainly not least . . . this is a nice man!  Lou Criscella is "good people," and we are very, very happy that we gave him our business.  Thank you, Lou, for a job very, very well done!

He was very polite and I was very pleased with how the project turned out. He covered everything with plastic so dust would not get all over everything, this shows his high grade of professionalism. I felt that he was highly efficient and the work that they did was of extreme quality.