
CertaPro Painters® of Seattle
About us
In 1992, CertaPro Painters® began with the vision of making residential and commercial painting services easier and more convenient for homeowners and business owners. From the beginning, our promise has been that of certainty, aiming to reassure customers of our quality and expertise. While today we are the largest residential painting contractor in North America, our locally owned and operated franchises take pride in bringing personalized service to customers in every region, allowing them to focus on what matters most. Additional phones - (800) 462-3782, Additional DBA - CertaPro Painters Ltd.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Power Washing. Cabinet Refinishing & Repainting. Concrete Staining & Epoxy Coating., Residential & Commercial Interior & Exterior Painting. Deck Staining
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
74% | ||
13% | ||
0% | ||
8% | ||
5% |
"We're so glad you are happy with your experience. You were wonderful to work with and we really appreciate you as a customer."
"Thank you, [Member name removed]! You and your grandson were wonderful to work with."
After setting a start date with Will in the summer of 2012, who was very flexible and very responsive, the lead was supposed to meet with me to go over everything. Agreeing to start on that date when the lead called me, I made it clear I had taken the day off to meet with him. That morning, I waited around and finally called the lead to see where he and the guy who was to do the power-washing were. He told me he was home sick and would call the power-washer. He seemed surprised that I called. I don't think he remembered at all that we had "a date". The power-washer showed up and was super friendly and quick. He was the ONLY competent, concerned, professional worker I encountered the whole time.
On day two, I came home from work at 3:30 and there was one person there taping up the windows, gutters, etc. The problem was that he did it all wrong. This is why the lead should've met with me. The contract specified how everything was to be painted (downspouts house-colored, sides of window frames painted trim color, not house color, etc.). When I tried to talk to the guy, he spoke little English, so I just let him go about his business knowing someone would have to fix it. I left the owner a message about what had happened so far and told him I didn't have much confidence that this was going to go well. The owner didn't call me, but the lead called and agreed to come out before I left for work the next morning. He did so, and when I told him the contract said which paint colors were to go where, etc., he said that the paperwork was faxed and it was small writing. Again, not very confidence-inspiring.
On day three, I got home at 3:30 and there was nobody there and all the plastic was gone. Apparently they were done with the body of the house. So, in 8 hours they applied two coats of paint, back-rolling the first coat? When my husband came home, we walked around the house and noticed they didn't do any prep work. Holes, etc. And if we didn't move it, it got sprayed with paint. E.g., they sprayed the string that's on our gate so you can open it from the outside, so that it was stuck to the house. When we pulled it off, paint came with it. My husband called either the lead or the owner, I don't know which, and they agreed we would put blue painter's tape on the spots of concern.
On day four, apparently the crew showed up and freaked out because of all the tape. They called the owner, who must've come out, seen it, and sent them home.
On day five we came home and there was a crew repairing the holes, painting the trim, etc. The guy who power washed the house was there and was super nice. He apparently took over as lead. We were pleased and gave him a check. Over the weekend as the paint dried, we realized we could see EVERY patch they repaired (all over the house), so on Monday I stopped the check and called the owner. He went out to look and again agreed with me. He did seem honest in admitting when things didn't look right, but I am not sure how honest it is to have workers try to get away with bare-bones in the first place. Seems like it must've costed him more in the long run. That day someone came out and re-rolled all the boards and we were satisfied. Still a really bad job due to no prep work, etc. I was sure we would require warranty work (see "bad job" above). Sure enough, we noticed bubbling within two months. More bubbling on the entire back of the house the following summer, and paint beginning to peel on the soffits on all sides of the house.
I almost didn't contact the company because of the terrible experience I had already had, and the terrible product. But I mistakenly assumed they'd want to send their A-team to fix an already unhappy customer's paint job. In late May of this year I emailed the company and Will came out around June 5th. He took pictures and agreed the warranty would cover it. We agreed to touch base after July 4th, as I told him that the bubbling was most noticeable in the heat of the summer. I contacted the company about a week after July 4th, and although continuing to respond to my emails and telling me I was at the top of their list, they didn't get someone out until mid-August. The painter came out on a Sat. at my request so I could show him everything. I must've told him three times that I needed him, as the expert, to walk around the house and look at everthing, as I couldn't possibly point out everything, especially on the soffits which are way over head. He said he'd come out Monday afternoon. I thought, "afternoon? Ok, maybe he's just going to do some prep for the next day". He didn't call or show. The next morning, the office person emailed me to say she got a message from him that our warranty work was complete. I was nervous. In a couple hours? Scraping, sanding, priming, two coats of paint? When I got home I was utterly speechless. He had cut out the bubbles and brushed some paint over them. So you could see right through it. And feel it. No sanding, etc. And he missed three bubbles. The only area on the soffit he addressed was the one I pointed out AS AN EXAMPLE. And he didn't sand it, he just put paint over where bare wood was showing through. I emailed the office person, and at about 5:30 at night, when we were literally putting food on our plates for dinner, there was a knock at the door and it was the painter. Without calling first. He said something about it just being primer, but why was it the color of our paint? I pointed out the bubbles he missed and repeated that I needed him to check all the soffits and fix as needed. We ended up going to our basement to wind down for the night and he eventually left.
The next afternoon I looked at his work. He didn't fix the bubbles I had literally put my hand on to point them out. He didn't address the cracking paint on the soffits, except, again, the second place I pointed out AS AN EXAMPLE. The bubbles he did fix were sanded smooth, but he must've only used one coat of paint, because you could see the repairs. I emailed the office. She was understanding and said they would get someone else and the owner would come out. He did, and again agreed it wasn't right and he'd get someone else. I told him I did not want to talk to another of these guys because they are not listening to me anyway, and we agreed he would meet the next painter at my house and come back to inspect after the painter was done. Days go by, nothing. I email. They are trying to find someone. Days go by. I email. Someone quit. Days go by. I email. They tell me I'm at the top of the list, but if I am, does that mean nobody is getting their house painted?
I had given up and written them off, when a painter called on a very cold Thursday in November at 4pm and left a message that he was going to fix my warranty work the next day. It had been about 30 degrees overnight and 41 degrees during the day. I called the paint company where I got my paint and they were concerned about touch up work being done in this temp. Also, I sort of expected the owner to call me to say he was meeting the painter at my house as agreed and to reassure me. I called the painter
"[Member name removed] – I’m very sorry to hear how unhappy you were with your CertaPro experience. First and foremost I want to let you know that there is never a time we will not make things right if we have failed to provide the work we promised. That said, I also want to make sure there isn’t some misunderstanding here. We received your signed contract on September 11th. I let you know at that time that we were still in the busy season but I would contact you as soon as we could. On September 18th, you emailed this message to us: “When do you think we can get the job scheduled? I have already started work and my girlfriend will probably be starting soon as well. It will be much more difficult to schedule once we are both working.” Due to wanting to meet your scheduling needs I called another customer and asked if they could switch dates, as they had no particular timeframe to meet and had let me know they could move dates if needed. This freed up a crew for you but by no means were you fit in between other jobs. There was no timeline that this crew had to be on the next job. It is not acceptable for our painters to be late and for that we sincerely apologize. Further, the quality of the work should never be less than excellent and it would not be our intent to leave it below that standard. We were never given an opportunity to solve these issues for you. My office staff had more than 20 email and phone communications with you from start to finish of the job and not until you had already left a poor review for us on Angie’s List did we know you were unhappy about the outcome. We did know the supervisor failed to show up at one point and we let you know that his father had been hospitalized in Pittsburg and therefore there was a delay. We apologize for him not calling to let you know. You state in your review “. . . although the cost of the paint was EVENTUALLY deducted . . .” That money was deducted from your bill immediately upon finding out you had spent your own money on materials. You sent my office manager an email telling her you had purchased paint. She then responded with an email not only deducting that cost but also discounting the additional work you had requested to be done at an hourly rate. There was no dispute or issue over this at all. We want happy customers 100% of the time. We have always been and still today remain prepared to rectify this situation in any way necessary to give you an excellent outcome. We would be happy to send out an entirely different crew to redo all work that is not exemplary. I hope you will take us up on this offer so that the final outcome of the job and your experience with CertaPro can be greatly improved."
The crew was very professional and friendly and cleaned up at the end of every work day. After they were done, I had a few concerns with some of the prep work (not scrapping all the paint in certain areas). Will and the painter walked around the house with me and fixed all my concerns quickly.
Overall they really did do a great job and addressed the concerns I had.
Requested semi-gloss on all surfaces, paint is not what I expected. They missed one entire day due to a safety meeting so painted two coats in one day! Clean up each day was non-existent, didn't clean sanding dust until after painting the surface which had been sanded. All doors still stick, mantle on fireplace is still sticky 6 months later, splattered paint on floors in living and dinning rooms, ceiling in kitchen has only one coat and paint washes off when trying to clean. Had the feeling that the crew usually painted exteriors not interiors. Very unhappy with the results and I paid cash!
"Hi [member name removed], Like we discussed, I am more than happy to come back and address all your concerns. You asked that we wait to do this until you were ready and in the meantime you told me that you would put a note in this review acknowledging this willingness to return and address your concerns. At CertaPro, customer satisfaction is very important. Even after the final inspection, if there are any concerns you can always call me on my cell phone at 253-797-0016 and I will personally make arrangements to address and correct any concerns you may have. William Tierney"
Licensing
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