Mold Inspection Sciences of Seattle

Service Provider Response

Thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback on your experience with us! It was a pleasure working with you, please let us know if we can be of service in the future!

Service Provider Response

We appreciate the member taking the time to provide this review and the complementary comments regarding our inspector’s punctuality, our professionalism and responsiveness. We strive for high marks in all categories and our goal is to obtain an overall A grade in each and every review. We know that it is challenging at times to consistently please every customer on all levels, but it is our goal to exceed our client’s expectations and provide a superior level of customer care. It was also great to hear that the member acknowledged and appreciated the scientific and informative mold inspection report that was delivered when promised and that a project manager personally called the member to provide a verbal consultation regarding the results of the testing and our final conclusions. We also appreciate that the member mentioned that when contacting our office several times, we always had a friendly person on the other end of the line and that our office manager was especially nice and listened to the member’s concerns. We do have an amazing office staff that provides exceptional service. However, we do feel as if some of the negative points of the review were unfair and did not reflect the reality of the situation: 1. Our inspector Gerry was on site for over 3 hours and thoroughly inspected every room/area within the home. A thorough condition assessment was performed, including testing moisture levels in all rooms. However, there were many rooms/areas within the home that had excessive amounts of stored items & furnishings limiting the inspector’s access to some areas. Gerry discovered and documented suspect conditions in over 7 rooms/areas within the home, including multiple areas in the basement where the member claims we did not discover mold. Our inspector did identify suspect mold growth in the area and our final report recommendations including removing or cleaning of all mold impacted materials. 2. Regarding the member’s C grade for our price, we do feel as if this is an unfair assessment. Our pricing structure including all associated fees was clearly outlined and agreed to by the member prior to scheduling of our services. Thus, giving a “C” rating for pricing, after the fact, seems unfair. We employ a professional team of certified indoor environmental/mold inspectors & project managers with many years of experience, as well as an exceptional customer oriented office staff. For the price, we offer an outstanding level of service to all of our clients. We know that there are companies that may charge less than us, most of them being small, one man shows. But, as a result it is not common for them to be able to provide service at the standards we hold ourselves to. 3. Humidity and Moisture levels vary from day-to-day and conditions can and do change over time. This inspection was performed nearly 4 months ago, and we feel that all conditions were reported accurately at that time. 4. The member contacted us and voiced a concern regarding the remediation company that she hired. Although we did recommend this company among others as a courtesy, we do not have any control over their business. We do not sub contract mold remediation or have any control in their business matters. We had multiple conversations with the member as well as the remediation contractor in an attempt to mediate the situation. However, there appeared to be a breakdown in communication between the two parties that resulted in some challenges and delays of the remediation work. Again, we have no control over outside companies and we do not feel that the member’s dissatisfaction with another company should be reflected in the member’s review of Mold Inspection Sciences. We have placed two follow up calls to this member after this review was submitted for customer care purposes and to gain additional feedback regarding the member’s review. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to connect with this member, but hope to gain some additional feedback if/when we receive a return call.

Service Provider Response

Dear [Member], We were both unhappy and surprised to read your review. I’d like to address your review one component at a time: Your review is quite different in grades and content than the other 18 reviews we have on Angie’s List, which are all excellent. We also have all great reviews on Yelp!, HomeAdvisor, Better Business Bureau, and Google+. We work very hard to provide great customer service and I’m concerned that perhaps you received incorrect information from other parties that changed your initial impression of our company and service. Grades: “F” for price. I don’t believe that’s fair. You were aware of our pricing before we scheduled your appointment. Nothing changed regarding our pricing between the time you scheduled your appointment and the time that we provided the service. If you did not like our pricing, I’m curious why you hired us. “D” for quality. We provided you with an industry standard inspection report, complete with photographs and a lab report from an accredited lab certified by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (EMLab P&K). It is a reporting format that we have refined and perfected over the past 13 years. Until your “D” grade, I have not heard from any of our other thousands of clients, across 8 different states, that there is a problem with the quality of our reports. “C” for punctuality. Your appointment was scheduled for 9:00 AM on October 7, 2014. Our inspector was parked in front of your house at 8:47 AM and rang your doorbell promptly at 9:00 AM. Per the receipt document that our inspector left with you, we promised you your final report, including lab results, in three business days (our standard turn-around time). On Friday, October 10, 2014 at 1:07 PM, the reports were sent to you via email. You confirmed receipt of the reports when your project manager, Brandon Apple, called you and spoke to you at 1:18 PM to discuss your reports. In addition, because you found us on Angie's List, we promised you a $20 Starbucks card. We sent you that Starbucks card, via email, on October 13th. We did receive confirmation that you opened that eCard. “C” for professionalism. When our inspector, Gerry Young, left your home, you were happy with his service and you specifically mentioned to him that you were pleased that he found the mold and moisture issues in the basement which your home inspector failed to find. You were contacted on the exact date we promised your report and were emailed a completed report with lab results. A few days later, you contacted our office to further discuss our findings and conversations you had with remediation companies. Craig Cooper, another project manager in our office, called you back promptly and discussed your concerns with you. Now, I’d like to address the items noted in the body of your review: You write that “…inspector from MIS conducted a 30 minute review…”. I spoke with Gerry, your inspector, and by the time he finished inspecting your attic, basement, and some other areas of your home, took moisture and humidity readings, collected all of his photographs, collected the recommended microbial samples, and signed paperwork with you, he was onsite over an hour. You write that the inspector told you that you needed “…at least 5 air samples…”. I pulled up the inspection contract and paperwork that you signed. Gerry only recommended 3 air samples and 2 tape lift samples. These recommendations were made within industry standards and guidelines. Also, Gerry would not use the word “toxic” when discussing microbial growth. We don’t know what type of mold (or if a substance is even mold) until we send them to a lab for analysis. You write that “A week or two later I received a report from MIS…”. Your report was emailed to you 3 days after the inspection and you had a telephone conversation with Brandon Apple on that same day to discuss your reports and you confirmed receipt of the emailed reports. You note that we told you that you had a serious problem. I have read your entire report and that is not the case. We informed you that our recommendation was for professional mold remediation/cleaning. While some people may want to clean and remove mold in their homes, most people do not. It’s analogous to plumbing or electrical problems. Most professionals don’t assume that a homeowner has the skills or tools or desire or proper safety equipment to perform these skilled tasks. That is how we approach mold remediation. Unless it is a small amount of surface mold without associated, elevated airborne mold spore counts, we always recommend a professional mold remediation company to perform the remediation in accordance with the standards of the IICRC S520. Also, mold issues can be quite litigious. We are not comfortable recommending that our clients undertake mold remediation as a do-it-yourself project. Your statement “He [a mold remediation company] recommended that I scrub it off and seal with a product that I could buy at a hardware store”. I don’t think that’s sound advice. The basement was shown, by the lab results, to have elevated airborne mold spores and surface mold growth. To suggest that a homeowner work in that environment without proper PPE (personal protection equipment) seems problematic to me. And, they are also recommending that you purchase chemicals and assuming that you have the expertise and tools to apply those chemicals. Based on the statement above by the mold remediation company representative, I don’t see how you would lower the elevated spore counts in your basement (your Penicillium/Aspergillus airborne spores in the basement were about 8 times normal counts) and I don’t see instructions on what PPE you should wear, nor do I see information about what chemicals or agents or processes you would use to clean and remove the mold growth. Those are things that professional mold remediation companies employ and that is why we recommended professional remediation. You wrote that “…they acted puzzled by my report and suggested I try the same two remediation companies they had recommended initially…”. When you called on October 17th and spoke to Craig Cooper, he did not suggest that you call the same two remediation companies. Instead, he provided you with contact information for Paul Davis Restoration a third company. Again, I read your report today. Nowhere in the report does it state you have a serious problem requiring anything exceedingly complicated to remedy. The recommendations were pretty straight forward and I will copy them verbatim here: “Mold growth was confirmed at the Lower Wall and the air sample collected showed elevated airborne mold spore counts. Additional hidden mold growth is possible. Work area should be isolated with use of containment barriers. Negative air should be established with use of HEPA filtered negative air machines. All water damaged and/or mold impacted structural materials should be properly HEPA vacuumed, scrubbed/cleaned, and then HEPA vacuumed again. Entire work area should be HEPA vacuumed and wet wiped. HEPA air filtration should run for a minimum of 24 hours after the work is complete. If during removal additional mold sources/water damage is noted, remediation/removal should continue until 12” past the last impacted area wherever feasible.” We believe this is the safest and best method for addressing the mold growth found in your basement. It’s a small project and one a competent mold remediation company could handle. Several mold species were identified on your Basement wall. One was Chaetomium, which is considered one of the molds capable of producing mycotoxins. On EMLab P&K’s website is a fungal glossary. Here is what it states about Chaetomium under “Potential Toxin Production”: “Chaetomin. Chaetomium globosum produces chaetoglobosins. Sterigmatocystin is produced by rare species. Other compounds produced (which may not be mycotoxins in the strict sense) include a variety of mutagens.” I don’t think it would be professional for us to recommend that a homeowner clean this mold growth. You note that you “…followed up with MIS in mid December and still haven’t heard back…”. We have no record of an email or a phone call from you. We are happy to speak with you at any point and help in any way we can. I’m sorry that you were not 100% satisfied with our company. But, I do feel your review is unfair and inaccurate. Sincerely, Michael Bains President, Mold Inspection Sciences