M3 Design Group - Factory Direct Shutters, Blind, Shades

I love my wood shutters and have had them for two years. After two years I had some repairs that needed to be done and Mike was generous enough to do them free of cost.

Great service, they did the front windows a few years back and when we decided to have the rest of the windows done we called them in again. Very friendly service and takes the time to do the job right.

Mike and his team did fantastic jop from start to end exact measurements costom made colour to match my windows and stone very professional installation reasonable price very satisfied with the service buy with confidence will finish the rest of the windows in future again great jop thank you Mike

Mike is very professional, he recommended what would look good in our house. I would recommend his company to everyone for a good quality shutters.

We shared similar experience with one of the reviewers in the installation of shutters by M3 Design Group.
We had our stained shutters for the whole house installed in Dec 2013. Mike, whom I believed was the owner, did the pricing and installation personally.
The installation had to be done over three weeks from early December to after Xmas due to a combination of issues that we were aware of, e.g. no shows (no notice), fitting difficulties (the frames), missing pieces, and manufacturing errors (wrong size).
M3 Design Group pitched itself as a provider of quality products, which we took to mean materials and workmanship.
During the first installation visit I took the day off to see that things would go well, but ended up having to assist in the installation, which likely would be a 2-person job.
The first visit completed about 1/3 of all the shutters. It would take several more visits to complete installing all the shutters. The last visit was after Xmas when he even brought along his young son to see his dad at work.
I was absent during all the installation visits except the first. There appeared to be some clashes between Mike and my wife regarding the quality of work. I could not comment on the interactions because I was not present. From my personal experience in interacting with Mike in person (the sales visit, the first installation visit, phone conversations), he came across as a loud-talking, stressed, and action-oriented individual – characteristics that probably would not be associated with work that demanded attention-to-details and customer service-mindedness. Such personality became critical during the installation in my absence, when Mike interacted with my wife, who was particularly sensitive to quality workmanship because of her experience in the furniture-making family business.
The subsequent 1-person installation visits caused some damage – some I could overlook, but some were obviously due to carelessness of the person doing the work (see pictures). I emailed Mike the following but he did not respond.
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We have had a chance to look over the installed shutters and found some major issues. Please see the pictures.

Here are some of the statements used to describe M3 Design Group’s 'Premium Wood Shutters':

“We pride ourselves on providing the ultimate level of detailed workmanship…”
“We use only the highest grade of kiln-dried select woods…”

“…we sell, measure, manufacture, install and stand behind our product, offering a highly personalized attention to detail. We will ensure complete customer satisfaction!

We do not compromise on quality for price...”

The pictures shown, combined with the delays from getting the wood posts ready, raise questions about the detailed workmanship, the grade of select woods, and the high attention to detail throughout the process from manufacturing to installation.
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My wife, who took very good care of the house, was unhappy about the work and not prepared to be intimidated by Mike’s brashness. She raised her concerns with him, resulting in some interesting conversations. To be fair some of the scratches were touched up eventually, but the damage done by the nails was not repairable.
When our shutters needed service recently, he said he would charge $250 for the otherwise free service call because of the negative experience my wife had given him. He expressed feeling not being treated with courtesy by my wife - she had the same opinion of him. It would seem that Mike had not had someone who would hold him to his stated quality standard, and that he had always felt his work was beyond reproach. Having to receive comments on his work from a woman might make it more difficult to accept. Considering we were willing to overlook the damage he caused, it would seem unfortunate for someone who prided himself as a professional to show show such lack of professionalism.

Very high quality, and looks great. It gave my house a facelift. I'm very satisfied. Thanks, M3!

Could not be happier with the job Mike did. The product quality is top notch. Service was great. Only did the main floor right now, but will be doing the 2nd floor soon too.

We had considered going with a pvc shutter before, but so glad we didn't. The look and quality of these shutters is incomparable to the pvc shutters we had seen.

One of the most passionate individuals and tradesman I have met.
Mike loves his trade and is proud of his work. After the completion of the job I can see why.
My quality concerns were muted after seeing the finished product in my home.
I would highly recommend the wooden shutters, it makes our home look richer and bigger.
Mike's workmanship is top notch. I'll be finishing up the rest of my house with this product.

Gracias Mike.. I would like to acknowledge your timeliness. You were prompt to my response, you were passionate about your product and the delivery and installation and workmanship was stellar. It lived up to your promised. I'm glad I chose M3 Design as it truly enhanced my home. Looking forward to doing business with you again ...

Mike did all of our front windows last year, and we were so happy its his work, we got him back this time to do the rest of the house.

Mike came back and did a fantastic job measuring, delivering and installing shutters for 9 windows this time. Mike really knows his stuff, and made sure everything was perfect before leaving. The shutters look awesome. I will continue to refer him to my friends and family.

Thanks Mike!