Do not hire Capital Columns for Raised Panel Wainscoting! – Nov 16, 2013
Be forewarned that Capital Columns sub-contracts out Raised Panel Wainscoting work to a third party company (one man in a van) and are completely not involved whatsoever during the install period, in fact they did not even call or visit during the 2 day project. After the initial in home consultation and settling on a price, we paid a 20% deposit on our credit card (do not give them your credit card number).
On the day of install, Oct 31, 2013, the sub-contractor who showed up was a contractor who I contacted myself to quote the same job (we didn’t go with him due to his references didn’t come in on time). Also note that Capital Columns quote was 45% more than the quote I received from the actual contactor who did our work. Another disturbing fact on the final day of install, (Nov 1, 2013) Capital Columns went ahead and charged the balance of the job on our credit card without our approval and while work was still not finished (that final day the contractor worked till 7:45pm). During the two day install not once did a Capital Columns rep visit or call to see how work was progressing and they still felt entitled to charge the balance of the cost without checking with us if we were satisfied with the work.
After this terrible contractor experience, I contacted Herb (owner) to express my dissatisfaction and he said he would look into the job and get back to me. After 4 days of no response I called Herb again, and he said he could not do anything about their inflated price (saying; “I have a lot more overhead than a one man outfit operating out of van”), I can accept this to a certain degree but a 45% increase over the installers price seems grossly out of order to cover for his overhead, WSIB insurance etc.
With this unsatisfactory experience with Capital Columns, I will definitely not be using or referring these guys to any of my friends or family, very unprofessional and quick to charge your credit card without any job closure or value added to the job.
Arun P – Brampton, ON
- Approximate cost of services:
- $1,300.00
- Company Response
Hello Arun
We're sorry you feel this way about your experience with our company, however, you fail to mention a few things in your review of our services.
1. In our conversation, you told me that you were happy with the wainscoting installation. This doesn't sound like a terrible contractor experience to me.
2. The installer went back on the second day to just fill in a few spots with caulking, this should have been a 1/2 hour job. In fact, you had him change the height of the wainscoting after it was already installed. This is why he was there until 7:45 pm on the second day, you never called me to tell me about this and you were not charged for this "extra work" which would have changed the final balance entirely. This negates the "Value added to the job" line at the end of your review.
3. You tried to blackmail my company. You told me you would write bad reviews on the internet, specifically Homestars, if we did not come down on the price and meet you at the originally quoted price by the contractor which was much less than the final amount on the SIGNED invoice.
4. If the price originally quoted by the contractor was so good, you had lots of time to call us (at least 2 weeks) and cancel your order. He would have come back to you with his references in this time. It would seem to me that you wanted all the assurances of dealing with a reputable company without the price, it doesn't work this way. I could only assume that you quoted a few companies and something stood out about the quality of our company, obviously the price was in line with other quotes received from other reputable companies.
5. Based on the numbers you provided me during our conversation, 45% over sounds like a bit of an overstatement. 30% at best, big difference.
6. You called us a week after the installation was completed, someone who was "outraged" wouldn't have taken a week to call. This proves that you were satisfied with the work completed.It is common practice for many companies listed on Homestars to sub out the work being done in a homeowners house. When hiring a company like ours, you have to consider that we have much more expenses than a carpenter working from his van along with trying to make some money so we can uphold our warranties in the long term. When we set our our prices, we are not out to over charge, we set the prices to be competitive in our area. A one man outfit may be quoting based on his desired hourly rate and materials, without taking anything else into account. We can't necessarily compete with a one man operation under these circumstances and shouldn't be held to these standards.
With respect to the Balance, yours was a small installation that should have been completed in one day but wasn't due to the changes you made. Although we try, with so many installations happening at once all over the city, we don't always have the time to come out and check on all installs. With that in mind, we were quite confident that the installation was completed in the one day slotted for installation. Our Administrative staff ran your card late that day, that's an oversight on our part and we apologize. If there is an issue with the payment by credit card, you are welcome to call your credit card company and dispute this payment.This is obviously not a claim about the workmanship, not once is it mentioned in the review.
Thanks
Herb Mena
Owner
Capital Columns & Trim