BENNY'S PAINTING LTD

We're moving and I needed a painter to do the job quickly - or at least quicker than I could. A friend highly recommended Benny's so I gave them a call. Here's my experience.
First, the good. I visited their website and requested a quote online. I had a response the next morning, and an estimator came out within a few hours. I explained that we were moving and that we needed the work complete within two weeks as our house would be listed shortly thereafter. He assured me that they could get the job done in plenty of time, and assign larger crews if necessary. Other contractors (carpenter and flooring installer) were scheduled, he assured me that they could still work around and not interfere with each other. In the end, the job was finished Also good: the quality of work was outstanding; I'm very happy with the way the house looks. Finally, the painters who were at our house were very friendly and went out of their way to be accommodating. Mike was one of the guys at our house throughout the project and he was excellent.
So why not a five star review? There were a few issues. To start with: despite the fact that I walked the estimator through the house and outlined the scope of the project room-by-room (and gave him a list with the same information)...two of the bedrooms upstairs were fully painted when I didn't ask for them to be. I also showed him that we had two (nearly full) cans of paint for walls and trim that they were welcome to use. But there seemed to be a disconnect between the crew that showed up and management, as they didn't seem to be briefed on what was to be done. Also they bought 2 x 5 gallon pails of paint (one each for upstairs and basement) but only used a small amount of each - despite the fact that I told them to use the paint that I had. (They did say that I could keep the remaining paint for touch ups, but who needs four gallons for touch ups? I asked them to take it please, and they did). We did tell them what the scope of the project was (and they did it), it just seemed odd that they weren't better briefed given that I had given the estimator a detailed description of the job. Secondly, a few days before the crew started (ceilings - first job) I got a call from Benny's and was asked to move the furniture to the centre of the rooms and to wash the walls. Umm, isn't prep part of what I'm paying for? Finally: a few days after the job was 90% finished (only a few baseboards and casings were left to be painted, after the other trades finished) I got two texts (around dinner time) asking if I was satisfied with the work. Because I was having dinner, I didn't immediately reply. Twenty minutes later I got a call from Benny's asking the same question. And asking for payment. That night - a Friday night. Of a long weekend. By cash or cheque, someone would come around to collect it that night.
A quick word on the cost. I honestly thought the estimate was high, even with a discount for coming as a referral. That said, my friend who referred them said they were the most competitive quote. So I'm not complaining about the quote. I needed the job done quickly, they were available and accommodating, so that's on me. If I had to do it again, I would have received at least a couple more quotes for comparison.
In summary - Benny's was very quick to respond, very accommodating, friendly crews and excellent work. I would recommend them with the caveat that shop around for a quote (again, my fault for not doing so) and be prepared to pay immediately upon receipt of the invoice.