Kennmarr Enterprises Ltd.

From the very beginning, I had a bad feeling about working with Marla (always trust your gut!). She was overly friendly and it was easy to see that her persona was only for show. She kept assuring me that I would "love" her work. Overcompensating if you will. Regardless, I trusted her word and wanted to give her the business because she kept assuring me that I would "love" the final result (she was hired to refinish a staircase and paint a fireplace mantle). When I asked if she could replace the spindles instead of painting them (as other companies had suggested to me), she was dishonest and told me that new spindles still need to be painted and that I needed to "trust her" because I would love the result. Again, I trusted her word and her claims that she had done "hundreds" of staircases. I was told that the job would take 3 days (it took less than a day and a half). I was also promised a professional job where my spindles would be sanded, primed, and painted for a "smooth finish".

None of these promises were met. Her painters rushed the job, and left a horrible mess behind. My spindles are NOT smooth and the paint is bubbling in places. Worst of all, my fireplace looks like it was painted by a child as whatever product they used looks like it is dripping paint (photos attached).

The WORST part of all of this is that I know this was not a $3500 job. This was a simple paint job. There was no sanding or prepping, no efforts made to ensure that the job was completed properly. Marla just made up the price as she probably does with all of her clients and hoped to get away with it. I should have known when Marla told me she could start the job immediately that there was something wrong. My husband and I agreed to the high price point as we believed the job would be completed PROPERLY (proper sanding, priming, then sanding again, etc

When the job was completed (a day and half early...), Marla was only interested in being paid the remaining money. She kept telling me how "fast" these guys are and how wonderful a job they did. She kept texting me asking for payment (did she think I would finally figure out that she was GROSLY overcharging me??) Her partner arrived at my house that evening for payment and noticed that the job was not completed properly. He told me to withold $500 and that Marla would send the men back over to fix the imperfections. My biggest mistake was paying him anything because guess what? Once Marla had the money, she ran!

When I discussed with Marla the issues that evening, she was half-apologetic and denied overcharging me. She tried to tell me that the spindles "didn't need sanding". I even offered to show her quotes from other more reputable companies that offered much more services for lower costs. All she could say was that she "was shocked" and never had any complains before (again, another impossibility - every company gets complaints!). That evening, she texted me asking if there was something she could do to help - so I thought - "ok, maybe this woman has SOME integrity". When I explained the issues, guess what happened? She disappeared off the face of the planet! Even with the $500 being held, she KNEW she overcharged me. She took what she could get and ran.

Excerpt from our text messages:

Marla: ’m sorry that you are not 100% satisfied. Please let me k ow what I can do to help

Me: Im going to be honest with you . I’m very disappointed. The work that was done seems like it was rushed. What should have taken at LEAST 3 days to complete was done in less than a day and a half. Faster does not always equal better. Repainting without sanding is not a $3500 job. Sanding wood alone is a labour intensive job that takes time - at least a day. Im not an expert but I know that. My husband and I agreed to the price of $3500 because it was our understanding that the job would be done properly and professionally. Your guys did not sand as needed- instead they were priming within an hour of starting the job.  The lack of sanding is evident when you look at the bumpy /rough spindles that are not smooth (which was promised). I was quoted $3600 by another company to REMOVE and REPLACE all the spindles plus do the fireplace so I don’t think Your price was accurate. Regardless, I still went with you because I trusted and believed what you were telling me. Your husband’s suggestion to withhold $500 shows that he feels the same. My husband has worked in contracting before and knows you should always leave a site clean and finished - even if you have to come back. You don’t just say you’re done until you’re done. Your guys were very nice but they left a mess and we feel it was rushed . I know you had four guys here but only two were painting. Even with the $500 reduction I still paid too much. I’m so sorry this happened, but I will use this experience as a teaching moment for myself. If there is anything YOU think you can do to further rectify this situation then I welcome your suggestions. 
We based the quote on 3 days of work. One day for sanding and prepping. 2 days for painting. The bigger problem here is the price for services delivered. Today, 9:15 AM
Hi marla I haven’t heard back from you...how strange. 

NO ANSWER

The next morning, I wrote her back:

My husband and I talked and we have decided that we would like your guys back here to properly sand the spindles down to the wood and prime, then sand agin and paint two coats of paint . If not then we require an additional discount. I am extremely upset over this and you asked if there was something you could do . 

Guess what? No answer again!

This woman will respond immediately to you if she wants your business but once you pay her, she will take the money and run. KennMarr LTD (or enterprises...whatever they call themselves) is a company who misleads honest people out of their hard-earned money. Do not fall for Marla's exterior persona - it is all fake and only meant to earn your business. After that, she doesn't care about what happens. I hate to be harsh and this is so not my style, but I am so sick over all of this and I don't want this to happen to someone else. She should not get away with this anymore.

This is a woman who will text you back in a SECOND before you pay her.

She (and her husband) have robbed my family of our hard earned money. Avoid her at all costs. This whole situation is such a shame. And the worst part about it is it could have easily been rectified if Marla had any integrity but she does not. Had she made a real effort to fix the problem, I would have happily wrote a positive review explaining how I wasn't satisfied but how she worked to fix it and how she cares about her customers.
This experience shows that she absolutely does not care about customer satisfaction or her reputation in the industry.
satisfaction or her reputation in the industry.

A huge learning experience for me and I hope this review is helpful in exposing the true colours of KennMarr LTd. I am hopeful that Marla feels remorse for treating people this way and for her dishonest actions. It is my hope that she will not do this to anyone else.

PS. If you ask her about this review (because before hiring her, I asked her about one of her negative reviews on homestars.com), she will make up some story to make it look like the review isn't real or wasn't meant to be for her company...because that's what she told me.

I also noticed that Marla write reviews on this website about herself in order to try and pump up her reputation. She even signs the review with her name.....seriously? She probably knew she would be receiving a bad review from me so she tried to even it out with a positive one acting as an imaginary customer. Disgusting! Sick!