Cowtown homeowner

After waiting about two years to but a new vacuum, I wanted the top of the line nicest central vac I could get. The south location of The Vacuum Specialists provided me with many options and educated me on the difference. The in store service was great and he recommended an installer to complete the rough in that was done in our older home. The installer was punctual and worked with me to install the system and pipes the way we wanted. He was clean and friendly and did a great job. The system has been running great and is so quiet. I love the new modern look of the canister in my garage, much smaller and nicer than my old Vacuflo which I would never purchase again after having a Beam. Overall great service, no pushy sales and they gave me a free hose cover. I visited other vacuum stores in my search and the good reviews on this company as well as my in store experience led me to purchase with them. Highly recommended.

I had been working with Universal Slate for our bath reno and thought that what I had ordered was the product listed on my receipt. Upon receiving the product, we found that it was not what we thought and felt a little deceived at the company's use of the terms describing the product. We asked to return it which they did for some of the tile but part of it they wouldn't take back without a restocking fee. We decided to keep the product but were left feeling the experience was somewhat unpleasant in the end. I did give them high marks for the service we received throughout the choosing process, the staff were very patient, helpful and prompt. I felt bad returning the product after all their work but they should've been more upfront with what it is that they are selling and not try to call it something else. I did find exactly what I was looking for at another store for the same price but Universal Slate does have some nice products and fairly good service which kept my review points higher.

We were referred to Vivid Concepts by a customer who used them for her whole house. I booked an appointment with Lise to help us choose lighting for our master bath reno. I knew we needed something creative in the space and I didn't know where to start. Lise was so helpful in making suggestions and showing us the options for pendant and pot lighting. I never would have thought of using pendants in the bathroom but it ended up working really great in the space. We purchased several lights, some very nice quality pot lights along with a higher end pendant that was definitely worth the splurge. We found the selection at Vivid to be vast with reasonable pricing. We have to redo all of the lighting in our home and after poor service from other stores, we will only be going back to Vivid for the rest of our lighting.

We met Christian at the home show and stopped by his workshop to talk about mattresses and pillows. My husband is looking for a tempurpedic type mattress but I want something more natural than memory foam. We were really impressed with not only Christian's craftsmanship but that he really wants to help you find the right product. He has many different ways of constructing his beds to suit each person and I love that he uses natural latex, organic cotton and well made springs. I have not been happy with our mattress purchases over the years from box stores and we have been researching what to buy for awhile. For now we have purchased a very nice pillow and will be ordering a mattress from Black Sheep once we're ready. We would highly recommend visiting this company if you are looking for a better mattress alternative for an extremely reasonable price.

We had some work done by another plumber including a new tankless water system, gas lines and humidifier. The plumber installed the humidifer incorrectly, fried it and then moved to another province, leaving us with a broken humidifier that we had already paid for. I dealt with Lennox to replace it which they offered to do and while I was there, I met Sean from Home Comfort. Lennox required that I have a plumber bring the new humidifier and install it. I called Sean and he sent Scott to do the work and we are more than thrilled with the outcome. Scott was very pleasant to deal with, and not only did he install the new humidifier correctly, he fixed a couple of other issues the other plumber had left. One major problem we had was a small gas leak. I even had ATCO gas come out and he didn't even find the leak, actually saying he couldn't detect anything. We continued to smell gas in our basement and when Scott was over, I asked him if he could detect it. He tested around all the new gas piping but it was when he took off the cover of one of the furnaces that he found the leak. I could smell the gas immediately and once he tested the furnace, saw it was coming from the line going into it. He tightened the line and tested it and since then we have not smelt any gas. This was a problem that not the other plumber nor atco found (and should have). I am so grateful that Scott fixed this for us as it was a possible danger to our home and to our health. Scott was professional and not at all agressive with any sales tactics which I find so many other trades and contractors are. Using fear to sell me something does not work with me. Scott gave us peace of mind and 2 working humidifers and at a very reasonable price. I would highly recommend this company for plumbing work. Thanks again Sean and Scott for all your help.

I have been looking for good towel hooks that will actually hold a towel without it always falling. I went to Banbury and found the most amazing hooks made by a local guy that are not only really nice, they actually work for holding a towel on. The selection in this store is very good for knobs, handles, door hardware and other things like vents and mailboxes. The quality is very high so expect to pay a bit more than home depot.

I wanted to buy Farrow and Ball paint for their specific colours and quality. The only store that carries this paint that I know of in Calgary is Maria Tomas. I received very good customer service from Barb and she helped me pick out the right colours for my project. They had to order the paint but it came quickly and I was notified immediately that it was in. The store has alot of other nice furniture and accessories and I will be going back when I need new furniture to have a better look. Overall great service and quality products

We've had ADT install an alarm system in 2 houses and have always had great service and a quality system installed. Our insurance was also way less having a fire monitoring system in place which practically pays for the year. We all feel much more comfortable having an alarm system in our home, especially when we are away on holidays. ADT is not the cheapest company but we have been happy with the service over the years and have never had a problem with either system.

I found this company online as I was looking for a bi-weekly house cleaning service. She told me on the phone it was $20/hour. Three girls showed up including the owner. We had a chat about the work and we talked about Home Stars as I wanted to let her know beforehand that I would most likely write a review. The owner told me that the first time clean was actually $200, not the hourly rate that she told me on the phone. I was a little upset that the price was different but I was hoping for the work to be done well. They left before I had the chance to come home and I noticed several things were not cleaned that were supposed to be done and the tile looked all greasy. Samantha did call me to ask about the service but I didn't respond as frankly, I didn't want them back. Samantha did seem concerned about getting bad reviews on this site and we talked about that the day they cleaned. My advice for her would be to focus on the service, do what you say you're going to do and don't change the price once you get to the house. She seems like a hard worker and I think they can bring the business to a higher standard and start getting some good reviews. I hope this review is helpful as I don't want it to be negative but rather some sound advice from another business owner.

I have long been a fan of higher end bedding. I don't feel this has always been an esay thing to find in Calgary. I've been to Shades of Sleep in Inglewood a few times to have a look around and the service has been top notch. In looking to redo all of our bedding, I talked with the owner of the store and she gave me some great recommendations. I am in love with the Bella Notte line and she gave me their samples to take home to determine which one would work best. She also told me to wait until January to buy as she has a very good sale then and most of the bedding is 20% off. This is a huge savings since the bedding is pricey. I went back during the sale and again the owner was extremely helpful and patient when looking at what to order. She also spend some time with me explaining the different fabric quality of sheets. She told me about how different thread count works and the type of cotton. They have the most amazing sheets at this store that feel like heaven. It is something I will invest in one day. For now I'm thrilled with my Bella Notte order. The quality and detail in this line is exceptional. I really dislike over the top colour and flowers in my bedding and this line is just simple and beautiful with romantic details. I bought some jammies there that I'm also very happy with. I would highly recommed this store for amazing bedding and linens! Connie in Calgary

My realtor recommeded Stirling to inspect the home we wanted to purchase. It was our first time buying an older home so we were concerned with finding mold and water problems as well some other issues. Stirling was on time and was a total professional. He really took his time inspecting everything and looked at the entire house with his infared camera for mold and water. He found nothing and this really eased my mind. He went over everything with me and made sure I understood the nature of some issues and how to fix them. He also made recommendations on what was a priority to fix first as well as gave us a list of contractors. Stirling has been in the construction industry for many years as well as has built homes so his knowledge base was excellent. One thing that I still talk about was that Stirling used to frame homes and he remembered helping to frame ours. He used to work for the builder and he was able to tell me how they built our house. This was an added bonus as it made our decision to purchase this home that much easier. He provided us with an emailed detailed report with photos and we were overall very happy with his service. I would highly recommed him to anyone looking at a home inspection. We've been in our home for 5 months and we are thrilled with it. Todd and Connie in Calgary

We purchased a large leather sectional from this store and were well aware of the fact that everything comes from China. Most furniture now is manufactured in China however NA Source's prices are well under that of most retailers and the quality is fairly good for what you pay for. We like our couch and feel it was fairly good value for the money. There is some fuzz that comes out of the seams which is a little irritating but we just pull it out. We find we need to not sit in the same spot too much as the cushions will warp in one spot. I would recommend this company for good service and fair prices however their prices seem to have increased since we bought our couch. If I wanted something higher end and less modern, I would look elsewhere.

We've had our hot tub for about 5 years. In that time we have enjoyed using it quite frequently. We have had several probems with it and everything had been under warrenty so the company has always come to repair it. Recently we've had a hose blow for the second time, dumping all of the water out the side of the hot tub. This has happened before and every time it does, we have to replace the electrical parts. We are not sure why the hoses are not staying attached, they are only glued, not clamped. I have no idea how other manufacturers build their tubs but since Arctic Spa is made in Alberta and the cost is quite high for one of their tubs, I would expect a bit better quality. We have had to replace numerous jets over the years as they pop out and break. I know other people have alot of problems with their hot tubs regardless of where they are purchased. It is a large investment to make and I would consider it carefully before jumping into. They electrical alone for a tub is an extra $1,000 before labour. We still need to fix our tub and I'm not sure if we will be covering the cost. I'm letting my husband deal with this one as I feel an ongoing problem should be covered by the manufacturer. Hopefully they are as good to deal with now as they have been in the past.

I recently received a new Samsung washer and dryer. I have just used them for the first time and so far they are working great. My sales experience was pretty good. I don't really enjoy buying appliances and the salespeople always feel a little used care salesman to me. The in store experience was as expected, I feel like they push the Kenmore which I would never buy again. It's better to do your research beforehand and know what you want. Delivery was schedule and the only complaint I have is that the delivery guys left some garbage on my street which I had to go and pick up. Overall Sears is good for their long term financing which is helpful to me.

We put our house up for sale and sure enough within a day the hot water tank started to leak. We called Lee at Evolve and he came out the next day and replaced our tank. Lee supplied the new tank and had to alter our pipes as the new one was taller. He lifted out the old tank and took it away. His workmanship is excellent and he's a really nice guy to deal with. He was reliable and we found his prices to be very reasonable. He answered all of my questions and we were overall very happy with the experience. I did not hesitate to call Lee once we purchased a new house and I'm looking forward to having him come over for all the work that needs to be done in our next home. Thanks Lee!