Anand

We started out feeling great about Orbit because they sent a person to our home to look at the move. We walked the person through the house and showed them what's being moved. This included bookshelves, closets with clothes and drawers. Orbit quotes by the volume, not weight. Two days after the visit we got a quote for approx. $3500. This included a number of boxes for our books and clothes. The move was booked for Aug 9. We got very little information from the movers and had to call them to get confirmation on the move. We were also advised by the person visiting the house not to take insurance - later opposite advice was given by another employee. On the day of the move, the company sent fewer packers than needed, and suddenly the volume estimate by the packers doubled leaving us with a bill for $8000. This was shocking. In addition, we learned that they would not move liquids which meant that we had to leave things behind which we had other ways of moving. The move itself went smoothly and a different company unpacked us in Calgary. They noticed also that some of the packing was shoddy. In other cases we noticed that too much paper was stuffed into boxes or pots were packed empty taking up excess volume. We have over 25 large recycling bags full of paper which was used as stuffing. If you decide to go with this company, make sure that you get them to give you an accurate estimate - overestimation of boxes might be better as the cost is higher for volume beyond their original estimate. You'll have to be very active in engaging with them even thought they promise a "stress free" move and ask lots of questions and push for timelines and paperwork. They seem to be stretched and the explanation I got for the improper information was that the person who gave us the first quote was working 16 hour days and might have made a mistake - which I understand and empathize with, but had to pay dearly for. We would have gone with other movers (we had 3 quotes) had we been priced accurately in the first place. So be cautious and ask lots of questions!

Tony gave us a very thorough estimate for the roofing job and made it clear when it would be extra (e.g. plywood sheets were extra). His crew was very efficient and came within a week of our accepting the quote. They made short work of the demolition and were responsive to neighbours when the pebbles from our roof hit their windows. They discovered (as is common in Toronto) problems with the previous roofer's work and the cost went up by 20% on the job. Tony was very accommodation and added a tall cone at the last minute to support electrical work in the house and while the location of the cone placement was not ideal, I appreciate that they were able to do it in the first place. The work started at around 8 am and was wrapped up around 7pm. Note that the generator noises are loud and staying in the home can be hard on the ears. They cleaned up the area well with blowers before they left and were kind enough to let me put some garbage bags in with their trash. So that was a big plus. Tony's operation is a family one, they are fast, efficient and time will tell how the roof stands up!

Dwayne sends regular emails about maintenance that I use to keep my furnace and AC in top shape. He is thorough and reliable (always on time and does a great job). In the summer, he replaced a vent that had developed a leak and replaced parts to make my AC quieter. When one part later failed, he promptly replaced it without charge. Great and dependable guy!

Atiar Rehman is just amazing. He's honest, always on time, polite and does a fantastic job. I've had him come several times over the last few months to repair an oven, hood fan, a washer and dryer in several apartments that I own. In every case, he came on time and early, stayed till the problem was fixed and always left the space neater than it was when he started work. I'm never using another person to fix appliances. Mr. Rehman is it for me. Thanks!

First the positives. I called Mr. Rooter at 6:50pm and a technician was here by 8:15pm to fix a frozen pipe. It took him less than 15 minutes to thaw out the pipe. For that I paid $450. I think telling a homeowner that it will take 2 hours minimum to thaw a pipe and $450 when the pipe is frozen and not re-negotiating the price when the pipe is thawed in 5 minutes (then 10 min of hot water running to check for leaks) is unconscionable. I felt I had been taken for a ride by being told it would take much longer and felt duped into signing papers saying that I would pay out $450 before the work began. When my pipe is frozen and I feel like I have little choice and no knowledge, the power is with the plumber. Tonight, I felt this power was abused. So for this reason, I would not recommend this company to others. Addendum: the company's response of "two minutes or two hours" is false. The technician never said this. Also, he said in response to my query about the two hours and coverage that if the pipe had burst, there would be extra charges, over the two hours worth that I had already paid. I am sorry that the company is not being honest in their reply.

The ignitor in my tenants gas stove broke last week. Of the top seven companies that I called from HomeStars, only two got back to me. One from Brampton referred me to Peter at Pambis and Peter called me the next day. We organized his visit today and Peter was waiting for me when I came home. He quickly diagnosed the malfunction, replaced the part. The job was done quickly, correctly and cleanly. I recommend him highly.

When we had to have our knob and tube service upgraded, we received several quotes that ranged widely. Tesla had the most professional manner and we were very pleased to have gone with them. The work was scheduled promptly and the electricians were very thorough and clean. They laid out thick paper to cover all wooden floors and cleaned up after themselves very day. Hard to imagine, but they left the place neat and tidy enough for us to live during the project period. Since the upgraded wiring, we haven't had a single breaker trip on us. We were so happy with them that Tesla also upgraded wiring in my parents house! Can't recommend them enough!

I called Mark's wife a month ago to schedule repairs to two damaged screens and to put in a new window screen. Mark came today exactly on time as scheduled and proceeded to fix all the screens efficiently. The workmanship is excellent and he was very thorough and professional. Also very cool - he used his iPad to process my credit card. :) Very satisfied!

Dwayne was prompt, friendly and gave me a quote that was $1000 below Sears and Costco. He set up an installation date and came promptly. The work was done professionally, on time and with no hassle. My house is over a hundred years old and when I first began using the AC this summer, he was available to consult over the phone and help me improve air circulation on the top floor. Totally recommend Dwayne and his crew!

Easy to arrange and organized on the phone. The cleaning occurred when I was not home about 6-8 weeks ago. Three weeks ago after a rainstorm, I noticed that there was no water flowing from the downspout, so climbed up to the roof and found one gutter full of leaves and mush. No evidence of cleaning being done here. Day before yesterday, another rainstorm and found another downspout totally blocked with leaves and dirt. Makes me wonder if any work was done or if only some of the easy work was done and the rest left incomplete. Very disappointed.