Tea from Vaughan

There are apparently several different Crazy Joe's locations, and each is operated with a relative degree of independence. This review is for Crazy Joe's in Mississauga, featuring the original Crazy Joe (His words, not mine!). Crazy Joe's service was timely and easy, which allowed us a degree of sanity. We knew we wanted the full service, from measurement to installation, because we had been dragging our feet on this for several years and just wanted to finally get it done in one shot. Joe and I spoke on the phone and discussed what my drapery needs were. He was open with me about prices and timelines, which I appreciated. He was also flexible about meeting times. He showed up at my house at the scheduled time with some samples, according to what he got out of our initial conversation. He took rough measurements, and sat down with us to discuss options, taking our lifestyle and family needs into consideration. He quoted us a price, which we accepted. A couple of days later (as scheduled), his installer arrived to take precise measurements. He was quick, polite, and professional, and managed to figure out how to work with a particularly tricky window frame. A few days after that, Joe called to say that my blinds were ready, and we scheduled a time for installation. The same installer came back, demonstrated the same degree of professionalism and politeness. He hung up my new blinds without fanfare and took the time to review his own work and make sure that it was done correctly. He cleaned up the boxes and helped me take them outside. And now we have new blinds that are not broken, that we can open and close at will, and which make our house look spiffy and fresh. So far, the blinds appear to be good quality and easy to maintain, which is the number one item on my list. It was pretty easy not so crazy, which is what we were looking for.

We replaced a very old garage door with a new door, capping, and a garage door opener. Every part of this process was smooth and easy. Michelle, in the office, was a total sweetheart incredibly patient, always got back to me on time, was never pushy, and responded to my indecision and constant updates without any hint of irritation, though I must have changed my mind fifteen times. Michael, who gave us the quote, was timely, friendly, helpful, and patient. He took the special needs of the residents into consideration. The door was ready to install within the predicted window of time. I do not recall the names of the installers, unfortunately, but they were also incredibly friendly and good-natured. They arrived on time and worked hard throughout, and also very considerate of the residents at the house. When the resident some trouble with the keypad, they came back to the property and instructed them on how to use it again-- even though the error was on the side of the resident, they did not make her feel bad, and just coached her through it. The price for the service was more than fair, and I am very happy with the product and the end results overall. I would definitely use Smart Door's services again.

Avi and Scott were extremely patient and accommodating in what was a pretty atypical and emotional renovation. They were easily accessible and almost always on-site, since they did a majority of the labour themselves. The workers they brought in for painting, tiles, and electric were also very professional and personable. They did their best to keep the pace of the renovation to reach the agreed-upon end-date. Each portion of the renovation was itemized beforehand, and each change was clearly written out and accounted for, which allowed me to make better decisions throughout the process. On the occasion when I had a complaint or a question, there were never any bad feelings, and I always felt like I could voice my opinion, knowing that we would find a resolution. Avi and Scott always went the extra mile with big and small things that would not show up on a bill-- reinforcing shelves, carrying my heavy furniture around, and a hundred other tiny things. All of this was done in good humour and with sincere smiles. They even told me that I was not their most difficult customer, which I appreciated, even though I didn't believe them.

UPDATE: I took my broken chair back to the DOT location where I purchased it about 10 months ago. I could not find my receipt and I was very apprehensive about having to go through this. However, I was very pleasantly surprised when the store representative took a look at the broken chair and said 'well, I have one more in the back' after which he went to the back, brought out the chair, and then put it in my car. Needless to say, I was happy with the experience, not to mention quite relieved. The rep told me that the store has recently come under new management (him) and that he doesn't really bring in this teak furniture anymore because he's seen that it doesn't hold up well. Kudos to him. I will visit the store again with confidence, and I am changing my rating from the original rating of '1'. Here is the original post from a few days ago: I have made 2 purchases at DOT furniture over the past two years. The first was a cast metal bench (I would say cast iron but although that's what it looks like, I'm not sure). I bought it on clearance for about $60 and it has held up fine so far. In contrast, I spent over $1200 on a teak table with 10 chairs. It was delivered to me in the fall, and I stored it on a concrete deck covered in tarps over the winter. I stored the chairs wrapped in their original plastic in my shed over the winter. By the time I opened up the set for use in the spring, there was already damage. The wood on the table was warped, resulting in an uneven surface. On some parts of the chairs you could see that the original wood chosen for the piece had unsightly knots and other damage-- why would they deliberately use a weaker piece of wood in the construction of outdoor furniture. By the way, the set was perfect in the showroom. There were two additional chairs that were part of the set but in the back of the store which I did not inspect. I have oiled the set for preservation and beauty, because it lost color right away. Isn't teak supposed to never warp? That's whenI found out that there are different grades of teak. Clearly this was not the highest. The warping of the wood has also affected our ability to take advantage of the extendable nature of the table. The parts are very hard to pull apart and fit together again. As a last straw, my 35-lb daughter was sitting on one of the chairs yesterday when she announced 'look, the chair broke!' I couldn't believe it. A piece had actually broken right out of the seat of the chair! I intend to bring the chair back to the store today and see what they will do for me. I will update after.

I was referred to Pro-Pest by another company that did not service my area. I totally lucked out-- Peter came over on schedule and took a look at the site. He was polite and helpful, and clearly knows the pests he works to eliminate. He sent over Derek and his aide (whose name I'm sorry I don't remember) to put up a one-way trap and 'baby cone' to get the raccoons out of my roof. Derek and his aide were friendly, knowledgeable, neat, and quick. They did as thorough an inspection as was possible under the circumstances. They briefed me before beginning any actual work and confirmed the charge. They even appraised me on the state of my aluminium, which was much appreciated. The final charge was exactly as quoted for two patches and the one-way door. They asked me to keep them posted on any developments or changes. I have used other companies in the past (raccoons and squirrels have been a recurring problem for me) but this is by far the best, most dedicated and informed group I have worked with so far. They take pride in their work and also demonstrate concern for the animals they encounter as well as for the ecosystem they inhabit.

I've used Mike on 2 occasions. Always a smile, always helpful, always on time, and calls if he's running late. Gives advice freely, and spends the extra time to explain things.

I bought this service on a group-buying site. The gentleman arrived on time, was exceedingly helpful, and generous with his time. Due to extraneous logistical reasons beyond our control, he did not preform the service (eavestrough cleaning) as planned. He did, however, preform an inspection of the property on his own time and volition. However, based on the honesty and generosity which he showed us during his visit, I would most definitely call him to provide his window cleaning or gutter cleaning service.