P Chen from Toronto

9 out of 10 rating calculated as follows (please see legend below): 3 out of 3 stars for being on time (arrival and completion) 3 out of 3 stars for being on budget (as quoted on phone call) 2 out of 3 stars for quality of work/cleaning 1/1 bonus star for intangibles Please note that I rarely give perfect 10/10 scores. Category legend (for above): 1 out of 3 = acceptable 2 out of 3 = met expectations 3 out of 3 = exceeded expectations Thank you Dora and Cami!

We moved in last year and our boiler gas oven conked out (but the stove top burners and everything else still works). Here's why we like Tes at TM Appliance Repair: 1) easy to book an appointment (call and he gets back to you quickly) 2)a) easy to get a date and time slot we want 2)b) Tes arrived on time i.e. too many services leave you waiting and wondering and/or ask for a big time window for their arrival 3) Tes did a thorough job of explaining what needed repair, how the parts etc. worked and completed the repair quickly and efficiently. He also cleaned up the kitchen where he was working. 4) Tes is extremely safety-conscious. Short version is that Tes fixed and explained some of the poor workmanship by the original installer. He recommended that our CO detectors be placed in the hallways and near the ground. 5) Tes recommended that we keep our old stove/oven as long as possible (i.e. no up-selling).

My wife and I moved in last year ... the squirrels moved into our soffits this year. Here's why we like Gates: 1)a) easy to book an appointment (I phoned). 1)b) they tell you up front that the minimum is $395 plus tax but that the estimate is free. 2)a) easy to get a date and time slot we want 2)b) they called back a few days ahead to confirm 2)c) Blake arrived on time i.e. too many services leave you waiting and wondering and/or ask for a big time window for their arrival 3) Blake did the inspection and provided a very detailed, line-by-line estimate with no pressure. One-year guarantee. 4) Although the estimate was higher than I was hoping (and no, I was not expecting the minimum), I decided that it was reasonable and gave the go ahead. Blake was available and completed the work while I went to work. He said that they would drop by in a few days to ensure that the squirrel were indeed gone from our soffits (in which case, they would remove the one-way door). I was impressed that Blake had "nicely" moved our patio furniture out of the way (as opposed to tossed around). 5) Indeed, Gates dropped by a few days later and left a note saying that they had checked. The one-way door had been removed. Plus they also called to confirm all this and said to let them know if we needed them to come back. It's been two weeks and the house is nice and quiet i.e. no squirrels running around in our soffits.

Raj serviced/started up our boiler again this year (we moved in last year) and it's a very old boiler (at least 20 years old). Here's why we like Raj and Convertible Air: 1) easy to book an appointment (call or email, and they get back to you quickly). 2)a) easy to get a date and time slot we want 2)b) Raj called that day to let me know that he was running behind (raining so bad traffic) i.e. too many services leave you waiting and wondering and/or ask for a big time window for their arrival 3) Raj did a thorough cleaning of the boiler and cleaned up the area he was working in, and within the time allotted (i.e. so I was able to get to work/make my meeting) 4) Price = estimate

My wife and I very happy that Raj at Convertible Air was able to service and start up our 20+ year old boiler (on Sep. 24). The entire experience was very friendly; that is, Sam called me back to discuss our needs and to give us a quote. The final bill was exactly as quoted so that was nice. Convertible Air was recommended to us by both family and friends; and, we also recommend them. Raj was very apologetic for being about an hour late but his previous appointment turned out to be a lengthier job. That too was the case for us. We just moved in and it was obvious when he opened up the boiler that it too had not been serviced in many years (and we confirmed with the previous owner that was the case). The original CO reading was so high that it was beyond the detector's limit so Raj suggested that he not proceed with the cleaning so that we would save that cost. I thought that was thoughtful and also appreciated that he did not then try to sell me a new boiler. Nevertheless, I was curious and figured that he might as well clean it to see if the boiler would pass. Raj spend the next few hours (and I know that these start up appointments should be 60 to 90 minutes) really thoroughly cleaning the boiler and he brought his own vacuum cleaner. Even though he was delayed getting our house and I was causing him another delay, he was not rushing and the bill was no higher than the original quote. As a result of Raj's work, the CO reading afterwards passed, and well below the legal limit! I asked him when I should replace the boiler and again, he did not go into a sales mode so that was nice. He said that he would be happy to come back every year to clean/start up the boiler and that would be cheaper for us than a new boiler; that is, he recommended not replacing it until it really needed/until it failed. Well, one day, I know we will need a new boiler and Sam/Raj at Convertible Air will be my first call.

My wife and I are very happy that White Shark was able to squeeze us in before the winter's first freeze to clean out our eaves. We were late in season (Nov. 21st) phoning them to book an appointment so we were put onto a waiting list (they call it a "floating" appointment). The only improvement is that I would ask that they respond to requests on their website; that is, I left them a message (on the 16th) but had to phone on the 21st to get a reply. Yes, partly my fault for being late in the season and clearly they are successful/busy. On the afternoon of Dec. 6th, their crew just showed up (i.e. unannounced, which we were told would be the case). They worked quickly and we could see that the 2-man team working hard (i.e. they brought empty yard waste bags with them and left the filled bags with us; the contents were wet and quite heavy, so that made sense they were only half-full). The bill was less than the quote so that was nice. The payment options are convenient. We were home so paid by cheque. But, we could have paid by credit card on line, whether or not we were home so it's a nice touch that they they simply trust new customers (i.e. I didn't have to leave a credit card number for the estimate).

My wife and I are very happy with the repairs and service to our gas fireplace - thank you Imran! Imran is very experienced and very nice person. He is clearly in very high demand as we had to book him a few weeks advance so we were very happy that he fixed our fireplace before the holidays. Neither of us was able to stay home during a weekday (understandably, he doesn't work evenings) so we were happy that he came on a Saturday morning. His final bill was exactly what he quoted so that was nice. We really appreciate that he kept us in the loop (1) he called back quickly when I reached out to book an appointment, (2) he called a few days before our appointment because he had finished early and was in our neighbourhood so was hoping to drop by (but unfortunately we were unavailable), (3) he called the morning of our appointment because of traffic issues so that was really nice and even at that, he was only 15 minutes or so late. It is so refreshing for a repairman to be punctual and so thoughtful about clients' time so again thank you. Imran was very respectable to keep our house clean (for example, he brought a blanket to protect our floor and brought his own vacuum so he did an excellent clean up when he was all done). He was very thorough and explained what he was doing and told us how to troubleshoot/gave us advice (in case there are future problems). We have a very old gas fireplace so probably could use a new one but thought it would be fine and cheaper to just service the old one. So, it is nice that he wasn't trying to up-sell us. One day, when we do decide to get a new fireplace (the pilot light is not quiet enough but we're content for now), we will definitely call on Imran.

Overall, my wife and I are very happy with the moving service by You Move Me (back in July) into our new house. They moved us out of a one bedroom condo plus retrieved some furniture that we had stored at a family member's house. Our 8 of 10 ranking day is best explained by "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly": The Good: Almost the entire move was very good. Rob and Kyle hustled the whole day and were also very careful moving our belongings and with keeping our house and condo clean. This was challenging because as luck would have it, the only time it was raining (and it was really rained) was during the move into the house where there is not much protection (i.e. the loading bay at the condo is indoors). We really appreciated them taking the time to Saran-wrap all the furniture. Traffic was bad but they kept in touch so we liked that. The final bill matched the original quote with Mike (the dispatcher), and in fact a little bit under the quote so that was nice. The Bad: The company is clearly very successful and very busy because I had a hard time getting a quote from them at the beginning of the process. It took me awhile to chase them down to secure a quote and the time slot. Plus, the day before, I had to confirm with them that they still had us in their schedule (whereas I am used to the mover confirming). This all seemed somewhat disorganized so felt that we did not off to a good start. Still, will all the great reviews on Home Stars, we had enough confidence to still use them. Plus Mike was always very nice and professional when we did speak. The Ugly: If it were not for this item, we would have given You Move Me a higher ranking. During the move, our brand new dining table got broken; that is, the movers loaded the table on its side so two legs bore all of its weight and as a result, one of them snapped off. (I think most would agree, the better, the obvious way to load the table would have been upside down with sufficient padding to protect the table top.) Rob was mortified and upon discovery of their mistake, immediately offered to have it repaired (at their cost and also to our satisfaction) quickly. The repair took about 2 weeks (which was stressful because we were without a dining table while we were hosting a big family event the coming weekend). While they did provide a replacement table, it was bar height; well, I guess better than nothing but still stressful. Nevertheless, in the end the dining table was fixed and it came back almost as good as new (though looking at the underside, the repair is functional but it looks quite traumatic). Bottom Line: we are very happy, recommend them and would use them again (but hopefully, we aren't moving for awhile). Front-end planning could use some improvement. Dining table getting broken explains the lower rating (compared to others). Overall, very happy that the final cost just below quote and with the hard-working and generally careful/attentive movers who kept us in the loop during moving day and responsive regarding the progress with the table repair.

We hired Rent-a-Son based on the wonderful reviews on Homestars alone, so perhaps we should have asked for estimates from other companies. That is, we found that Rent-a-Son was expensive plus they went well over their estimate, which does NOT include GST so that is also a bit sneaky. My wife and I hired them in November 2013 to move us from a 1BR condo to another 1BR condo plus a storage drop off. We had already packed everything into boxes (except our furniture). On the positive, the sons were courteous and careful. Notably, our furniture was wrapped safely and they protected the floors, walls, contents and elevators etc. Our estimator Hussein was very responsive with his emails and calls about the estimate. Furthermore, he was open to discuss the issues that we had with our move (see below). He promised a credit for our next move and that we will have a better experience. We appreciated his follow-up. Here are the negatives, roughly chronologically: 1. There was no need for 3 sons (i.e. 1 foreman and 2 workers). They charge by the number of sons and 2 movers would have been sufficient. 2. They were slow so that meant a bigger bill. At times, I was moving boxes faster than the 2 workers combined. 3. There were a few instances when the 2 workers disappeared for 15 minutes or so, leaving me to work alone. In fact, the foreman said to us that his 2 workers were taking a long time to meet us (before driving to the new condo). 4. Instead of settling the final bill when asked, the foreman kept talking; so, I had to stop him and ask again. But he still charged me for his 15 minutes of talking. 5. The foreman had the audacity to say that they took "no breaks" despite the fact that we bought lunch for them. (I traded emails with the estimator who credited us for 15 minutes; however, I will let readers judge if that is fair.) Despite the expensive final bill, we would include them in the bidding process for our next move; that is, we are happy that Rent-a-Son accomplished the main goal which is to move our possessions properly, safely and with no damages or losses. However, if we were to select them again, then we will be supervising them closely during that move.