Lucille from Calgary

What an awful experience! We had used Personal Movers last September for a move and were very pleased with their service. Not so this time! We were moving out of an apartment and of course, apartment buildings have restrictions and rules for moving and using the elevator. They took much longer than expected and we went over our allotted 4 hrs to a total of 8 hrs. consequently we were fined $300 by the condo board. The company blamed us for not requesting more than two men. We’re not the experts here, how are we supposed to know how long it takes. The driver and seemingly team leader Hassam was extremely rude and defensive. We couldn’t say anything to him without him taking offence. I asked him 3 times to remove two heavy headboards from the elevator that were blocking the door before loading the truck, he just turned his back and walked away. Yes then I got angry and yelled at him, but he just wouldn’t listen. The building has quite a few seniors and they couldn’t get their walkers into the elevator because the rear door was blocked by these headboards. We felt terrible for them and finally the two of us were able to get them out. Yes two senior ladies, one 70 and one 67 yrs old! These headboards weighed about 50 lbs each. When he finally came back into the lobby, Hassam said “I see you got them out of the elevator yourselves with no problem”. We thought perhaps he had a problem working for women, but the building manager had the same problem. He was of course, in the lobby watching things and making sure no damage was done. When he asked Hassam to move something in the lobby, Hassam turned his backed and walked away from him before he had even finished speaking. When I phoned the company to complain, the dispatcher said that I had been rude to Hassam and that he had known Hassam for years and didn’t believe he would be rude. The company sent a third worker to help unload, and he was carrying wardrobe boxes into the house, upside down! I mean really?! All the hangers and clothes were in a mess at the bottom of the box when we opened it. It was just a very upsetting and bad experience. Moving is stressful enough without having nasty and incompetent people doing it. Please do yourself a huge favour and don’t hire these guys. You will regret it if you do. ADDENDUM: Well unfortunately this just keeps getting worse. After seeing my review posted here, Alfred called and apologized and wanted to offer me $100 compensation. After much discussion he upped his offer to $150. Problem was the "compensation" was only going to be given if I took my review down. Hmm, I think that's called bribery, not compensation.

We have used Lee's Picture Framing for years. John is an absolute expert and always has perfect suggestions. I never hesitate to follow his recommendations, and he's always right. Of all the companies in Calgary that I've dealt with for anything, John is the most trustworthy and reliable. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

We are in the middle of trying to move and very busy and time constrained. We had spilled a glass of milk (yes, all of it) on the sectional and carpet on Tuesday night. By Thursday night it was obvious our efforts at cleaning were very inadequate. The whole house smelled just awful. Friday morning I phoned around to try to find someone who could come and clean it immediately. I called Alberta Home Services. They were able to send someone that very afternoon but we are not pleased with the results. Their technician Guni arrived at the door wearing a mask and gloves and a white shirt and tie. He looked very professional but that's about as far as that went. He used so much deodorizer the carpet took over 48hrs to dry and the smell of the deodorizer is still so strong that after 4 days we can't sit in the room ! We phoned the company back and they told us to just leave it for another couple of days and see how it was then. Not a solution at all. The carpet looks like it was soaked, the texture has changed and it doesn't look the same as the rest of the room. We have called Reid from Alberta Rug & Upholstery Cleaners to try and fix this mess. He wasn't available when we first needed the work done and we truly regret not waiting for him. I would not recommend ever calling this company.

This is the 3rd time we've had Brian in to do electrical work. First he wired our whole basement development, then we had him back to add some lights, and this time it was replacing some fixtures in the kitchen. He does big jobs or small, residential or commercial.. Every time, Brian goes above and beyond. His prices are very reasonable, he is very conscientious, respectful of his customers and their house, and just a very capable, careful electrician. He never rushes a job, he makes sure he does it right. So wonderful to find a tradesman that does excellent work for good prices, and is so nice.

We developed the basement of our home last fall and of course, the last thing to go in was the carpet. Jenny, who really helped narrow down my choices, was great. She didn't try to upsell me on a more expensive carpet and really knew her stuff. She made the selection process relatively easy considering they must carry every carpet and colour known to mankind! Fred made an error in the measuring, but it was an honest mistake and they did everything they could to get it re-ordered and installed asap. They didn't try and charge me for their error and were honest and professional throughout the whole experience. The installers did a wonderful job and were polite and friendly, prompt, and careful. I would highly recommend Nu-Way and wouldn't hesitate to use them again. Thanks guys.

We’ve just finished developing our basement and used Dermack Renovations for the tile and finishing work. Working with Derek was a real pleasure. We had some serious problems with the work done by other tradespeople and Derek was able to correct their mistakes for us at a reasonable cost, as well as do his own work. Had I known that Derek was a general contractor I would have been wise to hire him to do the whole job and saved myself a myriad of headaches and problems. But the work he did do for us was very good and we had no problems at all. Derek made some suggestions for the tiling and I’m so glad we followed through on them. It looks so much better than if it was done the way we thought best. Derek is honest, trustworthy, and polite. He always responded to phone calls promptly and started and finished the job on schedule. He went over and above what his job called for and I am very grateful. I’m not a friend or relative of his, just a very satisfied customer and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Derek to anyone. He really knows what he’s doing, does great work and is reasonably priced. Thanks again Derek.

We’ve just finished developing our basement and of all the trades we had working, Brian at AV Electric is the best of the best. I just cannot recommend AV Electric highly enough. The job was not overly complicated, but it was involved because we needed a sub-panel and wanted outlets for lots of different things in different places. Brian arranged the permit with the city for us, and we had no problems passing inspections. There was no hassle, no excuses, just great work. Brian was always right on time, he cleaned up after himself and took away the garbage (something others did not do) and was very knowledgeable and easy going. We changed our minds on several things from what kind of pot lights we wanted to how many outlets, and nothing fazed him. It was “Oh Brian, I forgot this…can you add it; Oh Brian, can we do this instead …” , nothing was a problem. Brian had some great suggestions as we went along and we are so glad we followed through on them. The basement looks great, and we really did need those extra lights! Brian’s price was very reasonable, he is honest, trustworthy, and polite. You could not possibly go wrong in hiring Brian, and this is an honest review by a real customer. I’m not a friend of his or a relative, just a very satisfied customer. It’s people like Brian that make all the hassle of projects worth it. I will not hesitate to call him again if I ever need any electrical work done. Thanks again Brian.

We were getting our basement developed and were at the drywall stage, when it was pointed out that the bathroom had no heating outlet! The framer/heating guy was supposed to put one in but didn't and we hadn't noticed. So since the drywallers were starting the next morning, something had to be done NOW. One quick call to Jason and he had Nathan come over that afternoon. Nathan was so friendly, polite, quick and efficient, he really made it simple. It was a quick and easy job, but we were much appreciative that they could do it on such short notice. The price was reasonable and I sure wish I had chosen Jason to do all the plumbing in the first place. He will certainly be my only call in the future for any plumbing concerns. Would highly recommend him for any job. Thanks Jason.

We had carpet, that over the years, had stretched a little in two places. I phoned West Valley and they said they could come and look at it the next day after 2pm. Frank called at 1:50pm and said he would be here in 30 mins. He not only looked at the problem but fixed it immediately. There was some heavy furniture that needed moving and Frank did that by himself as I was unable to help. The carpet looks great and Frank did some extra things to make it look even better after the stretching. He obviously knows carpet inside out, is very good at what he does, and is also very personable. A pleasure to deal with, a very good price, and I wouldn't hesitate to use him again or recommend him to anyone. Thanks Frank.

After reading the reviews on Homestars we decided to hire Reid. When he arrived without a truck mounted system, I was a little worried. Like many people I assumed you would need the huge machine to do a good job. Well that couldn't be further from the truth! Using his portable machine Reid did a fantastic job. We had the couch cleaned a few months ago with one of the large companies that uses the truck mounted system. All they did was make the couch wet and maybe move the dirt around a little. Total waste of time and money. After Reid finished, the couch looks like new again. We were ready to take it off to the junkyard, but it really looks great. The carpet is amazingly clean. It feels so plush and full again, not matted down. It looks cleaner too, and smells very fresh and clean. Yes the carpet stretched a little during cleaning, there were bumps where the joins were, but after drying it's nice and smooth again. Reid is completely trustworthy, honest, and takes his time. He is a true craftsman and knows his trade inside and out. It is getting quite rare to find someone who knows his stuff and is fair and honest. I don't mind paying a fair price for good work, and I would recommend Reid to absolutely anyone. If you have expensive carpets and are worried about getting them cleaned and what process to use ... hire Reid. You will not be disappointed. And no I am not a friend or family member, just a very satisfied customer.

This was one of the worst jobs I've seen. The kid they sent out to clean our couch, really complained about removing his shoes when I asked him to. He asked if we could bring the chairs downstairs so he wouldn't have to take his shoes off!! Are you kidding me!! I told him no we couldn't, and he begrudgingly removed them. When we get upstairs he starts cleaning the couch and keeps saying..."this is not coming clean". Then he finally said that if we paid $40 more for the sanitizing, it would come cleaner. When I balked at that he said he would do it for free as long as I gave him a "generous tip"! I said sure, just to see what this kid was going to do. Then and only then, did he go outside to the truck and bring in the bottle of pre-treatment. Well of course, I was wondering why he hadn't used it in the first place, but now I understood his shakedown. I didn't call him on his dishonesty because I didn't want him destroying my furniture. But the next day when it had all dried, it was obvious that all he did was move the dirt around. Now I have a couch that is streaked with dirt and has patches of dirt all over it. Not only was this kid incompetent, but he was completely dishonest as well. While he was here, I phoned the company and asked them about the pre-treatment and sanitizing, and they confirmed that sanitizing did not remove dirt any better. I also told them what the kid was saying to me, and what a lousy job he was doing. There was no manager available to take my call, but the woman I talked to assured me she would pass along the info to the kid's manager. Since I have heard nothing back from the company I can only assume that they are fully aware and supportive of their employee's deceit. I cannot emphasize enough...Stay Away From This Company!!

I did a lot of research before choosing a window company. I had six quotes and visited five company's showrooms. I thought I had done all I could to ensure a good experience. We opted for triple pane, double low-e windows to get the best energy efficiency and noise reduction. We do notice a difference in the cold transmission, but nothing in noise reduction at all. In fact the new windows seem to let in more noise than the old cheap builder ones. When the installers came, one window didn't fit and the mullion bars did not line up with the lower window. The glass was too thick and couldn't be installed. The mullion bars were between the outside and middle panes of glass on the side window, but the installers put the middle window in backwards with the mullion bars between the inside and middle panes. The guys that came to replace the upper window, didn't bring any new window and didn't know anything about the problem. Now I have to wait another week for the new window to be built and hope that whoever they send to install it knows what they're doing. My house has been turned upside down with the process and now it will be another week and more mess again! Trying to get anyone on the phone at the company is a very trying experience and requires A LOT of patience. The salesperson was very friendly and knowledgeable, but everyone else on the phone that I've dealt with has been anything but. The installation co-ordinator (Angela) was so rude it was disgusting. It's a good thing I wasn't there in person. Unfortunately you don't get to talk to these people until after the company has your business and a hefty deposit. If I'd known how rude they were I wouldn't have gone with this company. Would NEVER use them again or recommend them. to anyone.