Alan Smith, Toronto

Joe Gan responded quickly and came to the house the next day. He is courteous and a pleasure to work with. Repairs were carried out quickly and carefully. I get the impression that Joe is a very conscientious and hardworking young man. He is certainly at the top of our list for roof-related work.

We needed a new boiler. Easterbrook Brothers was recommended and they were excellent throughout the process. Helpful, patient, on time and tidy. An excellent experience from first to last.

From my first email to them to the completion of the project, Aquatech was flawless. Great communication and excellent execution. Courteous and considerate.

We had a number of small jobs that needed doing - creeper trimming around the house and dead branches removed from our red maple. Devlin did some trimming of the creepers over the porch in early spring (that part of the creeper subsequently died!). He left, promising to return the following week. He finally showed up 3 weeks ago to remove the dead branches, had his helper rig up a rope in the tree = and left! Since then it has been promise after promise - none of which has been kept. Unfortunately we paid him for the whole number of jobs - $800. He did half a day's light work. We figure that he owes us $400 and have asked for it. He has not paid it back despite a number of requests not has he shown up to finish the jobs.

The worst job I have ever seen in 40 years of being associated with renovations! Sloppy, careless, amateurish in the extreme. Took shortcuts to avoid doing the job properly and then said that I had agreed to them. Deceitful and sneaky. At least 25 glaring errors. Very little is straight or plumb. If the job had cost $0 it would have been too expensive! Now I have to find someone to undo the mess and do it again. I have a strong feeling that, because we are in our 70s Ali thought that we were too old to notice the shoddy work - or too feeble to complain! Next stop Small Claims Court.

Their ad implies that they are Samsung specialists. I contacted Samsung - they are not accredited and they do not know them. They sent a repairman who had such bad body odor we could not stay in the same room (it took a few days to clear the smell from the room!). He charged for "services" which we are told (by an accredited Smasung repair company) are meaningless ($280) He also charged for a replacement part that had nothing to do with the issue. The company could provide no proof of this replacement ($160). When I tried to get information from them which would help me in taking the matter to Small Claims Court they refused to provide it - in fact, they would provide no information at all in writing (email) and insisted that we only communicate by 'phone. I wanted this information in writing so that I could pursue my claim. This has gone on for 6 weeks or so. The problems with the machine which were supposed to have been repaired were NOT repaired. The accredited repairman informed me that this company is not reputable and that they are well-known for this in the industry. I will be taking them to court as soon as I get a full report from the Samsung Accredited Repair company.

They came to clear away the Bagster bag that Bagster would not pick up. Transferred the junk from the bag to their truck in under half an hour. No fuss, no muss - and cleaned up afterwards. Two excellent young men. I should have called 1 800 Got Junk in the first place. It would have been less unpleasant than dealing with Bagster, quicker and cheaper. No wonder they are such a successful company!

I bought a Bagster bag at Home Depot. They claim it is an easy, low cost alternative to other junk removal services. I positioned and filled the bag, following their instructions to the letter and then completed their LONG online form to have it picked up. They confirmed pick-up but then called me to say that they could not pick it up due to "low overhead wires" on my street. This is nonsense. If Fire Dept ladder trucks, hydro or tree cutters' crane trucks can get through, so can Waste Management! When I threatened to write to their president I received a call saying they will pick it up (haven't yet confirmed) but my opinion is that they want to sell bags (for $39 + tax) but do NOT want to pick them up. Have spoken to a couple of people who have had the same experience. Flimsy excuses for not fulfilling their obligations. And, by the way, it's cheaper to get a similar size bin delivered and picked up. An uneccesary and unpleasant experience.

After having to fire two contractors I called these folk. Had to wait almost a month for a time slot but I'm really glad I did. They could not have been more professional, more pleasant, more efficient! 24 perfectly aligned posts in one and a half hours. No mess, no fuss and no bother. If everyone was half as good as O.P.D. life would be so much easier.

The man Dr. Tubs sent clearly did not know his business, did not vent the bathroom so the house filled with fumes, left a mess and, most importantly, did a very poor job on our sink. Dr. Tubs manager, Mr. Frohwein inspected the sink and agreed that it had been badly refinished. Offered to re-do it - but the same man would do the job because "he is our best sink guy". (I can only imagine how bad the second-best sink guy must be) I refused to have the same man back and was told that I would have to wait a month for an appointment. I refused this as well and we agreed that the best solution would be a full refund. Companies should not make promises that they are unable to fulfill and hope that the purchaser will not notice.

Called in Mr. Rooter for a recurring blocked drain problem. Their Supervisor, Robert Plantic, arrived exactly on time the following day and used his pipe camera to show me the extent of the problem. The damage to the old clay and cast-iron pipe was extensive and both needed to be replaced. He provided a detailed estimate. To cut a long story short, the level of service and courtesy was way above our expectations. Five stars aren't sufficient. After two days of hard work the crew left. Save for a few areas of still-wet concrete patches in the basement floor, you would not know they'd been there! They cleaned things they didn't even need to clean! To anyone who believes that old-fashioned hard work, courtesy and consideration are things of the past, call Mr. Rooter next time you need a plumber. You'll be as amazed as we were. No one likes to spend this kind of money but we feel that we received full value for every dollar.

I don't need to say how hard it is to find good people! After dealing with various sets of clowns I found City Gas Co. on Homestars and they ARE stars! Excellent service on the 'phone and excellent service at my house. And above all, it felt like I am dealing with people who actually give a damn and realise I am not simply a cash-cow.

I sent my Biltmore sofa back for re-upholstery. They returned it with the wrong back cushions. I have asked repeatedly to have my cushions returned. They have given me promises but no cushions. About a month has passed with no explanation and they no longer respond to emails. Awful customer service! I'd suggest that you do not pay them for anything until you're satisfied.