Lisa in Mississauga

Worst customer service experience ever. No niceties and acted as if he was going out of his way to assist me. Refused to process a VISA transaction for tape. I had just spent hundreds on paint but forgot the tape. He said I had to pay cash or buy it somewhere else! Second visit... another quart of paint. Again he was very rude. I had to ask for a stir stick. And then another. He wouldn't give me two - "one can: ONE stick". TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.

We recently purchased a 30 year old home with a wood burning fireplace. I asked Chris if he could come by and inspect the fireplace and chimney to see if it was in good working order before I used it. He was polite, thorough, on-time, reasonably priced, and had no issue spending time with me explaining the details behind my specific setup. I was impressed and would have no problem referring him to a friend or family member.

Our recent purchase of an late 70's home with much of it's original 'vintage' style meant a major overhaul. Our wish list included removal of a California-style drop ceiling in the kitchen, demolition of a structural wall between the kitchen and family room, installation of pot-lights throughout the main floor, a fireplace revamp and finally skylight installation over the eating area, and new flooring. We planned for months and had a contractor lined up in advance. When we called to tell him we were ready to get started he advised us that he was suddenly TOO BUSY!! OMG! I am very tempted to write his name here, but this is not the forum.... :-) Christmas was around the corner, we have 2 young children, and we had 3 weeks to get this work done before new owners took over our other home. The timeline was tight and we had demolished the kitchen on our own; no running water, no electricity, no WALLS! It was bare to the studs. Marcel came to our rescue; I had met him at the dump a few months prior and had held onto his card. What luck!! Marcel is exactly what you look for in a general contractor. He respects your budget and ideas. He is innovative and and has a creative side to him (he had the vision for the fireplace and it is PERFECT and soooo beautiful). He also knows his stuff. For example, he pointed out a concern in our structural drawings and consulted with the engineer on the matter. Ultimately, the decision was to go with Marcel's recommendation. Marcel knows how to get his team working... and his team is good! He brought great people to our job. All were respectful, friendly, helpful and obviously good at what they did. Let's just say my father-in-law was hugely impressed by Marcel, and he was known to be one of the most meticulous and demanding site foreman throughout his career in construction. If he liked Marcel, I know Marcel is REALLY GOOD! Not that I needed my father-in-law to spell it out; it's obvious. We will use Contracting By Us again for our next project without hesitation. We have passed on his number to friends already. Thank you Marcel for everything!

Our experience with Lee was excellent. We needed to have a few cracks repaired in our foundation after a home inspection. Lee was referred to us by a structural engineer who has a great reputation himself. I'm sure this guy would not have suggested Lee unless he had 100% confidence in him. Lee returned my text immediately, scheduled a visit for the following day, and did the work within a couple days. He was on time, provided a fair estimate, and completed the work quickly. It rained heavily for a number of days in a row after the repairs. Lee's work stood up to the test of Sandy! The first reviewer's comment about him not standing by his work seemed out of character to me for this contractor. Lee was pleasant, professional and ethical. He seemed keen to provide a good service. He even generously shared names of other contractors from his 'little black book'. Finally, Lee also spoke with us about our new home making suggestions to help us save money on what will be a big renovation. I would highly recommend Lee and Armadillo Enterprises. I would certainly call him again for any foundation work. Thank you Lee!

We were approached by this company via a recorded phone message (you know, the ones you hang up on...). I waited the call out for a change and am so glad I did. Mike, the sales guy booked a visit within a few days and was very knowledgeable and not afraid to make suggestions. In retrospect though, his confidence may have kept us from asking more questions and getting a more detailed break down of the pricing scheme. But truly we trusted him and felt we were in good, honest hands because he came across as being very professional and capable. Mike provided a folder full of references and I contacted one. The feedback was great for quality, follow-up and competitive pricing. In our experience that shining reference truly captured how good this company is at what they do. The only 'negative' (negative being relative) comment that I have is that the workers could be a little more thorough with asking customers what they want done with the bricks, old doors, old windows. We did keep the window that was removed but the door and bricks were disposed of before checking with us. We could've have recycled those items for another project or sold them on Kijiji for a couple hundred bucks - especially the door. A shed maybe? The workmanship was A+++ and the labourers were respectful and minimally intrusive. They upgraded the roofing for the bay window free of charge because they thought it would look better with an aluminum roof as opposed to shingles. I was so impressed with that. The front door is a beauty but the sweep is a little wrinkled looking. When they called to follow-up with us, I mentioned it and the customer service person said they'd be in touch to arrange for it to be replaced/repaired. Still waiting, but I'm not worried as the service and follow-up to date have been reliable. Lastly, after you book your job, they give you free airline tickets! I thought "yeah sure, I'll believe it when I see it". It's true. the package arrived a few weeks ago. The tickets are valid for two flights to various destinations including Hawaii, a selection of US cities, Mexico, Canadian and European spots, and even Finland! There is a catch however; you have to stay at select hotels as outlined in the brochure and they're all over $200/night. Regardless, we thought it was a great bonus and that it would make for a special treat if you can afford it after your renos! We've been truly impressed. My husband is not keen on contractors but has given in to it since he has realized that he can't do it all himself. He was happy with CCHI and wants to have them back to install another window for us at some point. Oh - and if you do a review like this one they give you a $15 Tim's card. They're savvy and know how to run things right. I respect that big time.