Me in Toronto

The quote from Finer Edge was pretty much in the middle price range of the five other companies that we received quotes from - however, the work was stellar. The final cost came in at was quoted, with no surprises. It was a big job as the house had not been painted (or well maintained) by the previous owner for over 20 years. We received excellent guidance and advice regarding the multiple "trouble spots" that needed special attention, scraping and reconstructing. All the staff and painters were very friendly, personable, and professional. All calls were returned in a timely fashion. Most importantly, the place looks fantastic. Even the portions that were in serious disrepair before painting look wonderful. The work held up well over the winters. The crew returned to touch up a few areas over the summer, and they did a great job. We will certainly use Finer Edge again once we complete other renovations etc. The work speaks for itself, and we have already had the opportunity to recommended their fine work to multiple people in our neighborhood because many people have asked us who did the excellent painting work on our house.

We work in and out of town, and rely on snow removal service to ensure that our sidewalks and driveway are cared for during winter. We had used Monster Plowing, and they were pretty good (see my 2011 review), but the last time we used them, they were awful - that is, IF they came at all, and often they did not. We fielded constant complaints from neighbours and locals regarding the state of our sidewalks. We had to do constant plowing ourselves. Please note that this was the case with even minor snowfalls, not just storms. They created a huge pile of snow (which turned to a solid block of ice), in our driveway, rendering the parking spot unusable for the rest of winter. They did not come for days after snowfalls to plow. They insisted our property had to be hand shoveled and charged us a premium for this, but used a truck - which, as they warned us, did a horrible job. They still charged the "by hand" premium. They charged us for a portion of our property that they NEVER plowed despite multiple reminders from us. The manager was near impossible to reach by phone, and when we finally heard back...he told us to just wait until the snow melted by itself. This is not what we paid for. NOTE: This review was written Oct 2014, but actually published in Feb 2015, as Monster Snow Plowing company tried to block my negative review by claiming that we were not their clients at all. An obvious electronic money trail submitted to Homestars showed that we were clients, and thus the review was published. The next company tactic was to attempt to discredit the review by character assassination of the client, claiming that they were threatened and blackmailed. Not only does Monster get 0/10 for snow removal and service, they also get 0/10 for integrity. Consider this before you give these people your money. Multiple recent reviews clearly state that others experienced the same horrible service that I did. This company should spend more time improving their service and less time trying to evade honest reviews, even if they are negative. It is not clear to my why the company service declined after 2011. Perhaps they do not care much about their residential clients, and focus more on the commercial property contracts. They were an 8/10 back in 2011 (they were good, not great, but they tried hard...at least the owner Mikael did). They could be good again, or even great if they chose to be...they just have to care, and as numerous reviews state, they simply do not. Mikael, you had a good company once. Take charge and make it good again.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Brannan's Appliance Repair to friends and family. One morning I found that the fridge and freezer had stopped working. I found Steve on Homestars, left a message and he called back in 5 minutes. He gave me a rundown of costs for coming by, had me check a few things to make sure it was worth repairing, and gave me a range of what things could cost. He was here in 45 minutes, and had the fan and motor (which had seized) repaired in about an hour, within the price range he had quoted. He also was able to tell me that the food was still in the 'safe' temperature zone, and that the fridge still had a lot of life left in her. I will happily call him again for any other appliance repairs. Not only was he very skilled, he was also extremely friendly. Many thanks.

PLEASE BEWARE. I do not like posting negative reviews, and have rarely done so, but I feel that it is necessary to warn other potential clients to be very cautious before hiring this company. This company damaged 4 of 6 leather chairs and has shown no interest in addressing this issue. Do not let their friendly attitude and lower pricing lure you into trusting your possessions to this company...they do not actually stand behind the quality of their work. The few dollars saved come nowhere near the amount that it will cost to repair the damage caused. We used Brighter Moving and Delivery to move a dining room set in late July of this year. Despite multiple requests to wrap the leather dining chairs, and multiple assurances from the manager, in this regard, 4 of 6 chairs arrived damaged. The delivery took place late in the evening, and I hand wrote a quick "reference" at the request of the movers. Unfortunately, when I examined the furniture first thing in the morning (with proper lighting), I saw multiple areas of damage on 4 of 6 chairs. Damage included deep cuts, scrapes and gouges into the backs of the leather chairs. I called the manager that day to discuss the damage. Initially the manager was enthusiastic about coming and seeing the damage and following through with any needed compensation or repairs. However phone calls and promised visits were never followed through with an actual follow up visit. Eventually, phone calls were not returned. It is now October. I tried to call the manager one last time today and said that it has been 3 months, and that they should come and deal with the damage they caused. The manager first told me not to use the word damage, and then told me that he was away for awhile. He said that now that he is back, he is too busy, and not in the right "space in his head" to do anything about this, and so he would not do anything. This company should not be used if you are looking to move anything that you actually care about. There are many well reputed moving companies to choose from. I wish that I had used one of them. AGAIN, BEWARE.

At times, the walks were not done well, but this was usually in the context of a huge storm. If we called, the trucks would usually come back and finish the job. Overall, the owner of this company is very professional and concerned with doing the job well, and will make a point of personally coming and doing the work, if his trucks cannot come soon. This is our 2nd year with this company, and we will be signing on for this coming year again.