CMS Handyman Service

As I reported to Angie's List when this incident occurred, I called the company to ask when the work could be completed (I contacted Angie's List prior to contacting the company). The gentleman not only answered the phone as if he was answering a residence, not a business, he was rude, ill informed and did not appear to be interested in completing the work. When asked questions about a time frame, his response was something to the fact that the "girl in the office does that stuff." He was rather unprofessional and not what I expected from Angie's List. His demeanor over the phone let me know that his services would not be to my satisfaction as he appeared to be quite unconcerned about performing any work.

It didn't go well. I just spent the last hour doing touch-up in one of the rooms and will head into the other when I'm done with this report. Where do I start? The deal was that there would be four guys here doing the work all day, which is what I wanted so that neither my husband nor I would have to take off additional work time. The day to begin arrived and I had a voicemail saying that because it was forecasted to rain, nobody would be coming. Note that this is interier work... Okay, so we rescheduled for the following Friday when my house cleaner was going to be here and I wouldn't have to take off work. That day arrives and only two guys are here so of course the work doesn't get done. My husband talked to one of the two guys and told him that we would arrange for the house cleaner to be here again the following Friday (which was the Friday before Thanksgiving). All this time, by the way, all the furniture and other stuff in the two rooms to be painted is sitting in/covering my living room. The Friday arrives and I call to find out what time to expect the painters and, guess what, they aren't coming. Huh? Seems the head guy didn't get the word from the painter guy that they were to come back and finish the job. Hello? After some heated words from both me and my husband regarding having a real issue with all the cr*p in our living room over Thanksgiving, the plan is that two guys will come the next day, Saturday. (I forgot to mention that he doesn't normally work on Saturdays; hence, my having to arrange around my job schedule.) So all of the foregoing speaks to professionalism. The job itself... Especially on the Saturday, the job was poor. They slapped the paint on to get done and out. I have several pictures of missed areas and splashes of gray paint on white woodwork and white splashes on gray walls. They used no painters tape anywhere, which, if you've ever painted you know does not bode well for straight lines. They didn't fill the nail holes as had been promised, and didn't sand much of anything, again as was promised. Frankly, I do a much better paint job than these guys do but I have a full time + job to go to every day and so didn't want to have to take my off hours to paint. I assumed that these guys were good painters since I got the coupon through an Angie's List special. If you read the reviews from some of the other people who had a similar experience to mine you'll see the same complaints in quality that I have. Maybe it depends on which guys are on the job on a given day, I don't know.

I was very satisfied with the painting service mainly because Aaron the painter was so professional.Thank you

.I was pleased that this service returned to my home to fix the issues I had with the original work and did a really good job.

A young man showed up on time and had a very polite attitude. He was very skilled at the caulking work that he did. He caulked in the bathroom and the kitchen. He did such a nice, clean job. He didn't mind doing a little bit of extra work that I asked him to do. He was very patient and did a great job. He didn't waste any time and answered any questions that I had. As a house wife, I would not hesitate to use him again for any other handyman work around the house. I already asked him to come back to do some other work around the house. I am very please with this recommendation that Angie's List gave me.

I called this company to schedule my painting "Big Deal" coupon a few months after it was purchased. They said they were too booked and to call back. So I did. Unfortunately it was after the expiration date of the coupon. Mike Haakenson told me he would not honor the coupon since it was past the expiration date. I had no way of proving that I had called, so I offered a compromise. I already paid him $399 for $800 worth of painting. I asked that he apply the $399 towards the painting I wanted done and I would pay for whatever the costs were above that. I wouldn't get $800 worth of work, but at least my $$$ wouldn't be gone. He said that it was a promotional offer - but in fact, they are still running this promotional offer on Angie's List. This was his response: "These are Angieslist terms and conditions that we did not create. The coupon was good for 6 months and after that it is void. The receipt you received after your purchase for the coupon had the expiration date on it as well. We are sorry you let the coupon expire but we feel that we are not at fault. -CMS" If you contact this provider, make sure to do it in email as they do not seem to keep very good records of their phone calls. Mike got back to me quickly, but obviously I am very disappointed that I gave this company $399 and they refused to preform any of the work promised.

Initially I was pleased because Mike promptly returned my call, set up the appointment, showed up on time, seemed nice and knowledgable. The work done in my kitchen was fine. I watched as the work was done. Since the work in the kitchen was fine, I explained what needed doing in the bathroom (caulking around the tub) and left him to do the work. The caulking around my tub had some problems which could not be seen until I was phyisically sitting in the tub. Thus I did not notice until my bath the following day that there was a three inch gap in caulking under the tub faucet. I assumed there would be no problem and that Mike would simply contact me, schedule a return visit, correct the problem, which should have taken no more than a few minutes. I called and left a message. I sent an email. In both cases I explained the problem. In all I called and left 3 messages and sent two emails. There was never a response. I ended up going to the hardware store, purchasing additional caulking in a form that was something that could be used without a lot of strength and had a neighbor apply and seal the problem area. It is not pretty, but at least it IS sealed. Since that time I have noticed that there are some spots in the caulking around the tub that have begun to lift. I took the deal because I thought I could trust the man/company because of Angie's List. I watched the work done in the kitchen, and it was satisfactory. If I had not called and left multiple messages, or if I had not sent multiple emails, I would simply ignore it. However, I am retired and on a fixed income and the total $105 was a lot of money ($90 in labor, $15 in materials) when the results were unsatisfactory, and I had to go buy additional material and get additional help. I would have felt the money well spent if he had come back and corrected the problems. There was no excuse to not return my call or emails. I would not hire this person or use his services again. What is more, I will now hover and inspect all work with a fine tooth comb, should I ever use anyone from Angie's List in the future. I do not think that all references from Angie's List might be this bad, but I have now twice used Angie's list -- and neither experience was good. I do not know if I will attempt a third time.

He was not honoring then prices that he had advertised. He then even up the price some more when I asked him about it. He also took a long time to get back to me via email.

I spoke with Mike (CMS Handyman) several times about coming over to do my project and he said he was booked up so we set up an appointment on December 3rd which was three weeks later. I called him at least three times to talk about price and the scope of the project and he assured me that he was the right guy and that he would come over on that Saturday at 9:00. So Saturday arrives and it's now 10:00 a.m. and no Mike, no phone call, no answering my messages! I can't believe that he would completely abandon this project without even a call to tell me he couldn't come! If he would have called me, I would have given him the benefit of the doubt but I still haven't heard anything from him. BEWARE if you don't want to waste your time and wait around for this inconsiderate and disrespectful person to burn you too! What a JOKE!

I purchased a '2 painters for a day' Deal through the Angies List Big Deal. When the painters arrived at about 930 am I asked them if I had them for the whole day. 'Something like that' they told me. I had scheduled them to paint and so had bought paint for them to use. Apparently they also needed masking tape, drop cloths, caulk, putty, brushes and all other supplies to paint. Luckily I had all of that. In the process of getting them situated and getting one of them a paint brush (they didnt bring enough of their own) I tripped and hurt my ankle. About an hour later they told me they were done (this was about 1:30 in the afternoon). I was unable to check on their work but asked them to then prep and paint the trim on the house until their time was up. They came in at 3:30 and told me they were done. I hobbled outside and noticed they didn't sand or prep anything, they didn't mask or tape anything, that they had literally left pools of paint on sills and forgot to paint the sides or bottoms. I pointed it out and one of the guys was nice enough to do some minor touch up. We then briefly discussed a quote on another bit of work we were looking to do in the future and they left. The next day when I limped around to check their work I was pretty depressed. There was white paint all over our 100 year old brick work. They had stained a wood door and a beam with such a thick layer of stain that you could see brush marks everywhere and they didn't go back to knock down the gloss or remove excess. There were drips on our white walls. They had painted white on offwhite in our stairwell and didnt get all of it so at night when the lights are on the ceiling looks like it is camouflaged. They painted behind the bannister with a brush rather than a roller and you can see all the brushmarks. There is white paint on our window screens and white fingerprints on our oak gate. Basically, amateur hour. At this point I dont think I will buy any more ANGIES LIST BIG DEALS. They consistently disappoint, and that makes sense. You prepay a contractor up front (never do that) and you are paying him about 20% of what he typically charges (they give you 50% off of their regular rate using the deal and then ANGIES LIST collects another large chunk for selling us the deal). I can see how they would send their less experienced people and they would want to rush through the job. However I just needed quality paintwork done for a reasonable price and that is not at all what I got. I am going to be stuck on a ladder with a bum ankle sanding all of this back down again and starting over. I would have been better off throwing $400 out the window and doing the job myself. Would have saved $150 in premium paint and two weeks of sanding, stripping, priming, and repainting it right. I also have no idea if the paint on the brick will ever come out. And by the way, they never even got back to me with a quote on that additional work.... though after taking a better look at what they did with the paint I would not have used them.

Used this contractor with a "Big Deal" coupon. He fixed what I asked him to fix, and worked efficiently. The price was excellent with the coupon. He worked quickly -- sometimes too much so. A "quick fixer." I'll hire him again next time I need a quick fix.

I needed to have trim of a two story home painted. CMS offered a "two painters for a day, $399 (exterior or interior)" coupon as an Angie's List Big Deal. I wasn't sure how long it would take two painters to accomplish this task, but I had plenty of things to paint, and seeing CMS's ratings I figured it should be pretty safe, so I bought 3 days. Mike and I negotiated a 3 day block to do the work via email, which I later remembered wrong. He showed up on time, but I was unprepared: I hadn't bought the paint yet! Mike was very nice about it - he said he'd do something else that day and come back a different day. He took advantage of the time to scope out the work to be done, and said he'd come back with 6 guys and knock it out in a day. He also offered to pick up the paint and materials, which I took him up on. I gave him $300 for paint, materials, and gas. He said that this wouldn't take up all 3 days and that I'd have remaining credit, so I showed him the patio cover, deck, and wrought iron yard fence. This seemed like an awful lot of work to me, but Mike seemed determined to maximize my the time I purchased. Four guys showed up and knocked the trim work out fast. They painted the deck and patio cover, then decided to pack it in for the day. He said he'd come back to do the fence, and that because he was short workers, I'd still have more time left. I showed him an interior stairwell and he agreed to do that too! Mike and a worker came back as promised, and started work on the stairwell. While he did this, I asked him about other services CMS performs, as I had a door, and two gates that needed repair. He said we'd talk about it once he moved outside to start painting the fence. When I went outside to discuss it - he was actually repairing one of the gates; he figured he could squeeze it in! And sure enough, that gate is now functional again. CMS did an UNBELIEVABLE amount of work for my three little coupons. We're so happy to have this stuff done! What impressed me the most is that they were clearly NOT looking to do as little as possible. I am definitely using them again!

Mike got a lot done in a very short time. He was knowledgable and fast. I was very happy and will definitely use him again!!

The senior Michael Haakenson did the majority of the work, and brought in additional help as needed. I found the Haakenson's to be cheerful, respectful, flexible, and competent. For the amount of work they did, I thought we got a great deal. I was so happy with them that I'm hiring them for bigger jobs soon!

They treated us fine. He was a little less professional than others we have used, yet he seemed qualified on the construction front. He seemed to have some experience in many different areas.

I have a small single level house with wood siding. It had been painted about 5 years ago, but I had always been disappointed with the fact that the eggshell finish I had picked for the Cape Cod Blue paint looked silver when the sun hit it at certain times of the day. So I decided to get it repainted in a flat finish, as well as change the trim color to a lighter color. I bought the Big Deal to get two painters for 8 hours. Mike and Joel were able to do more than I expected in that time. They painted both the front and back of my house, neatly and quickly. They brought their own brushes, ladders and drop cloths and cleaned up everything at the end of the job. They even put up new house numbers that I had been planning on installing for months. I'm now working with Mike to get an estimate on a fence. I recommend CMS with no hesitation.

It's not unfinished. I'd id have a little problem with his punctuality and his timing with returned calls. I'd have to call back. I referred him to other people. I had something scheduled but I got really sick, I told him not to come in and to call me in a few days. I never heard from him until 3 weeks later, he called and said he's available to do stuff now. I don't have time to be tracking people down. Also, his paper work is sloppy. You ask for a quote, you want something in writing. This is what it takes and cost. When you're finished you want an invoice, you don't want to have to request it. He's a nice guy but my verdict is still out.

He is very efficient and polite, his price is reasonable, and he gets the job done well. He is very reliable. I just called him for another job.

Mike Sr. and his painter nicely moved the furnitures, sanded the wall that needed sanding and painted beautifully. They were on time and finished on time.

He was fine. It was a complicated door. So, I ended up using all his time for replacing the door. The only challenge was that it took a while to schedule with him. I had to take a little more effort to get an appointment with him. Once he was here, he was fine. He put in six hours of labor. I probably would use him again in the future.

I bought the "Big Deal" from Angie's List for painting. I called to schedule an appointment and was told that they sold more Big Deals than expected, and that the next available appointment will be in about a month (this was a month ago). I scheduled the appointment and followed up about a week before the scheduled appointment to confirm the date. They said that they couldn't make the appointment, and that the next available date will be in about another month. So basically, I waited a month for a scheduled appointed, they flaked, and now I have to wait another month? I get that people are busy, but the problem is the lack of professionalism in handling the appointments. If you're going to cancel, would appreciate some advance notice. If a vendor can't be trusted to act professionally before they perform work, I really don't have much faith that they will act professionally during the job. Don't sign up to be an Angie's List "Big Deals" vendor if you don't have enough people to do the work for you. I'm upset because during this whole time, I could've looked for another vendor to perform this service.

Tried this on a Big Deal (2 painters for a day for half the cost; $400). Bottom line they finished part of the job that they said could be done in a day, without a problem. I was a bit unhappy that they couldn't finish the job and so they came back and finished the job on a following weekend to stay true to their word.

On the phone I told Mike the ceiling fan and the mirror were the important jobs. We discussed whether he would use my ladder or his, so he knew he was coming to install a ceiling fan. He arrived at 12:45 for an 11:30 appointment. After the mirror was hung (4 inches off the wall's center) he looked at the fan and said he did not want to install it because such jobs 'take two or three hours or more' and 'I'm not an electrician' and 'it's not the same manufacturer as the old fan.' He said his electrical concern was that the existing wall controls would not work. I said that's okay, I'll use the new fan's pull chains if the old controls don't work. He urged me to stick with the old, noisy fan, saying the new one wouldn't be better. At this point I had no confidence and gave him minor tasks to fill out most of the time, then cut him loose. At my request he did get the mirror centered before leaving. I wish he had raised his possible issues with the fan before arriving.

I purchased two 3 hour blocks of service through the Angie's list big deal at $99 each. The pricing was fantastic. Mike did his best to accomodate my schedule and was able to schedule within three weeks. They were very responsive and completed all the items on my "honey do": list. I would use them again and recommend to others.

He was extremely professional, on time, did a wonderful job. They had offered a special deal for 3 hours of work at a reduced price. The job took more than the three hours at the reduced rate ( as I expected it would). Mike gave me a reduced rate for the finishing of the job ( which I didn't expect and was extremely grateful for!!) Mike and I discussed some projects in the future ( woodwork, etc). I would hire him again, in a minute. Great work, professional, price was extremely fair and gave me explanations that I could understand. I highly recommend this company and will certainly use them in the future.