AMERICAN PAINTING

We've used American Painting for all of our painting/staining needs for over 20 years. They may not be the cheapest out there but they do an excellent job. Gary Bens, the owner, is very professional and responsive. He is easy to work with, does a thorough estimate, everything that needs to be done is written in the quote so there are no surprises. The guys who actually do the painting have always been very professional, courteous, prompt and meticulous. They show up when they are supposed to be there and stay all day until the job is complete. They clean up every day after they work and even vacuum up any dust. I've known Gary for many years and this is a local business so he cares about his reputation in the community. He is just a very nice man and I enjoy seeing him and catching up on what's new. You feel like he does want to make you happy. We had some rotting cedar on the front of the house and his carpenter came out and took care of it promptly. There was more rotting to the cedar than what was stated in the estimate so we had to pay an extra $500 but I feel confident that they did a good job and this wood will hold up forever. Gary has stained our deck in the past and there were some issues with that but he always made it clear from the beginning that decks are very hard to maintain so we knew what we were getting into. They aren't the cheapest around but you get what you pay for and American Painting is definitely worth the price. The last time we had the exterior painted was 10 years ago and it held up very well--so I don't mind paying when you know it's going to look good and be well protected for hopefully another 10 years. I got estimates from a couple of other painters and had communication problems with people who didn't speak English very well and one guy who didn't even walk around and look at the work that needed to be done. Then he failed to email me the estimate and I had to constantly keep after him about the estimate which was not very detailed. He didn't even include the doors and baseboards in the estimate!!! Then he kept raising the price when I asked about these and other things. One said I'd have to get my own carpenter to replace the rotting cedar. Gary handled everything and I really appreciated that.

IS THERE A GRADE LOWER THAN F? THIS WAS OUR WORST EXPERIENCE WITH A CONTRACTOR EVER! Gary came out right away and preseted a very competitive price. Seemed like a legitimate contractor - boy were we ever wrong. 1) Two "painters" showed up unannounced around 9PM one night - wanted to look around. They were supposed to start the next day. 2) Work was supposed to take 2-3 days. We took days off of work to be here, but the painters failed to show up two days in a row. 3) When they finally did show up, they seemed high or drunk. One day they brought a kid (about 14 years old) along who did some painting on the second floor. We watched him through the window - he spent 2+ hours dipping into an empty paint can! 4) Job lasted WEEKS not days. Gary would not return numerous calls or come out to manage his crew. That was up to us. 5) Paint began to bubble & peel less than a year after the job was completed. THEY DID NOT USE PRIMER! 6) After numerous calls, faxes, and a threat of legal action, they finally came back to re-paint. Again, they did a very poor job. It got to the point where we did not want them any where near our home any more, so we hired someone else to finally do it right. Don't waste your money and save yourself the aggravation - HIRE ANYONE ELSE!

They did excellent work and we were very pleased with them. We had a couple of other estimates and they gave us the best price. They were responsive, punctual, and professional. They came through in time and were concerned that the job gets done on time. They coordinated well with the deck company with the scheduling.

Horrible--Horrible. They were very quick and sloppy and I have had endless problems with chipping and flaking paint for years now due to careless work. They removed the wallpaper and got glue everywhere, then they did not allow enough time for the wall to dry and painted with no primer. So, because the walls were not primed properly or at all I have had nothing but problems...bubbling, pealing, chipping. Called back about a month after service when I started to notice significant problems. They sent someone out here who said they cannot repair it for free but that he can perform the work "on the side" for about $300. Had that done and the problems still remain. Had another painter give me his opinion and estimate and he said that the previous painters who removed the wallpaper had done an incredibly substandard job that it is going to cost about double what I had originally paid to repair the damage (they have to remove all the paint), repair the walls, prime and repaint and then it is not going to be perfect. Stay far far away, they have caused me years of headaches.

The owner, Gary, was very responsive and came out promptly to give us a quote and was willing to negotiate. The job was scheduled the following week. The crew was terrific - clean, courteous and worked efficiently, but not too fast. Those were the high points. We should explain that we found the company via a marketing ad that had credit card symbols on it-indicating to us that American Painting accepted credit cards. Honestly, this was one of the reasons that we hired them so that we would have buyer protection. When the job was done, Gary's crew came to our door for payment. I told them I would be paying with a credit card. This clearly disturbed them. It turned out, American Painting did NOT accept credit cards. Gary told us to make a credit card payment on his "account" at a local paint store in lieu of paying him direct. This felt very wrong. I ended up paying by check. He also told us his crew were all employed full time with him-not true either. Good work but not honest.

Gary Bens returned our call promptly. An estimate was set up after he arrived and work began a week later. The whole thing from start to finish was very professional. What was to be done in three days had to be extended to two more because of the extent of the repairing. They were willing to come on the weekend to complete the work if we desired. They were very accommodating and determined to finish as close to the time we were given. However, more patching was needed to do a proper job and we understood. On a daily basis, Rubin Gonzales walked us around to show what had been accomplished that day and asked us for our comments. On a daily basis, everything was picked up, cleaned up, and put away, although we noticed later that more than a few paint droppings were on the finished woodwork which we are still dealing with. Someone in the crew always spoked English so there was no concern about miscommunication. We are very pleased the the job and with the people who were hired to do it.

Overall the job was done well. They were very slow at getting going, getting the project completed and cleaned up. If that were the only problem, I would be OK with that. The final straw came when one of his subcontractors filed a lien against our home because Gary did not pay him. I paid the invoice in full. If Gary had problems with his staff that should have been addressed on his own terms.

I was told it was a 3 day project, the crew rushed and got it done in 2 days. One room needed another coat of paint, you could see through the paint. I had to pay extra to have the room completed properly. They didn't tape anything, I had paint all over my trim and some on the carpets. I was missing screws in some items that were moved. I was told furniture and wall hangings would be replaced, they were not. I had to move things back in place and clean for several days. I was not happy with the mess. They didn't walk through the final job to make sure it was done right. I had to grab them on their way out the door to do touch ups.

THE OWNER APPEARS TO BE UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. POOR SCHEDULING, TIMING, CUSTOMER INTERACTION LEFT ME FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE AND UNWILLING TO RECOMMEND HIS COMPANY. HE SEEMS MORE INTERESTED IN MAKING MONEY THAN BUILDING HIS BUSINESS. HIS PAINTERS WERE FINE, ALBEIT A BIT UNCOORDINATED, RUNNING FROM JOB TO JOB VERSUS FOCUSING ON THE TASK AT HAND.