Benchmark Painting & Carpentry of Kensington, LLC

Purchased two painters for three days. On Monday the lead painter arrived alone saying his assistant couldn't come that day. When I asked how they'd make up the time, he said they'd work longer hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday evening, they left after working only nine hours and I didn't see how they could get in all the hours Wednesday. So Wednesday I called the office and the woman who answered the phone said they'd be coming Thursday as well. She never asked if this schedule change would be okay with me. While they were here, they put tools and supplies on top of my furniture, in one case without even covering the furniture first and used my buffet table as a work space. There are a couple of scratches on it that I don't remember but it's eighty years old and I can't be sure they weren't there before. After they left, I noticed strange deep lines along the sides of one of my couches. It's crushed velvet/velour so I tried to rub them out but they wouldn't go away. We called Benchmark and they sent the lead painter back to look at it. He said he didn't cause the damage. But I know the marks weren't there before he arrived Monday. When I called Benchmark back, one of the owners, who had seen a picture of the damage, said they looked like they were caused by upholstery cleaning and that his crew hadn't tried to clean it. I told him I'd never had it cleaned. He continued to insist the marks were caused from cleaning and all but accused me of trying to blame his company for damage I'd done myself. He hostile and interrupting me while I was speaking and admitted that he was defensive because I was claiming he'd damaged my furniture. I was surprised by how personally he was taking my concerns. I started feeling angry myself so I said I'd call back the next day and speak to someone else and hung up the phone. Given this review, I've probably ruined my chances of convincing Benchmark to make this right. But I'm more concerned by having the owner of the company suggest I'm a thief and a liar and be so unprofessional on the phone. A few years ago, I had an item damaged by a worker and the company involved couldn't have been nicer. They were very apologetic and helpful in making everything right. They ended up having to replace the item, and did so without a moment of complaint. This is by far the worst experience I've had with any contractor. I don't think I'll ever trust Angie's list again given that Benchmark has an A rating with them.

Great. They are the best I've ever used (5 years ago). Will soon hire them for touchups.

It went very well. They did a GREAT job !

It was wonderful! It went very good, it was excellent. Super efficient, super neat and nice to work.

Booked an appointment through the Project Manager for a carpentry job. Project Manager sent me an email confirmation, but also had all three of my numbers: work, home and cell. On the day of the scheduled appt., carpenter didn't show up, so I called the office and was told by that same Project manager that they had tried 'numerous times' to call me and had left me a voicemail message. It seems as if the carpenter had a doctor's appt that conflicted with my scheduled time and they hadn't seen the appt when they booked me (which was just two days before). We all make mistakes, so even though I took off from work to meet with the carpenter, it would have lessened the blow if they had just been truthful about their screw-up. My cell phone, work phone and home phone all have 'caller lists', so I am able to see who has tried to reach me. They hadn't called any of those numbers. Dishonesty in customer service is a red flag about more serious issues. Would NOT recommend.

They are wonderful. I was surprised, given all the bullshit companies out there.

Andres did the estimating. He showed up on time, was very professional and thorough and delivered a bid later in the day. The price was fair and the company gives you a “welcome” package with suggestions on how to get ready for them. More importantly, Andres scheduled the job within a week just before the holidays when others were too booked. Sergio and Hector did an excellent job. They brought a third painter on the last day to finish. They were customer-oriented, skilled, cleaned up every day, returned all the heavy stuff when completed. The job took three days. They showed up on time every day and even worked on Saturday at our request to finish. My wife wasn’t satisfied with one of the ceilings and they redid the work same day without a question. They obviously try to please the customer. The job took three days and they were willing to work on a Saturday to finish. We will hire them again and, in fact, will do so for “phase 2” of our project in January.

Benchmark did a great job painting. The smoothed out a few places in the drywall and repaired minor dings and nail pops. Job was completed on time with no surprise expenses. I would use them again.

Benchmark painted my entire exterior and entire interior of our home in Kensington. They were incredibly professional and really did an amazing job. They did so much work above and beyond what was stated in my contract that I was amazed they didn't charge me extra. I was incredibly pleased. The guys that were in my home for an entire week were so friendly and so professional, I couldn't imagine using anyone else. Ever.

They did great! Finished the large job in three days and it looks great!

Excellent. Benchmark's workers thoroughly scraped and caulked the brick exterior before applying two coats of paint. They also painted the wooden shutters and strengthened the railings on the front step before painting them. They didn't rush and communication was good throughout. They paid attention to detail and were well organized. Benchmark was one of three companies I contacted about repainting the house. Their bid came in very competitive, so I'm satisfied about the price and the quality of the work.

Very Well. They went above and beyond my needs.

Fantastic! The team was great--on time, considerate and professional.

The entire experience could not have been better and I enthusiastically recommend Robert Reynolds and the entire Benchmark Painting team. My house is almost 100 years old, covered in lead paint and was in desperate need of new paint and a new look. Robert's team transformed my home; I still can't believe how good it looks each morning when I walk out to work! They have an incredible attention to detail, offered a fair price and are professional in all aspects of their work. Thank you Benchmark Painting!

Bad experience. On first day the two man crew that was supposed to show up included only 1 person who it turns out was not even a painter of the company but someone they contracted because their own crew was not available as promised. I asked them to come back when they are two persons. The following day the same contractor returned with a junior support person who clearly had no experience with painting. The paint job quality overall was satisfactory however it required longer time to complete than promised given half the resources provided. When they finished they left paint marks on floors and re-installed the light covers in wrong places. They had to be called back to fix these issues which they did. I also had paid for certain premium paint they proposed to use, but the contractor actually used a lower quality paint. When I discovered this and flagged it, they agreed to refund me the difference. In conclusion, the service was very unprofessional. This company should not have assumed the job if they did not have the company resources to execute it. I paid a premium thinking I would get professional painters. I could have hired a freelance painter to do the same for less with same or less hassle. I would definitely not recommend them or use them again. The only positive from my experience is the job coordinator who came out to provide the initial estimate for the work and to resolve the issues when they arose was always very polite, courteous, professional and responsive (although the issues seemed outside his control and he himself appeared frustrated by them).

They did a good job, I had no complaints!

We recently had most of our (interior) house painted by Benchmark. We are in the process of selling our house so it had to look the very best. The team at Benchmark was more perfect than any contract work I have every had done. From the initial estimate (Robert arrived within 2 minutes of his appointment time), to the work done, everything was perfect. After the job was completed (and paid) I noticed a corner that had some paint that overlapped on a wall that had not be included in the original job. I contacted Benchmark and within 24 hours, they responded not just to touch up, but they painted the entire wall (not in the original estimate) as that was the only way to make it right and then followed up again to make sure we were completely satisfied. Benchmark clearly has my painting business forever!

Jacques came out for the estimate as scheduled. He took very detailed notes about the project and sent me a proposal by email a few days later. He was polite and professional, and did not pressure me in the least. He stayed in close contact via phone/email until we had a scheduled start date, which was about 3-4 weeks after I sent my deposit. The work, which included a pressure wash of the house exterior, was completed in 3 full days. There were a couple days of bad weather in between, but Jacques and Sandy stayed in touch to let me know the painters would not be working on those days. The workers were polite, professional and highly skilled. They went a little beyond the specs and painted a lamp post that was not on the original list of items. The price was comparable to other quotes I received, and Jacques offered me an Angie's List discount. It was a very positive experience, and I would not hesitate to recommend Benchmark to anyone.

Benchmark provided the best quote of three highly rated painting contractors on Angie's List. Their team maintained excellent communication throughout the job. The started promptly every day and worked very long days. They sanded, primed, and repaired rotted wood as needed. They are careful and very professional workers, and I highly recommend the company.

A repeat customer for Benchmark based on the fabulous job they did last summer painting living room, dining room, family room and hallways. Had same professional service starting with Andres consulting and estimating, Sandy handling the admin and Fernando and team doing the painting.

They did an excellent job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They did a very good job. I liked the way the painted.

This company has manipulated what the term "free estimate" means. As they do list they do in fact provide Anglies Customers with a "free estimate", however they do not. They provide Angies List Customers with a document, which explains how long certain paint jobs are and then from their you tell them how many hours of labor you actually need (i.e. the estimate). According to Merriam-Webster the word estimate is "to judge tentatively or approximately the value, worth, or significance..." Why would Benchmark a company who specializes in professional painting leave the estimate of their work to an unskilled, unable to judge, unknowing, and nonspecialized nonpainting Angies List Customer? Answer: Customer will either underestimate or overestimate the hours needed to complete the job and this is the catch with this company. If overestimated: Benchmark said to me if they are overpaid, the additional unworked hours can be used to task the workers to do other work around the house that was not apart of the initial scope of work. This would be a waste of your time and theirs. If you do not intend to have work done why would you want to force yourself to do it. Time is money. If underestimated: Benchmark said to me that they will bill Angies List Customers $40 per hour if additional work is needed. My profession just so happens to be a Pricing Analyst so I work with budgets and labor rates all day long. $40 hours equates to $83,200 annual salary for a painter. However, Payscale.com (a reputable site for salaries by profession) estimates average paint hourly rates to be $10.26 - 24.92 per hour (average: $17.59 per hour or $36,587.20 annual salary). This means Benchmark's rate is $22.41over the National Average salary rate for painters. $22.41 which will be billed to Angies Customers simply because they were dubiously tasked as unprofessional painters to actually provide their "own estimate". This would conflict with Benchmark's claim that they provide "free estimates" on their Angies List Listing. But, it is actually the customer who provides the estimate per my discussion with the Benchmark representative. Now to me this is a fishy business practice. A company should never leave an estimate into the hands of someone who is unprofessional for the scope of work. The estimate should be a courtesy to all your customers not just "nonAngies List" customers. What this company is doing is absolutely wrong. If this company would actually seek to provide great service rather than providing a "game" to get over on me, I would've selected them. Honestly!

Overall, I would rate my experience a B- or C+. It was easy to schedule. I had to track them down to find out about how to select paint colors, and the process of getting information on how the job would be done was difficult. The finished product is decent, but there are two reasons I am not giving this a good review. First, I agreed to omit painting the inside of my closets, because I have California closet systems installed that cover most of the walls. However, the painters took this to mean that they should not paint the inside of any of the closet doors. "Doors" were clearly stated on my contract. Since the original paint was matte and the new paint gloss, this looked very odd. When I called to request this be fixed, I was at first challenged that the inside of doors on closets are part of the interior of a closet and thus not included. Finally, they agreed to do it, then rescheduled me then showed up at about 7:30AM on Saturday morning. The other issue is bigger for me but not something they can really do much about at this point, so I didn't call them. There is paint splatter in every single room of my condo. In the kitchen, it's on my cabinets and a cabinet door. In my living room, it's on a window and on my couch. In the bedroom, it's on a window and somehow splattered on a dress I had on the bed (I had been told they would cover everything with plastic). In the bathroom, it's on the light fixtures. If I wanted the paint job done poorly with splatter throughout, I would have done it myself and saved several thousand dollars. Just overall very frustrated, when I tried to be really nice to the painters and easy to work with.

This was a difficult job as it was a very large picket fence- with 4 sided pickets. They were on time, very diligent and conscientious. Did a very good job of prepping the fence before applying paint. They were polite, professional and did good work. The price was very reasonable compared to other bids from A rated companies. I have had the fence painted numerous times in the 20 years we have had it and this was by far the best job anyone has done- both in terms of prep work and in terms of how it looked when they were done with it. I would highly recommend them.