GALAXY PAINTING & DECORATING

Leo Ambriz, was the estimator that came from Galaxy to give a estimate for a Kitchen and Bath remodel. They were recommended from one of my condo doorman. They were prompt in scheduling an estimate. Leo came about 15 minutes late, I can understand due to DC traffic. I was promised a estimate in 2-3 business days, however I never got one. I called the company and they said they would pass the message to Leo. Still I never received an estimate. I heard good things from my doorman who works at another condo building in the city, however due to poor communication skills and the fact that they do not do what they promised, it makes me guess that business is good. When business is good, they don't need more thus they can ignore potential customers. Makes sense right? Anyways went with another contractor. For potential new customers just beware, if they are busy they may just ignore you.

As you can see from above, the theme with Galaxy's work is PERFECT. This company is A+ top notch, and I'm picky. I started with Leo Ambriz who did the estimating. Leo is calm, thoughtful, and detail-oriented. Leo also supervised the job. He listens to the customer and goes out of his way to make sure that everything is to your satisfaction and that every detail has been attended to. For example, he bought new white GFI outlets to replace the red/black ones when the electrician installed 2 new white outlets so they would all be consistent. He also noticed that the outlets were all at different heights and this would be noticeable once the backsplash was installed. He got an electrician to fix it. Leo was courteous and collaborative with the staff and was on the job several times a day. There was never any yelling or fussing. I can't say enough about Pablo and Tony who did most of the work. They have a terrific work ethic. Pablo is an amazing carpenter. He takes great pride in his work and is polite, personable, and very sincere. My kitchen floors were extremely uneven, but Pablo put in shims and the base cabinets were perfectly level for the stone counters. The stone installers commented on this. He also built a new counter in my kitchen and it matched up perfectly with the one next to it. It is rock solid and beautiful. Pablo also has top notch drywall and tiling skills. Everything he touches comes out beautifully. When I look at the kitchen and the new fireplace mantle, I just can't believe it. Tony was also terrific. He worked side by side with Pablo and has good drywall and painting skills of his own. And, you can't get him to stop working. When the counters were being installed, the minute the installers went outside, Tony was continuing his painting until they came back in again. Pablo and Tony never rushed, but got a great deal accomplished each day. They would arrive around 7:30 or so to beat the traffic and always had a smile. Even on the days where a lot of mess was created, they left my house spotless. Tony even vacuumed up the dust behind the washing machine. They also took my allergies very seriously and followed excellent dust control procedures. Never had an allergy attack the entire time they were there which was a miracle. And, my furnace broke after the job was completed. The repair person checked the coils because he thought they would be dusty from the renovations, but he said they were perfectly clean. The office staff are also great. Stephanie is one of those people who you feel like you have known your entire life, and Tammy is also extremely polite and always wants to help. I only had to call the office to pay the bill (I was charged in 3 installments) and to praise the work being completed in my house. But if there has been a problem, I know Stephanie would have handled it swiftly. She inspires confidence. I added painting the den in the midst of the project. Pablo had to move on to another carpentry project and two new painters were sent over. They did excellent work as well. My house looks so beautiful. Galaxy will be doing outside painting for me this spring, and once all of this is paid off, I want to bring them back to paint upstairs and to re-tile bathrooms. They are my "go to" company from now on.

Leo, the estimator was prompt and professional. I thought I would need to have the porch painted but he said the paint was fine, all that was needed was a cleaning. The crew members were excellent. Antonio Ramirez, the lead painter and his assistant Douglas Medrano were pleasant and did a fine job. The carpenters who did a small job were neat and clean and did a fine job. When I noticed thaqt the ceiling fixture outside the front door was not properly attached, someone was out the next day to fix it.

I purchased a deal via Angie's list for 2 painters for 8 hours. I called prior to making this purchase to describe what I wanted done and was told that it was reasonable to expect they should be able to finish it. I was not given a guarantee nor did I expect one. I deliberately opted to pay for a professional painting service because while I can paint on my own, I expected the end result to be better than what I would be able to perform and because it would be much faster. I also made a reasonable assumption that any limitations would be explained to me once the painters arrived. When I made my appointment the woman I spoke to on the phone made it clear to me that if my job required additional time I would be required to pay for it. At no time was I told there was a limit on the number of coats they would paint, that certain colors may require extra time, etc... I have never used professional grade paint (beyond what Home Depot sells) so I expected that with the newer materials perhaps the two coats and primer would do it. I readily agreed to pay any difference should the painters need additional time. My painters arrived and were very pleasant. I will say that I had some concerns about the language barrier and while I have NO problem with this, that this may have contributed to the communication problems. Each area they were painting had an accent wall so two colors were required, two areas needed primer and others did not, I have deep inset windows, soffetting, and oddly shaped walls, so these were all items I was concerned about. For the most part I am satisfied with the result, however when the painters left they had atleast an hour left. The paint was wet in three areas and they assured me it was and quot;doneand quot; and that the disparity in color I saw was a result of that. On closer examination I found the following: - The baseboard line in several areas is not perfectly straight. Maybe this is nitpicking but I feel that these professionals performed at the same level I could have, I guess I expected the lines to be more precise. That's a very minor gripe. - There are small dots of dark paint in the window-sill in my bedroom (not sure why this wasn't taped or covered)There are bubbles on spots on several of the walls, many disappeared as it dried but not sure what caused this. If it's because additional time was needed between coats I wish someone would have communicated that. - After a year there are still several bubbles of paint that never flattened. I also found drips and dots on numerous places on my floor. I have wood floors but if I'd had carpet this would have been a very big deal. In the end, two areas needed atleast one additional coat of paint. I called and left a message explaining the situation, AND expressing my willingness to pay for the time required to do this. When I spoke to the manager (Fernando) the day after my painters left I was very disappointed with the conversation we had. He was rude, impatient and so busy interrupting me that I was furious when I finally got off the phone. At no time did I claim that I had been promised it would be completed, and I repeatedly expressed that I had been willing to pay for the extra time were that needed. In my opinion there were MANY options that were not exercised that could have averted this. I left my condo and provided the painter (Manuel) with my phone number, I was less than 15 minutes away up the street working in a cafe. He called me once to ask about the window boxes so clearly he understood he could reach me. AT NO point did he call to indicate that they might not be able to finish. I also stopped by several hours before they finished, at which point he could have ALSO indicated that they would need more time, or an additional day. I would have GLADLY payed for extra time or been willing to accept that because of the colors I selected an additional time (hours, another day...) may be needed. When they left I was assured that the job was done. It was NOT complete but I had no way of knowing since I was told that what I saw was a result of the wet paint. While it's been a year since this experience I am still baffled that a customer service manager would interrupt me while I was speaking, attempt to inform me that it was MY fault because I assumed it could be done when it could not, tell me that the painters put two coats of paint on the walls and that was all that was required (when the deal I purchased was clearly based on the amount of TIME not the number of coats of paint) and then tell me and quot;maybe you shouldn't have selected dark colorsand quot;. This type of attitude displayed a complete lack of customer service. At no time did he apologize or wait to hear me out. I'm sure that, sadly, in fear of a bad review they called me back and offered to return the painters to complete an additional coat of paint on the areas that I needed completed. It seems ridiculous to me even now that they ate the cost of a service I would have GLADLY paid for, had they shown me the tiniest amount of respect when I called with concerns. The entire situation could have been avoided if at ANY time yesterday the painters had indicated they may need more time. Prior to the painters arriving any of the numerous people I spoke to on the phone could have also inquired about the paint color and scheduled me additional time or warned me that it may take longer. I am NOT a professional painter and have no idea how long is needed between coats or what colors take the most amount, etc... While I was relieved it was finished I sincerely wish that they could have offered this option to me before I had the unfortunate experience of a very tense and unpleasant phone call. I recommend this business with hesitation, and the strong suggestion that you have a very specific conversation about the amount of work you want done, the colors of paint, and the level of effort required so that you have painters that are not rushed and are given adequate time to do a good job.

Leo and his people did an excellent job of painting - they were very professional and easy to work with - and very punctual - we would absolutely use them again.

The owner was late and did not bother to call , it was only after I contacted the company that I was told that he was running late and an apology was given to me. After meeting the contractor, I felt things went well, he assured me that his company performed small jobs and they could do the work. He left and told me that he would get back to me in a few days with the estimate for the work. I was very supprised and disappointed that after a week and half and several phone calls that the owner had not contacted me nor would he call me back with the estimate. I contacted the office again and after explaing my issue, I received a phone call from the owner staing that he could not do the job because he had several other contracts that he had to service. I asked him when did he think that he could get to the job and if he could still provide an estimate of the work. He stated and quot; noand quot; and did not provide a reason.

I bought a renovated house that had some really sloppy finish work in some areas. The marble threshold was outside of the bathroom by about a half an inch in 3 bathrooms. Plus, I have white tile with black diamonds. They cut the tile at the threshold in the middle of the black diamonds, but took out the diamonds and sloppily filled them with grout. It looked just awful. Carpet was against two of the bathrooms and a wood floor was against the other. The sloppiness of the threshold made me want to get new bathroom floors. One contractor who was supposed to fix it, ended up not having the proper skills. Another contractor that gave me an estimate arrived without a tape measure, and his plan was to move the marble threshold, but keep the grout filled diamonds in place. The third time was a charm with Galaxy. I called Neal, the owner of Galaxy, based on the recommendation of a friend. He returned my call that day, and within a day or two Leo Ambriz, the estimator, came to my home. He inspired confidence as he carefully measured everything and took the time to understand what I wanted done. Leo emailed me an estimate the next day. He also brought the tile person to my home to review the job in advance. Again, they both measured all of the thresholds, knocked on the floor to make sure it was sound, and reviewed the details of the plan with me. A few days later the tile person and another young man came back to do the work. They were real craftsman. They did an amazing job. My thresholds are perfect now. I don’t hate my floors anymore. I will definitely use them again for other projects.

It went well. These guys are very organized, and were constantly in touch before, during, and after the job. Ya gotta love that. The price seemed at least reasonable for what I believe had to be done. This was not a major project, but neverthelss it was done well. Maybe the best thing is that these folks made themselves immediately available for a small but extremely important repair. Timing is everything.

I purchased this deal in June 2013. Between other work I had done and some moves out of and into the space, this work was not done until last week. And it was worth the wait. The painters were a few minutes early, ready to work and worked until the work was complete to my satisfaction. The painters were communicative, polite and cleaned up completely, including vacuuming at the end of the day. Neel, the owner, graciously offered to provide the paint for the job, which was beyond the terms of the deal. The paint he provided was Benjamin Moore, in my choice of color. Benjamin Moore is a significant upgrade of paint over the Behr paint that I usually use to save money. Two gallons were used because the painters put two full coats of the paint on the walls. I also want to mention the company's admin staff. Each person I talked to was attentive, personable and eager to provide excellent service. Reaching Neel was made much easier by the excellent help provided by his support staff. I expect to need more painting within the next year and I will certainly call Galaxy and am happy to recommend this company.

The company was a pleasure to work with from the initial estimate to the payment and follow up. Fernando gave us the most competitive estimate of the 3 we received, was patient yet responsive as we took ages to schedule the service and pick out a color. The team was friendly and even helped us to take down an ugly satellite dish that was on the house when we purchased it. We have been unable to reach it without a tall ladder. They were polite and professional and did a great job!

They were good and they cleaned up after themselves.

Fernando, who was the primary person we dealt with, was fantastic. He was responsive, timely and helped guide choices of paint and paint color. He was so impressive, as well as the work he and his team did, that we referred him to a friend who has already also utilized their painting services.

Other than cancelling the first scheduled appointment, everything was great. The team arrived on the dot, performed all the prep work and executed the painting with total professionalism. The painting team went out of their way to make sure we were well satisfied and we are. We believe they went beyond what was required. Everything looks great and we are looking forward to having the team back for additional work in the future..

Everything went very well. We had a lot of work done, original estimate was 1 week but it ended up taking about 2 1/2 but that was mainly due to weather for outside work. We had two professionals working the entire time, arrived on time, were always professional, always cleaned up at end of day, and addressed all my questions. This is the second job galaxy has done for us and we are very pleased and will hire them again. Highly recommend.

Galaxy was quick to respond and very professional. The painters arrived on time and worked quickly. The estimator stopped by to make sure everything was going smoothly. The painters kept the house clean and the final product looked great.

After getting a few estimates, we contracted Galaxy Painting to paint two rooms and an accent wall. We had chosen very dark/bright colors, so I was nervous about the results, but the house looks great. They did an amazing job with the paint, including painting over some brick. They handled all the details - removing and replacing switch plates and heating grates, etc. Just as importantly, they kept the house spotless and were extremely pleasant. I would hire these guys again in a heartbeat.

They were perfect and kept everything clean

The crew was very thorough! They removed the screens to be able to paint the window sills; scraped the window frames and 2 doors. The painting job was very well done, two coats. Small extras were done - they took down the board with the house numbers, painted the numbers, the board and replaced it. The screen doors are a bit older, and the crew spray painted them with silver to make them look much better - again, something that was not expected. The crew was polite and professional.

The painter did an outstanding job. This was a fairly difficult paint job in that he had to paint around a lot of woodwork and fixtures. In a few places he had to use a 1/2 inch artist's brush because the space was so restricted. Nevertheless, we were very pleased with the quality of the finished job. Moreover, he did an excellent job of cleaning up afterwards. A final note: I once worked as a professional painter, and I have to say that this painter did a better job than I could have done myself.

They were very professional and very skilled. They arrived each morning a bit after 8 AM and worked until after 4 PM. Their finished work was amazing. They moved things as necessary to paint and then replaced everything exactly as they'd found it. The house was always clean and neat when I came home. They were a pleasure to work with. I could not have been more pleased.

I had to demolish part of a kitchen wall to accommodate a new refrigerator. I could do the demo myself but don't have the drywall skills. Galaxy got an estimator out immediately, gave me a fair price and got the work scheduled and finished in a couple days later.

The work turned out exactly the way I wanted it. They provided a lot of value for the money. I have used them twice. I first used them four years ago and then again two years ago. The crew who came out at both times was wonderful. They responded very quickly. They came out and gave us a quote. I love them. Their work is excellent and they are reasonably priced. I'm really happy with them. It's hard to find a contractor that will actually do everything in a timely manner. They come in, get the job done and they're gone. That's what we want. I have had people who come in, do half the job, and three weeks later we are still trying to get them to finish. I am trying to use Galaxy Painting and Decorating again.

My brother called Galaxy after I got their name from Angie's List for an estimate to pain our mother's home to get it ready to sell. They did promptly return the call and stated tat someone would meet my brother on 5/17/11 at 12:30. That day my brother was on his way to the house and called them to state he was running 15 minutes late. Whe he got to the house, no one showed up. He calle again and was told that they had no evidence of an appointment on the books and would send someone. My brother waited. The guy calls and says now he is running late. He finally gets there and starts using graphs to estimate the paint job. As most people know, a REAL painter can look at a place and pretty much tell how much paint will be neand how many rooms and how much labor will have to be done in order to give an estimate. My brother was NOT impressed. He was told that he would be e-mailed an estimate by Friday, May 20th. As of today, May 23, 2011 he has yet to receive an estimate. I do not recommend Galaxy. Save your money. They seem like a business that would overcharge anyways using their "graphs."

They did an excellent job! Their crew was here every day and always worked hard to complete the work quickly.

Galaxy was great - Fernando the foreman was professional, skilled and very good at communicating. The work was done within the time frame we anticipated and it was done beautifully. We are very happy with the results.