American Painting Pros

Tom Faulkner of American Painting Pros has a simple business model; promise a lot, deliver a little, take the money and run. In short, treat Tom like a flesh-eating virus. Avoid contact at all costs. If you need to know more, read on. 1. Tom lies. a. I contracted Tom to paint my home in Mount Pleasant. I planned to move in on Saturday February 2nd, 2019. He needed to finish the interior by the proceeding Thursday, so the maids could clean up before I moved in. Tom claimed he could do the whole house himself in a week, but I gave him a month. On Thursday prior, he told me he was done. At noon on Friday, he called to say he was still at the house, but he was really done. When I moved in on Saturday, the house was far from done. Tom left Lighting fixtures hanging out of the walls, paint spray on windows, electrical plates covered in paint, vents unpainted, paint on the floors, locks incorrectly reinstalled, paint smeared on exterior lanterns etc. When I spoke to Tom about the remaining work, he said he knew there were items outstanding. I apologize for being too lazy to deploy euphemisms, but what he said on Thursday and Friday are just good old-fashioned lies. b. Just as a side note. when Tom, wanted me to release him from the contract, he claimed we agreed the house would be complete, except for remaining punch list items. I hate to flaunt graduating from the sixth grade, but “complete” means no remaining items. One of the joys of dealing with Tom is he invents definitions. For example, I reminded him to remove all the stray hooks, nails and screws from the exterior. He did most on the front of the house, but nothing on the remaining three sides. When I brought this to Tom’s attention, he claimed “All” meant the front of the house, because that was where I stood when I was speaking. Tom could find ambiguity in a Stop sign. c. Tom told his next lie when we needed him to paint the pickets on the porch. The carpenter needed these done on a Monday. I wrote to Tom and spoke to him a week prior. He promised to have the pickets ready by Monday. Tom made no progress that week, so I called him the preceding Thursday. He claimed we never spoke, he never received the email and had no idea of the deadline. If you have red this far you have gathered, I am neither subtle nor ambiguous. Indeed, for better or worse my communication style is delicate like a jackhammer and twice as repetitive. In other words, I am about as explicit as a Hustler centerfold. Tom got the message, he just lied about me bludgeoning him over the head with it. While Tom enjoyed his weekend, I applied two coats of stain to 180 balusters. d. Tom told his last big lie when the day arrived to paint the railings. He committed to have the railings ready for the carpenter to install the pickets on a Monday. Needless to say, the proceeding Thursday he had made no progress and claimed he never got the message. Perhaps all the cell towers were down in West Ashley? A friend and I spent the weekend sanding, filling, painting etc. On Monday morning, Tom called the carpenter to say he was walking off the job. Apparently, this call ended in a barrage of profanity and Tom hanging up on the carpenter. More on Tom’s behavior shortly. 2. Now for a lie that is going to cost you a fortune. Tom charges for the best paint, but uses contractor grade. Tom’s contractors left cans on the job site. None were the Benjamin Moore Aura paint Tom claimed he used. The folks at the Benjamin Moore store confirmed the paint looked like contractor grade because it was. Tom saved thousands by switching paint. In a few short years of Low country heat, sun and salt air, this paint will fade, chip, blister and peel like contractor paint does, and I will be due for another paint job. Some say “You get what you Pay for.” Not true. Hire Tom and not only will you get a lot less, you will be on the hook for thousands to undue the damage he causes. Just as an example, much of my exterior trim was oil -based. Tom painted over that with latex. I have no idea how I shall resolve this problem, but it will not be cheap. 3. Tom does not do the work he claims. a. When you hire Tom, you learn a lot about painting, because you do most of it yourself. One of the things I learned was coverage takes at least two coats, which is what my contract with Tom stated. Along with a long list of quality problems, interior coverage was light in many places. The Benjamin Moore representative showed me Tom’s account. He had not purchased enough paint for two coats. b. The second thing I learned was the criticality of caulking. Without it, water gets under panels and causes the underlying wood to rot. I have spent a tremendous amount of time inspecting the exterior of my home and saw no evidence Tom’s contractors sealed cracks and cervices with caulk or anything else. Looks like I might be on the hook for that paint job and a lot of rot remediation long before that contractor grade paint starts peeling. 4. Tom spreads paint, but little else. Our contract stated repairing small cracks, surface imperfections etc. I consumed an entire roll of blue painter’s tape marking places where Tom painted over problems. Tom never repaired these, so I spent a few more hours removing blue tape. I asked about the paint he left all over the electrical plates and he stated “Sorry, not in the contract”. He suggested I buy and install new ones at Wal-Mart. This was a good idea, so I did it myself. What about those dirty rusted vents? Tom came back again with “Sorry, not in the contract.” Tom may not like painting, but he loves debating the nuances of every clause in his contract. He might want to consider a future in contract law, but people hire lawyers to argue for them, not with them. 5. Tom’s work is so bad even he cannot take pride in it. If this seems unbelievable, just ask him. When Tom wanted a release from our contract he stated, “we don’t feel we can progress any further and provide a finished product that that will be satisfactory to you or something that we would be proud to say we did”. If Tom’s own words do not make the case, his wife’s will. She came over to inspect the job and admitted the cut-ins and window work was sloppy and unprofessional. She pointed out the only surfaces unmarred with blue tape were the baseboards, which she painted! Why did I not hire her? 6. As if Tom’s work was not bad enough, his behavior is worse. Tom does not believe “The customer is always right” Indeed, he believes he will be the first person in the history of commerce to win an argument with a customer. On a number of occasions, he hung up on me. Tom is also a big fan of doling out lectures, tutorials and condescension. Dealing with Tom gets old fast, but not to worry, he will take your money and walk off the job with the bulk of the work done poorly or not at all, so you will not have to deal with the unpleasantness of throwing him off the property. The good news about Tom is he does not discriminate; he treated the carpenter and other contractors with the same contempt, rudeness, disdain and condescension he showed me. I would quote the contractors, but this forum does not permit that type of language. 7. It is not a lie, if you believe it. As horrible as Tom’s work is, he is not a con man. He did make a half-hearted effort to complete the work; he simply lacks the dedication, work ethic and attention-to-detail necessary to paint. What makes him convincing is he believes he can do the work and when he believes it, so do you. I hate to admit it, but I did not realize his dishonesty and incompetence until I had given him far too much money and allowed him to make a mess of my home. I am embarrassed by my gullibility. I only admit it here to spare my neighbors aggravation, frustration and expense.