K C BUTCHER PAINTING

We hired KC because he was prompt answering calls, has 40 years of experience and talked a good game. We hired him to paint the window frames (just the outer frame, not the inner window casing) to match our walls. The goal, as explained to KC was to match the wall paint to just the outer frame around the windows, leaving the inner casing original. He was also to paint all wood trim, doors and a bathroom cabinet. KC was not shy about demanding 50% down payment with 50% after the work was complete. No problem, he was a little aggressive about it, but okay, I would want to get paid also. On his last day, he made sure to let me know that he would be finished that day and needed to get paid. Again, no problem. I was at a doctors appointment when he finished, earlier than expected, and he told my wife that he was going to wait in the driveway until I got home to write him a check. I was starting to think he didn't trust me to pay him. I planned to go Christmas shopping after my appointment but rushed home instead to pay KC. Here is where I made my mistake. I didn't do a walk through with KC to make sure the job was done properly. I wanted to pay him and finish my shopping as I was leaving that night for a work trip. My mistake. It turns out KC got paint all over the casings, over paint from his brush. He also placed some paint cans on the brand new carpet, getting paint on it. When my wife called him (I was on an airplane) he was defensive about it. He came over, reluctantly, the next day, complaining all the while that he was supposed to be on another job, and took a look at what my wife was concerned about. He denied getting the paint on the carpet but cleaned most of it up as best he could anyway, b******* all the while. He then told my wife, and later me, that 1/8 of an inch of over paint onto another surface was acceptable in the painting industry. He told me the same thing. He didn't seem to care that it wasn't acceptable to us, the people who paid him. Bottom line, he did a poor job of everything but cashing the checks I wrote. Those were deposited in about ten minutes. Give him a miss.