Competitive Painters

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I decided not to go with him as his price was OUTRAGEOUS. As I said previously and to him too, there are professionals who are willing to do the same job for 50% less. I think he doesn't need to work, its just he is good to be a sales person only.

The crew was very careful to cover all the furniture and cleaned up as they went. As a matter of fact, they cleaned up after the contractors who were in before them explaining that having a dust free environment would be important for a good paint job.

We would trust Robert and Competitive Painters with any project. He's not just a painter, he's an artist. Robert and his team will not allow you to make a design mistake. They see things with a designer's/artist's eye and make recommendations - then they execute - and the results are elegant and without defects. Almost all of our interior paint has some custom texture to it that Robert created and applied with tremendous skill leading to glorious one-of-a-kind results. The staining the've done on our deck and wine cellar was on extremely high quality wood and required great thoughtfulness, care and skill, which brought out the best in our wood. Beyond that, these guys know how to solve problems, all kinds of them - properly. They are totally trustworthy and welcome in our home whether we are here or not.

Robert, Offered me several alternatives, which is what I had asked for. I found his prices to be competitive and his material to be of high quality. His team and himself were punctually and did an excellent job.

Robert came over and gave me a detailed estimate for the job. I sought out two other estimates. His price was significantly lower than the other estimate received. His reviews looked good so we went ahead. He projected 2 days on site. During the second day he found that the ceiling to my stairwell would not take paint and needed to be re-plastered. It was a fairly major additional chunk of work. He completed the work in three days and charged me another $400 for the plaster repair. I thought it was a reasonable add-on charge so I paid it. Surface preparation was excellent. The painting was nice. He insisted in quality paint (Benjamin Moore), so I expect the paint will look good for years to come.

Representative showed up on time and was very professional and helpful. Their quote was essentially the exact same as another highly rated company. We did not use this company because I needed the job done as soon as possible and the company we chose was available the next day. They were not going to be able to get to us for one week, otherwise I would have used them. I appreciated their efforts.

They just finished the job and they were great. They were punctual, on time, and they did a good job. I paid $5,500 for the labor.

I called Competitive Painters because they identified custom cabinet refinishing among their skills. Several companies had terminated discussions when they learned that the cabinets were in the master bathroom. Robert Coulter was not put off by that. He first came to our house to initiate an estimate on 5/6. He reviewed the water overflow damage to the cabinets and took pictures. He also suggested other related work his firm could do in the bathroom to restore the look we wanted. I told him that since I had to replace the toilet in the master bath, I was planning on replacing all 3 in the house with low water flow units. He gave me some good advice on purchasing them and suggested that his firm could install them. We like a clean modern look. and we could see that Robert understood what we wanted for the bathroom. He came back later in the month with a refacing plan that used wood rather than MDF on the faces, matched the paint and utilized the same hinges and hardware preserving the look of the bath. He and his crew were polite, punctual, friendly and efficient and cleaned up after themselves very well. Robert continued to make helpful suggestions throughout the process. They installed two of the new low flow toilets in June but due to the floor scheduling the third had to wait until the first week in July. Robert was very patient about the delay. Since flooring work was already planned [and turned out to be more complex than anticipated ] Robert and his crew were very good about scheduling around the floor work and our needed travel in June. The refacing was beautiful and much more compatible with the bath environment than the previous faces. My wife and I believe it will last much longer now.

They were timely and were able to get a considerable amount of painting done in a short amount of time. They were very clean and there were no paint splatters anywhere. They were very professional and I am continuing to use them currently.

Prompt return call for an estimate, which was provided on-site before he left. Crew showed up on time, put down floor covers everywhere as necessary, even took care of moving some furniture we thought they would not have to, and did not complain about it at all, even though it cost them some time. Very professional.

Perfect. Outstanding professionalism. Met all commitments. Pleasant Very enjoyable experience Exactly what we hoped for.

Excellent experience. The estimate was very detailed, and more than competitive. I had time constraints, that Mr Coulter and crew accommodated at no additional cost. Since they painted the interior of the entire house, there was extensive wall preparation needed in several rooms (due to some very old wall paper removal), and their attention to detail ensured a consistent quality throughout the house. I wanted the job done correctly--this was the right contractor. The crew was professional, clean, and very pleasant individuals to have in my home for a week. They were extremely detailed -- the quality of work showed an impressive sense of pride. They went through at the end of each day carefully looking for any flaws, drips, etc., immediately correcting any issues (there might have been a drop or two -- they work meticulously to avoid mistakes). Essentially, when they were done, my house looked amazing--better than expected. I would use them again, and highly recommend them.

Very professional, very courteous and pleasant.

Robert and his team are always punctual and get the project done on time. Robert helped pick a paint color and I love it. He also suggested the chair rail which added a lot of elegance to the dining room for a very reasonable cost. We have used Robert before to paint several other rooms in the house and have always been happy with the service. He is also extremely responsive to questions or concerns and volunteers touch-ups if I notice anything once the crew finishes. We will definitely use Robert again.

Of the four contractors suggested by Magic Service, Robert was the first to call and stop by. It was his suggestion to replace the florescent light and install recess lights which was a much better solution than trying to fix or upgrade what was there. Of the three contractors who provided bids for all of the work, including installing the lights and replacing the toilet and flooring, Robert's was easily the most competitive. He seemed very knowledgeable about all aspects of the work to be done in that first meeting, and I appreciated the options he presented in terms of cost and materials for all aspects of the job. Robert's two man crew were on the dot punctual all four days and did an excellent job. Robert worked with them the first day to get things started, then either stopped by in person or by phone the other three days. They made adjustments readily along the way when we asked for small changes. They were very careful in their work and did a great job cleaning up each day. I recommend their services without reservation and am in process of negotiating additional work to be done.

We are very pleased with the result, the success of which is attributable to the following: 1) Willingness to go beyond. For example, -Robert was the only bidder to offer a color consultation, which proved to be invaluable in the end (see below) -I returned home one day to find Robert and crew fixing a drywall patch that had been applied years prior, even though it was out of the scope of our agreement; he told me he couldn't bring himself to just paint over it without properly fixing it first 2) Experience. Before our color consultation, we had a general idea of the color scheme we wanted for the house. Thanks to Robert's experience, we were able to avoid making some disastrous color choices given that we had no idea how much seemingly minor differences in color shading could affect the final product. Without Robert's input, there is no telling what our house would look like today. I should also note that we reviewed our final color choices with 3 different interior designers, who all agreed that we have 'impeccable taste.' (A complement we shamelessly accepted even though Robert was the catalyst) 3) Straightforwardness. Robert acted with our best interest in mind. For example, although we selected a particular name brand paint, he suggested we use a more cost-effective (yet equal quality) brand for certain ceilings that did not require a unique color, even though doing so would add to his workload as he now had to deal with 2 suppliers 4) Work Ethic. Robert was the only bidder who actually paints in addition to managing his business; managers of the competing bidders would not actually be onsite, which made us wary of quality control. Before Robert's involvement, we only thought of painting as a means to refresh the house. In fact, our house has been transformed, and we have Robert and Competitive Painters to thank. Some of the areas for improvement include: 1) Estimate of paint - Robert overestimated on the number of gallons of paint required for the job, costing us hundreds of dollars in wasted money. 2) Quality control - Although Robert was on-site daily, he did not perform high quality control as we had expected. His own personal work is great; however, some of his crew made a lot of paint drips, missed spots, were not careful when taking off and putting back blinds and closet racks, spilled food, etc. 3) Attention to detail - When the drywall repair was done, they forgot to paint several spots leaving white spots on some walls.

Robert was referred to me by Service Masters, and showed up at the appointed time. He provided an estimate on the spot for the whole interior of my townhouse I was preparing to put on the market. The estimate was about the same as an earlier one I had gotten from another source, but included some additional areas (closets) that were not in the previous estimate. Robert also indicated he could get the work done within 5-6 days, starting right away - which was important to me to make the planned schedule for the open house. To make a long story short, Robert and his crew showed up every day on time and did an excellent, and very professional job. I ended up adding a good chunk of exterior work, which it turned out was badly needed. They finished that also within the time with only a small amount of touch up required afterward. They prepped all surfaces well, primed where needed, and used quality paint throughout. I was very pleased with the end result, and Robert's responsiveness and helpfulness. He even went the extra mile helping me move a sofa with his pickup.

A person from Competitive Painters setup a meeting with me and my decorator. He showed up with a complete portfolio of his past work. I requested that they seal off that room and use a commercial fan to blow the fumes out of the house (which they did). The also had to do some work on the walls (sanding) of other paint build-up prior to spray painting the metallic paint. They left my home clean, did a beautiful job and I could not be happier!

Robert was punctual and attentive before the job started, repeatedly contacting me (I found him through ServiceMagic before he joined Angie's List). His bid was the lowest of three, and his availability and eagerness convinced me to go with him. I give him an A for cost & punctuality. I think we saw him once more during a three-day painting, and he did not return to respond to our final touch-up issues. I had to spend about another 6-8 hours finishing drywall cracks, resanding places where they removed chair-rail wallpaper accent, and had to finish paining missed spots (about 10 sq. ft scattered over the house). I had to buy a new electrical wall outlet plate, as one was missing & not replaced. What gauled me the most was that he didn't come to our home to "see for himself" what our issues were. If the quote was off (he claimed to need 10% more to complete), perhaps he should have visited at the END of the job to make sure his workers didn't leave something behind. Hence a D for professionalism. The paint quality is such that if I try to wipe a food stain off the kitchen paint, it rubs off the paint. I have used higher quality paint in the past that does not require much maintenance in 10 years. In the past 9 months, I have retouched countless times for every time some walks near a wall. It seems to me that the rooms painted FIRST have held up much better than the rooms painted LAST. I believe the quality suffered over the three days in a decreasing fashion. Hence a C for quality. My guess (from reading other reviews & talking to his past clients, which I did before signing him up)...he's probably pretty good if he's there. I don't think that a "prep for resale painting job" was much to his liking & so he didn't care. I am glad to see him on Angie's List now, because I don't think my report on ServiceMagic has much traction (I filed a report in May 2011). I give him a C overall. If my wife had written this review, it'd be nearer to D or F.

Obtained a price quote from Rob Coulter. His price was much cheaper than the price quotes I received from Home Depot and Sears. They were both at least $10,000. Also, he provided real cherry wood refacing while Sears only offered Rigid Thermo Foil (RTF) which looks cheap. He did a very good job at discussing the various options for doors, handles and stain colors. Also, he spent a lot of time working with me to figure out how to apply tip-on switches for a tricky corner of the kitchen. He had 2 assistants working with him to do the actual work. The final job looks very good and has not deteriorated over the last 9 months. The polyurethane coating he used was more glossy than I was expecting (most cabinets have a more dull looking finish) would be my only thing I would change about the job. Overall, I would recommend him over Home Depot or Sears because he is priced competitively and works with his customers to come up with innovative solutions for the challenges encountered with every home improvement project.

We had a truly exceptional experience! Robert not only helped with the selection of colors, he had innovative ideas, was a perfectionist with detail, very neat and worked until we were 100% satisfied. We could not have been more please and highly recommend him.

We are very pleased with the result, the success of which is attributable to the following: 1) Willingness to go above and beyond For example, -Robert was the only bidder to offer a color consultation, which proved to be invaluable in the end (see below) -I returned home one day to find Robert and crew fixing a drywall patch that had been applied years prior, even though it was out of the scope of our agreement; he told me he couldn't bring himself to just paint over it without properly fixing it first 2) Experience Before our color consultation, we had a general idea of the color scheme we wanted for the house. Thanks to Robert's experience, we were able to avoid making some disastrous color choices given that we had no idea how much seemingly minor differences in color shading could affect the final product. Without Robert's input, there is no telling what our house would look like today. I should also note that we reviewed our final color choices with 3 different interior designers, who all agreed that we have 'impeccable taste.' (A complement we shamelessly accepted even though Robert was the catalyst) 3) Straightforwardness Robert acted with our best interest in mind. For example, although we selected a particular name brand paint, he suggested we use a more cost-effective (yet equal quality) brand for certain ceilings that did not require a unique color, even though doing so would add to his workload as he now had to deal with 2 suppliers 4) Work Ethic Robert was the only bidder who actually paints in addition to managing his business; managers of the competing bidders would not actually be on site, which made us wary of quality control. The benefits of Robert's hands-on approach were evident in the results The end product exceed our expectations, and the value was unmatched. Before Robert's involvement, we only thought of painting as a means to refresh the house. In fact, our house has been transformed, and we have Robert and Competitive Painters to thank.

I got an estimate from Robert to paint our house and reface cabinets. He wrote up an estimate on the spot and spent an hour with us going over options and helping us with colors. When we had the work done we were very happy with the crews progress, they were fast. They finished the job in 6 days on time and budget. When the job was done they did a good job of cleaning, which I appreciate. Our cabinets have a great new look and the colors Robert helped us pick for living room are perfect. Would use these guys again.