I trust Thumbtack. I’ve had many good experiences with their recommended providers. It started the same way with BZR – a series of polite messages with the owner to schedule a quote, a knowledgeable co-owner who visited multiple times for many hours to delight us with great ideas, a competitive quote followed by text messages confirming prices and ETAs. And that’s where it all changed. My simple home projects turned into a movie plot with drama, twists, turns, negotiations, hostage situations, cliffhangers. The co-owner refused the project, I submitted a review, the main owner cried and apologized promising to make it right, another co-owner joined the project with little knowledge of what the previous co-owner had quoted, the new co-owner blamed the previous coowner for misquoting, prices increased by 30%, one of the projects was forcibly cut, contractor discounts on material were not honored, dimensions were incorrectly measured leading to material shortages, water pipes leaked causing the basement ceiling to drip, shower door recommendations were of the wrong dimensions, demands for payment were incessant, final payment was demanded before the project was complete, shower door vendor was asked to cancel the order after it had been signed holding it hostage until the final payment was made. All this while, the coowner only made an appearance to collect payments – no suggestions, no ideas, no value-add, he didn’t even bother to show up when the water leaked, or to do a walk-through after the so-called project completion. The owner who had cried inconsolably on the phone before the project – and then gone silent despite my multiple messages – made a re-appearance with a threatening phone call saying she was going to come by my home to collect the payment or make me sign a document that I did not want to pay, which would then be taken to a lawyer. Does this sound like the plot of a blockbuster thriller movie? Too bad I’m experiencing this right now. That this has happened through a Thumbtack provider is surprising. That bzr treats its customers in such a poor way and still continues to stay in business is even more so!!
Consumers, beware!
Response from BZR Remodeling
I would like to shed some light on this review.
This project was declined by Bzr at first, after this client has tried to get the best deal he possibly could dream of.
After the client left us a 1 star review, before even hiring us, we did everything to protect our good name, and decided to do the bathroom for him, way below our normal rates, out of good faith for what was promised.
This client has taken advantage of us at every corner he could.
1) Extortion with bad review to receive a low price. (Who wants to work with someone they don't trust? yet he still wanted to work with us.)
2) The client said no contractor discount was applied. He went and shopped in the store we recommended, where he found tiles that were over stocked and sold to him way below the true price. He bought expensive tiles that go for $12 per foot, for a third of the price, paid $4 per foot. (so they couldn't discount it any more than that.)
3)In our agreement, the client was responsible to supply finishes. When we were about to install the tile, clients wife changed the layout that was agreed upon, to one that requires more cuts and more waste. BZR did not charge anything extra, again for good faith. When our project manager mentioned that we needed two more boxes of tiles, the client refused to purchase them and suggested to cancel the agreement, and approached the company workers directly, to try and convince them to work for him on the side.
Here is what we did: We went and bought the extra tiles for the client, from our pocket. At full contractor price of $12 (Although client was responsible to provide tiles.)
4) Our agreement had included a payment schedule, which was agreed upon by the client. Every time a payment was due, the client had tried to avoid paying it, and when we got him to make the payment, he negotiated again to pay less than what was agreed upon. (Again, we swallowed any pride and allowed flexibility with the payments, so client will feel comfortable.)
5) The payments were not collected before the work was done. The glass door for the shower was provided by a 3rd party company, which the client hired separately. He did not want to pay until the glass company finished their job. (After the work on our end was completely done.)
Things we have done for this client:
1) Full bathroom remodel, with high-end finishes, for a fraction of the price.
2) Provide above and beyond service and spend extra money out of pocket to make the client happy.
3) Give full flexibility about design, payments, and everything that the client asked for along the way.
4) Show up to work day after day and finish the job in a timely manner with beautiful results. (we show the results to other clients with pride.)
5) Help the client to purchase great materials for cheap and deliver them
The bottom line is, we are very sad that they ended things with a bad flavor.
We truly go above and beyond for customer satisfaction, and our record shows it.
Some people cannot be satisfied. We will continue to do our best and operate with pride of our work.