I had hired Ben and his company BWH Services based on comments I had received on social media recommending him. I contacted Ben and asked a lot of questions. Initially, he was prompt and I seemed to have a good working rapport with him. I had expanded the requested work from two rooms to include painting the exterior (mostly brick) and most of the interior walls (less doors, crown molding and baseboards). We also included a deck replacement (or "refacing" as Ben put it). We stressed to Ben innumerable times that we had family visiting in a couple of months and he assured me that all would be completed in time before they visited.
At first there was some delay because I could not get a firm start date for the job. My messages (text, email) were unanswered, and I also called and left a message. So, I reverted back to social media requesting recommendations for a new painter since Ben seemed to go MIA. I find out much later that the lack of communication was due to a family emergency. Finally, the job starts and the painters tell me how long everything will take. Concerned, I removed the deck replacement off the list so we can meet our required deadlines.
The painters were extremely fast and ahead of schedule (yellow flag!) and so, I asked Ben if we could add some additional work, like some lights and fan replacements. He agreed, and once again assured me that we would make the deadline. More time passed and we didn't hear of anyone coming by for a few weeks. One of Ben's employees (a handyman) came out and installed a few lights for us, but then told us he had to go to another site that is behind schedule, and that he would be back the next day. The next day comes and the handyman calls me and says one of the apartments he maintains has a water leak and will be back in the afternoon. Fast-forward a week and we urge the handyman to come by for a few hours and he agreed.
More delays, and we do not hear from Ben for a couple of weeks. Frustrated with countless delays and personal emergencies, I emailed Ben and requested that the job end, as we have now passed our deadline. The next day I get a phone call from Ben, who is extremely agitated that I have called the job. I explain that we had a hard cut-off date, as I had explained previously. At this point, I feel like I am in 4th grade getting in trouble with the school principal. He tells me that he doesn't understand my sudden change of attitude and terminating the job. He describes my situation as "unsettled anger at a very minor issue" and how he is confused that my email was "accusatory and [had] negative tone". Truth is, my email was a formal request to terminate any ongoing work. He also informs me that he saw my social media post asking for a new painter, and goes on to tell me how he did not appreciate that. Again, this was in the beginning where communication was most important, and yet lacking. Ben becomes extremely unprofessional and defensive, and in the end, hangs up on me after he "vents".
Ironically I was billed for "change in paint color" even though I did not receive the paint that they had bought initially. Because of the delays and poor communication from the beginning, I chose to do the touch-up and resolution of other issues myself. We also decided to find another company to do other tasks we had lined-up, including reflooring, decking, and bathroom remodeling.
As for the quality of work itself, the paint job was certainly lacking. The painters did not apply a second coat of paint, despite that it was written into my contract. Ben tells me this was done, even though he was rarely onsite to follow-up. This also explains why they completed so quickly. I ran into an issue with the paint on the walls, and my paint store explained that the problem I was having was because a second coat was not applied. We also discovered that the painters had not properly prepped the walls, and we found "nail pops" in almost every room and wall they worked on. I will need to hire someone else to fix these issues.
I would not recommend BWH Services for any services offered due to lack of communication, professionalism and quality of work. read more
