ANOTHER ONE ALMOST BIT THE DUST! (EDIT)
When I first saw Enrique's, I thought "small company and probably new". I bookmarked them and knew that I wanted to support them. I love a smaller business because you have an opportunity to build an intimate relationship and watch them grow. Also, when they are new and hungry, you get great service!
I once dealt with this really small painting business that consisted of two men and a van. When I contacted them, they answered their own phones, When it was time to go to work, they were the only ones to show up. If changes needed to be made there were no problems because they were very flexible and made all of their own decisions. If they wanted to work until 8 pm, they could and if they wanted to start at 7 am, that was fine too. Over time, I simply lost contact with them because they were so small that I don't even know if they had a name and they were referred to me by a neighbor. Anyway, small businesses can be great.
On the other hand, some small businesses are just lacking in professionalism or the knowledge of how to properly conduct business.
Dear Contractors,
If a potential customer contacts you, as a matter of simple courtesy always return the call, text or e-mail. If you are not able to provide service at the time of the contact because you are understaffed, say so. If the job is too big or too small, say so. If you really want to go beyond and win extra points, you can always provide a referral to a more appropriate source. Rise up! Be better than the competition.
If you are on Yelp and it is indicated that you typically respond within two hours, you really need to stick to that for the sake of your reputation. If that is no longer reasonable simply have it removed from your page so it doesn't appear that you are in breach of the expected response time.
This was the first time I had requested an estimate through Yelp and the last. When you make a request, it automatically goes to two additional businesses and although I don't like this process, I thought that I would just try it to see how it worked. Here's the problem,: Enrique's never responded although it is indicated that they have a 100%response reate and a 10 minute response time, one company responded to let me know that they only power wash, (which was obvious considering their name) and the third company is located in Buckhead while I reside in Alpharetta. This is ridiculous because I only deal with local businesses for the sake of convenience and if Yelp can locate restaurants close to me, they should be able to locate a painter closer than Buckhead!
Like I said, I won't be using this "service" again and unfortunately Enrique's is off the list!
Edit: Arnold sent me the following response:
Hello Madelyn,
I just saw your review, I apologize if we didn't get back to you on time, now is the "painting season" and we are super busy. we get lots of requests every day via Yelp, Facebook, email, phone and website and we can't get to them rite away. I hope you can give us another opportunity to work for you.
***This is all I expect because I am perfectly reasonable. I understand this is painting season and a lot of homeowners want it done NOW. Well, that's not fair and that's not how I work. I am actually inquiring two months ahead of the anticipated completion of my renovation. So Arnold, I do accept your apology and when things relax a bit, please let me know of your availability. Thanks for reaching out! read more
