Unfortunately, I have to say I'm in total agreement with the poor reviews: Williams Woodworks is…read morerude. Make that all caps, RUDE!
Short story: Insists you jump through hoops sending itemized details by email then never responds.
Full disclosure of interaction:
Never met or even spoke to Mr. Williams, the wizard behind the curtain, however I did speak to the woman with the broom, Cindy. She was unfriendly to be sure but as Williams was recommended to us by Sterling Carpet & Flooring, the company we purchased our wood floor from, I carried on. I kept thinking this must be his wife. If not, I don't see how she could not have been fired by now for being so hostile towards potential customers. And even then I was thinking maybe she's thinking of getting divorced and she's trying to sink him?
Anyway, after my answering many detailed questions about the job Cindy then stated I would need to put all that in an email as Williams does not come out to look at jobs. "All quotes are done by email."
She said I will need to send her pictures of every aspect of the job: stair count, measurements, materials, square footage, etc. Can you believe this?
I am doing all sorts of things in the place, it's a complete renovation that includes finish carpentry everywhere, shiplap walls, tongue and groove ceilings, not just flooring or stair-rail installation. For example, I had also mentioned we would like beams throughout the place.
How am I suppose to know the materials and measurements of that? That's Williams' job. It's one of the things the customer is paying to have figured out. I left out speaking further on a ton of potential work for Williams as her demands where overwhelming enough but also, unanswerable as I'm unqualified to do so.
Alas, here's one last on those demands that's the most infuriatingly circular. She asked me what materials I wanted to use on the stair-rails. I told her I'd like the exact stair-system that Williams has in his photo on his site. I screened shot it and sent it back to her on the spot. (*She couldn't be bothered to look at their own site with me.)
Once she viewed it, and even though it is their work, she insisted I tell her the materials. Again, how would I know? "What Williams used." Still, she insists I tell her. Sorry, I simply don't know. Only the wizard knows.
As for the rest, I complied as thoroughly as I could based on what had been discussed, the stair-rails and flooring. I immediately drove over to the renovation, took pictures and sent all of this in an email back to Cindy within an hour. And guess what? No response by either phone or email acknowledging she received it.
I called. The call went straight to what sounded like an answering machine from 1980. But mainly, how rude can you be? Extremely! I know she was there. It was only 3:00.
But no, it doesn't end here folks. I wake up the next morning and check for emails. Hurrah, there is one from the very "lovely" Cindy!
I read it and find she's asked me to answer all the same questions again and many more. WOW! Why? I already did this. But I think, hey, Sterling referred them so maybe this is worth it. I answer each and every question yet again, broken down, point by point. Send all the same pictures plus more. This was done before 8:00 am. Yes, I truly want to get my home done! Sick of living in a rental.
No response by 9:00-10:00-11:00-12:00-1:00-2:00 pass by with no courtesy response.
2:15 I call. 1980's voicemail picks up. This goes on for several days with no pickup and no return calls.
A week on, I have my husband call Sterling to see if they can find out what the issue is. They look into it. The answer is Ta-da! "They just don't feel like doing the job."
Hello? Yes, this is Williams (go do yourself if the job is deemed too small for us) Woodworks. It's the only thing I can think.
Yes, that's what I suspect. They are cherry picking calls. If you don't seem to be a big enough job then you're out without so much of a courtesy response. Just jump through hoops answering a bombardment of our rude phone person's question, and taking pictures, sorting it all out, and then we won't even bother with the courtesy of a response.
Well, guess what Williams, your delightful secretary blew this one for you. Did she really think I was gonna go through the entire scope with her? I couldn't. It's enormous.
"Big Mistake. Big, Huge." It's my Pretty Woman moment albeit with a carpenter in lieu of shop-girls.
Check the address. Newport Beach panoramic ocean views home! Hello. And guess what? We are looking to buy three more of the same homes, all needing complete renovations, all needing tons of finish carpentry. A year's worth of work on each unit all while spending the workday with the beautiful Pacific Ocean as your backdrop view. Oh, the irony of it all.
You may of retired after this Williams. I'll post on Yelp when they are underway/done as well as for the lucky and prosperous folks who do get the job.