Second edit: a month or so has passed and I noticed that the drywall around the mount was cracking. I took it down.
EDITED REVIEW -- to incorporate response from Business Owner
Billy was about 2 hours late, but he did let me know ahead of time that he was delayed. I understand.
From the very get go he was in a huge hurry to get it done. I understand that a business like this functions only because he is able to do so many installs per day, which requires some speed. However, I personally would be more comfortable paying more money for a bit more attention to detail and at least the appearance of taking your time.
I had concerns going in to this install because I asked him to install a fully articulating mount (swings out about 25" from the wall) into my condo unit interior wall with 5/8" drywall and metal studs. Billy quickly dismissed my concerns about doing this kind of mount into metal studs and stated that I probably wouldn't even have the mount extended most of the time anyways. Simply put, I'm worried about the integrity of the mount.
His rush to finish the job also led to the bolts not being fully tightened. I removed the TV and the swing arm and tightened the bolts hoping that would fix it. The mount pulled away from the wall somewhat over the first few days. A month or so later the drywall was cracked and it scared me to the point where I took it down.
In my original review I stated, "He also got fingerprints all over my new 4KTV." Billy seemed to take extreme offense to this. This may seem like a frivolous complaint to some, but if you're going to call yourself "Professional TV Mounting" then you should be a bit more careful. To be fair, they weren't "all over" the TV, but his hands were greasy from the various installs he had performed that day and it took a good ten minutes to wipe off those prints.
Overall, Billy came out the day he said he would, charged a price near what was quoted , and installed my TV on the wall. However, I have had to take it down and now have to completely redo the work.
With regard to the price being near what was quoted to me, Billy commented that he waived his $15 mount assembly fee, but that wasn't mentioned in the email from his assistant. My email made it clear that I wanted him to assemble the mount. Billy also stated that the charge for using Square ($5) is mentioned on his site. I just went to his site and couldn't find it on the homepage or the price list page (using ctrl+F and searching for "square," "card," and "fee"). I understand Square takes their cut, but give me notice up front. The only reference I could find on his site is a note that says "We also use SQUARE!!!!"
I am forced to rate this one star. Billy's response seems a bit extreme and in conflict with his statement that he can handle criticism.
The bullet points:
- Said he'd be out between 5 and 7pm; texted me at 7pm stating that he was running late; finally showed up at approximately 9pm
- the work felt rushed -- again, I know he says he's done this thousands of times, but it *felt* rushed to me -- the vesa mount wasn't tightened before he attempted to lift it up and put it on the mount, I had to force him to slow down and look at the instruction booklet for the mount, and his general work ethic was that of a person in a hurry. When you've just spent some money on some new and expensive electronics the last thing you want is to have someone rush through an install
- the quoted price in the email (where I informed his assistant of the type of mount I had, the details of my wall, and my concerns about mounting it securely) wasn't what he charged at the end of the install, and the fee for square was not mentioned up front
- the mount was not secure. The drywall was beginning to crack.I have taken it down
In a nutshell, you get what you pay for. There is a reason he charges less than the competition. Caveat emptor.
Lastly, I think his response is quite telling. He says both that it's all fine and was installed perfectly and that I chose an inappropriate mount for my install. In my emails with him, I told him exactly what mount I had and that my interior wall had metal studs. The first I hear from him that it's not appropriate is in his edited response to my review. If you value your electronics, avoid Billy and his shoddy work!
Ugh, final edit: yes I refused to accept a refund. Even though the work was shoddy and I eventually had to take it down and do it all over again, I believe that I should pay him for his time. That's why I refused a refund. In my text refusing the refund I did mention that I had given it three stars. I have since changed the rating to reflect the quality of the work over a longer period of time. My reason for refusing a refund still stands.
I'm not sure what else is going on in Billy's most updated response. No, I haven't "admitted to using the wrong mount." I'm still using it today, I just had someone competent install it. read more