Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromLaura K.

  Date: 22/07/2023

  Bates did a kitchen remodel for ** in 2018. They were courteous, and listened to any concerns we had along the way. I was very impressed with their professionalism and punctuality. Our project was done on time and on budget. Since then, we have recommended them to several friends. They have done 6 major projects for our friends. Like us, our friends were happy working with Bates, and were very happy with the final product. If we need another project done in our home, we will be sure to hire Bates again. I will continue to highly recommend! 5 years later we are still LOVING our kitchen!

• Review fromB. W.

  Date: 13/01/2023

  We hired this company to do a bathroom reno that was only supposed to take 2-3 weeks to complete, but ended up taking months to complete. Any time we had concerns about something, we were met with rude, defensive comments. We were treated like an inconvenience the whole time. Their invoicing is sloppy and the owner will only reach out when it is time to collect money. **** was given and never acknowledged in original invoiving. We will be contacting CRA. If you want to express your opinion to them, don't. As a small family business, you can only speak to family members and they all defend one another. There is no impartial person to speak with. Overall, a mess of an experience. Stay away. Lots of other great companies out there as we have since found it.

  Bates Home Improvements Inc.

  Date: 18/01/2023

  Review Reply:First met with the clients back in dec 2022 and we discussed the scope of the job for quoting purposes. Also discussed the process. Once contract is signed we include a prefered supplier list and they are to have everything onsite prior to start date. And also the scheduling as we are well booked into 8 months in advance.They brought to my attention some swollen hardwood in the adjoining walk in closet to the bathroom. I said it definitely looks like leakage from their previous shower system but I would have to assess before advising. I would need to lift the hardwood to see if there was further water damage to the substrate so I would not add it to the scope of work/contract.We submitted a quote which included reusing their vanity, shower glass enclosure, tub and faucet.The contract included the scope of work and cost. Client wanted to supply some of of their own materials and they asked if we take cash payments as well as cheque or etransfers. I said we will just do an adjustment statement near the end of the job for whatever payments are made plus any adjustments to material costs.3 times (emails supplied) prior to the start date we asked for their tile selection and they said they would be ready.We arrived on our predetermined start date only to find they changed the scope of work as well as design. They had no firm tile selection nor did they secure any tile from the supplier. They had decided to change the vanity, faucets, shower design including expanding the size so their existing shower glass would no longer work. They did not have the plumbing fixtures required for their changes either. Nor did they at any given time prior to the start date inform us of any changes.I said we should not start demolishing this bathroom because of all the changes and lack material/ fixtures onsite. Client said he will take responsibility for the delays, selections, ordering and to carry on with demo. I suggested they choose a new tub because the existing tub was butchered by a previous contractor. So they were ordering a new tub as well.Later on within the job by text (attached) client said they would never start a job without all materials onsite! Client runs their own business in construction.This threw a wrench into our scheduling. Not knowing when their products would get chosen, ordered and received so we had to carry on with our previously scheduled work while waiting. And the scope had now increased with added items such as tiled ceiling in the shower etc.During the next few weeks the clients created an administrative nitemare for us due to their own busy construction business schedule. They were unable to go into the tile supplier to choose tile or mouldings. Trying to get us to choose their products for them and then refusing the choices. Example: specifically choosing rondec tile moldings and saying in cream colour. After purchasing cream coloured moldings changed their minds to black moldings as well. Both were special orders requiring weeks of wait times. Then wanted a molded black one piece double niche for the shower. They found it online at Lowes. Asked us to order it. After a week of trying we find out they are discontinued. So now they want tiled niche but no time to go choose the tile. They received the tub they ordered, didn't like it so sent it back and ordered another tub! The list goes on and on.The added growth of the job also added stress to our scheduling. We had 3 structural wall removal jobs in the city lined up with clients that made other living arrangements while the work was being done. We agreed once all fixtures and materials are onsite we would then schedule this job and we would stay on it til completed. Which we did. There were tile layout changes made as we were installing them which required removal of previously installed tile to appease the client changes which we did at no added cost. Even had to order more product.At this point a previous contractural invoice has not been paid. We have requested payment a couple times.Final stage was electrical and plumbing finishes. Client paid electrician directly for his services. We had our plumber install the plumbing finishes which included the client supplied shower faucet/sprayer. Job now completed.Client said the shower unit wasn't spraying with alot of pressure and asked for the plumber to return. In the meantime client removed the shower unit from the tiled wall and left it upside down hanging from the metalic braided lines creating a serious fold in the supply lines. Pics available. Now they will susceptible to future kinking and creating low pressure.Our contract clearly states we do not hold warranty on any client supplied products.Plumber comes as per their request. Clientasks plumber to have a look at their house pressure system. ******* says someone previously has altered the pressure system to extremely low/high cycle and decides he should not tamper with it any further.Plumber reinstalled the shower system. I receive an invoice from plumbing company for ****** ish dollars and I forward to the client for payment. Client called us back for some finishing touches which we returned to do. A couple weeks later they noticed a couple small gaps in the grout. I asked when we could return to touch up the grout.They have refusing multiple requests to touch up the grout. Also have refused to pay the final invoices.We've had no choice but to seek a debt collection company and this explains this review written. ************************************/Operator

  B. W.

  Date: 18/01/2023

  ****,You are so out to lunch with your comments. When we met, you said two weeks for completion. We never told you that we had all materials on site. Why would we do that? In fact, we told you that we did not have all materials on site. You could clearly see that no materials were on site when you arrived to demolish our bathroom, but you went ahead anyway. And it was YOU who convinced us to change more things when you arrived. And so, we had to look at more things. Not once did you guide us in the process. This was our first major reno and you did not explain that we would be in charge of deciding absolutely every last detail. You never told us that almost every thing would be on backorder. How were we to know? Why didnt you say something? You are the contractor. It was / is your job to guide the process.You also never took notesof any sort. We repeatedly told you what we wanted and then we would have to tell and re-tell you the same thing because of your in attention. Of course, this is yet another thing that you blamed us for. Here in lies the source of a lot of confusion.When we met, we also stressed the importance of having a fireplace in the bathroom. We asked if it was possible and you said yes. We even sent you specs so you could look at the exact one that we wanted installed. Yes, no problem you said. Come time for installation (several months later), you tell us that it is not possible and basically that we were stupid for thinking that it was possible. Again, the blame is placed on us. I repeat, you are the contractor and the one that is supposed to know these details. You had agreed to work on our side entrance closet as a fill in between tasks being done in the bathroom. Your guys ripped it apart and left it. When we started to ask more questions about the quality of the work in the bathroom, you became upset and then immediately wrote an email saying that you would not finish our closetas punishment. So, we are now left with a gaping whole at the side of our house and we have since had to get quotes to get it finished by another contractor. You keep bringing up the fact that we messed up your timeline and that we are to blame for not knowing what we were doing. Well, no ****. We hired a professional because we needed guidance. You blamed us for every single mishap along the way and repeatedly reminded us that we were not your most important customers. Real nice. And then there was the e-transfer that went missing and you blamed us for for months. We repeatedly told you that we had proof that the money came out of our account. We then had to go to our bank to get proof. We gave this to you. After finally checking on your end, you finally realized that it was a bank error. Not once did you apologize for that fiasco. Again, you just made us feel like we were in the wrong.And then there are all the issues with quality of the work. There are all kinds of issues that we noted along the way (we have emails to back this up). Each time, we mentioned something, an excuse was given and we were scolded like children for even daring to question things. Months later, we are still noticing real issues with the bathroom. We even had to regrout many areas in the shower due to your incompetence. Lets go back to the time you spent at our house. You like to point out that we were a real inconvenience for you, but did you ever stop to think about how it effected us? I had to adjust my schedule for months with little ones at home to make sure there was always someone there to let you in the house and to answer your questions. Again, because you wrote nothing down and failed to communicate with others in your company, I had to keep answering the same questions.over and over again. And the one time that I couldnt be there, I was made to feel like I was holding things up. This is after I was told that you werent coming that day and then at the last minute tell me that you were coming (after I left the house).And what is this about changing our minds about materials? This is completely inaccurate and you know it. If anything was ordered and changed, it was because you assumed it was what we wanted without actually consulting with us OR it was because, once again, you wrote nothing down when we told you what we wanted.Our first red flag should have been when ***** said we dont usually do bathrooms like this meaning that they were out of their league. We wish we would have been told this from the beginning. We were led to believe that you, ****, would be doing the work, but we quickly came to find out that we would only see or hear from you when you wanted money. We only hired you because we thought that you were confident. As I told you before, we mistook arrogance for confidence. Our mistake. An absolute mess from beginning to end.

  Bates Home Improvements Inc.

  Date: 02/02/2023

  We have full detailed documentation of all mentioned in my previous response. I need say no more as this heresay written without showing proof is redundant. It ends here for me.