ComplaintsforFlawless Painters

• Initial Complaint

  10/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired Flawless Painters to paint my bedroom. They only prepped the walls and then walked off the job and never actually painted anything. I paid them $390 up front (which was ****ed as non-refundable) They did purchase the paint and left it here. Said I was disrespecting them which I did not do. I was not he was very combative and disrespectful to me. All I wanted was them to finish the job. I do not expect all the money back. Just what I paid minus the paint they left here.

  Business response

  10/09/2023

  So just a quick explanation of what happened with this exact situation. The customer was very rude to me and my employees. Nasty re****s were made from the customer to me. She refused to let me work she requested i follow her exact orders. For example she asked that I not remove nails from wall to just cut in around them and roll around them. We are professional company and this is not our procedures. I made this clear to ******** and she was very upset that I did remove them to properly perform my job. The money she is requesting in a refund. Our contracts state the 15% and 35% are NON REFUNDABLE. Most of this money goes to material costs. She paid 390$. 275$ was the cost of 3 gallons of paint. The mud, the plastic, the caulk, the brushes we used for this job totaled up to about another 50-75$. The paint supplied was picked up 30 minutes away from her home at Sherwin Williams. I made the better decision to load my tools up and leave this job as the customer was not satisfied with any procedures I tried to take. When we were leaving I forgot a few of my belongings inside of the home the homeowner then proceeded to tell me I wouldn’t be getting my tools out of her house. I asked the husband politely before I contacted local authorities of this situation to please go in and give me my tools. The customer was very irate yelled at her husband and told him no we weren’t getting our tools. I asked one more time very nicely before I called the authorities and he did so for me. All in all this company will not tolerate being disrespected, or micro managed from our customers. You’ve hired a contractor to come do a job you couldn’t do yourself so please let us do our job. 

  Customer response

  10/09/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  I am writing in response to Flawless Painters recent statement regarding my complaint filed with the BBB. I appreciate their willingness to address this matter, but I must clarify some discrepancies in their account of the situation.
  

  First and foremost, it is essential to emphasize that I did not exhibit any rude behavior or make nasty re****s during our interactions. I believe in maintaining professionalism and respectful communication in all situations. However, I must express that the same courtesy was not extended to me during our conversations.
  
  Eric mentioned that I requested that he  follow specific instructions, such as not removing nails from the wall. I had told your wife/employee that there was no need to remove the nails as I was going to hang the items back on them. When you removed them I was not upset as you explained why….to clarify I don’t even know what the term “cut in” means exactly til you explained it to me. I did ask that you not fill those particular holes as I would be putting the nails back when the job was complete in order to hang my possessions.
  
  Regarding the refund request, I understand Eric’s concern about the non-refundable portions specified in the contract. However, it is crucial to recognize that my request for a refund is not arbitrary. The decision to terminate the job prematurely was made unilaterally by your company, not me. I was left with an incomplete project, which necessitates a reasonable adjustment to the terms of the agreement.
  
  As for the issue with the contract pricing, the contract I signed clearly stated the pricing of paint and supplies at $185. Since no actual painting was done, no brushes or other materials were used in this case. What was left for me was only 3 cans of paint and a bucket of open “mud”. 
  
  Furthermore, the arrangement for the work was made for October 2nd, and I had taken the day off work to accommodate this schedule. Regrettably, the work did not commence that morning as Eric did not come, sending his wife and a 17-year-old helper instead. They did not bring the required materials for the job, stating they would only prepare the walls and return the following day to paint. I explained that I could not get the day off as I work special education at a local school system and we do not have adequate coverage. 
  Eric’s wife and helper later stated that they would head to the store to purchase  the paint and retrieve their tools from another job and pick up her husband Eric. They returned 3 hours later. 
  
  When they did return, Eric's demeanor became combative and aggressive, which made me uncomfortable and concerned to say the least. I merely requested that they do what they could with the time remaining that day, and this request was met with continued aggression from Eric. 
  When they left that day were agreed they would return on Saturday to finish the job. 
  
  On Saturday, work commenced at 9am, around 11am Eric expressed they would take a lunch break, which I understood. However, when I inquired about the duration of the break, Eric again became angry  which led to an unpleasant exchange with Eric. I remained calm and respectful throughout the conversation and expressed my desire to use my time effectively.
  
  Later, after they returned from their break they abruptly packed their things left without completing the job, stating that they did not owe us anything.
  
  I want to emphasize that I did not yell at my husband when Eric asked to retrieve his tools. I just stated that Eric was not to renter my home. My husband then went into the house and retrieved Erics tools. My goal has always been to ensure a successful business interaction, and I was shocked that the situation escalated as it did.
  
  I entrusted your company with the work because I believed in your professionalism and expertise. However, the hostile and aggressive demeanor displayed by Eric, was both unexpected and unwarranted.
  
  I hope this clarifies the discrepancies in our accounts of the events. My intention is to address these issues respectfully and constructively, as I believe that communication is key to resolving this matter to everyone's satisfaction.
  

  Regards, 

  ******** ********* 

  
  This is **** *********, ********’s husband. I just want to go on the record to state that my wife did not yell at me and he was not rude or disrespectful as that is not her nature. I also want to state that Eric made sure I was not present when he was confrontational with my wife. I believe this was done intentionally. 
  Regards,
  
  **** *********
  

  Business response

  10/13/2023

  I would just like to state in my defense that during my time at this customers home, I was nothing but respectful and tried my hardest to complete my job. The customer multiple times showed that she was very angry and would not let me complete my job. Every step we took she was not satisfied with that way I proceeded. I will not set here and keep being accused for such outrageous behaviors. I do have a 20 minute audio recording that verifies your husband was present and that he spoke to me with respect and that he had no problem retrieving my tools for me when you had a problem with it. So you can please just stop with all the lies you’re making up about me and my company. I also would just like to add in here. How could my employees show up with no tools, but still prep the walls for you and then leave to go get tools that you claim they never arrived with. Once again this is yet another discrepancy in her story that does not add up. What she is trying to explain is on our first day we arrive with our tools prep the walls up to the point where we can do nothing because of wet mud. And then we will leave and go get the paint for the job. You could call every customer we have done business with  and they will say this is how we do things. But again in her story she claims my guys showed up and prepared the walls but then left to go get tools and material because they showed up with nothing to perform any work. Clearly this doesn’t make any sense. I would highly appreciate if all these accusations would stop. 

  Customer response

  10/15/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *********

  I am writing to provide a response to the recent statement made by the business regarding my BBB complaint. My aim is to offer additional context and clarification on key points while addressing the inaccuracies in their response.
  The business mentioned an audio recording that, they claim, verifies my husband's presence and his respectful behavior. I am open to reviewing this audio recording. I request that the business uploads it to the BBB response page. My suspicion is that this audio may correspond to the incident when the business owner attempted to re-enter my home after packing up most of their tools and leaving the job unfinished. It is essential to clarify that I have never denied my husband's presence during this incident, as can be seen from my earlier response.
  Regarding the tools and materials required for the job, it is vital to address a this discrepancy in the business's account of events. On the initial day of the job, their team arrived without the necessary brushes and rollers, which are fundamental tools for a painting job. This fact is supported by the screenshots provided. While they did bring items to start the prep work, such as several bags of 5-minute mud, his wife’s explanation acknowledged that this type of mud sets up quickly, making it challenging to use on the walls as it sets too quickly. She stated she was used to using premix mud that she did not have with her. The other essential tools and materials were brought to the job site later, after they left to purchase paint and the premixed mud. The issue here was not with the procedures needed to conduct a professional paint job but with the interruption of the job on a day I had taken off work specifically. My concern was not about the required procedures but about how time was managed on the job, which should not have included time spent purchasing paint and supplies (3 plus hours).
  I also want to make it clear that I never prevented work from progressing; in fact, I repeatedly expressed my desire for the job to proceed. I had full confidence in the business's skills, and I had no doubt that the job, if completed, would be done well. 
  In regard to the contract and refund, I appreciate the business's explanation of their contract terms. However, it is crucial to clarify that the non-refundable aspect of a contract applies when customers back out of a job, not when the contractor fails to fulfill their obligations. In this case, the business failed to complete the job as agreed upon in the contract, which makes them liable for a partial refund. I am willing to resolve this issue through the BBB and request a partial refund of my payment, excluding the cost of the paint and mud that they left on the job.
  I remain open to an amicable resolution through the BBB and appreciate the opportunity to further discuss this matter. My hope is that we can reach an agreement that is equitable and fair to both parties involved. My sole intention is that Flawless Painters thinks twice about walking off a job, and that this unfortunate experience does not happen to someone else.
  Thank you for your attention to this matter.
  Sincerely,
  ********

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