I've used Sunnyside for many years and last year was the first time I was not happy with their work. Last year when Sunnyside cleaned my windows they actually broke one of the screens; after some time and several discussions they came and fixed it. So I was surprised when they left this year after doing the inside windows (they did the inside on a rainy day and came back to do the exterior) to find - when I went upstairs - that blinds were not drawn down and left and strange angles. I had to finish doing their work on no fewer than 10 windows - 2 window wells - and spent hours trying to straighten out the slats on one of the blinds in particular that they had bent. They offered to return and look at the damage but I declined because there was little benefit in it as I doubt they would replace the blinds on all 5 bedrooms windows after damaging one of them ... and frankly I'd already decided not to use them again because I don't need this hassle every time they come. I then posted a review that stated I was unhappy with their service and wouldn't use them again. The next day they called and told me to take down the negative review as it was bad for business, and if I didn't that any business they lost over the past weekend (just after my review) they would include in a libel law action. Further conversations with them have resulted only in more threats ... and threatening emails. I can't see the purpose of reviews if they are required to be positive; surely that isn't what this honest vetting by customers is about?
I have contacted customer support at HomeStars and hope they will intervene. Should they decide to apologize for their bullying and take responsibility for a poorly done job I'd be happy to change the review to note that. Otherwise - beware.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $226.00
- Company Response
We appreciate the business from our wonderful customers making us Toronto's largest residential window and eaves cleaning service. Unfortunately, Sylvia Solomon’s review is full of untruths. She is purposely leaving out information and bending the truth to cause reputational harm. Unfortunately, we came across a nightmare customer such as Sylvia. She has been totally unreasonable and talks to staff in a condescending way. She is acting this way for reasons unknown to us.
-She states last year that a screen was damaged and after “some time and several discussions they came and fixed it”. She chooses these words carefully to imply that it took her a great deal of time to address this and it was a hassle to get us to come out to look at it. The truth is, and what she failed to mention, is that she is rarely home and was not available for us to come by to investigate her complaint. When we did arrive to look at this screen, we did confirm that yes there was an old damaged screen. Even though we could not verify that we caused the damage, we still fixed it for her as a courtesy and in line with our customer service standards.
-When we came by to clean the windows this year, we started on the interior and it then started to rain. So we completed the exterior portion of the job on the next available day. Again, she leaves out facts. She left out the part that it started to rain in the middle of the job. By her saying we ‘came by on a rainy day’, implies that we clean windows in the rain. This was said with the purpose of making us look foolish.
-She says she spent hours finishing our work on the inside. This is the first time we are hearing about this. If she told us something wasn’t completed, we would have returned to complete it. This sounds like, and is, a total fabrication.
-she says ‘I posted a review and stated that I was unhappy with their service and wouldn’t use them again’. What she left out was what she actually wrote (and later edited) was filled with untruths and disparaging comments.
-she says ‘they called me the next day and told me to take down the negative review’. The truth is she was called to make arrangements for us to come by and look at her blind, which she refused. She was asked to remove the fabrications that she wrote in her review. She refused.
-she says ‘further conversations with them resulted in more threats and threatening emails’. This is the furthest from the truth. For her to make something like this up shows she has one intention, which is causing harm. Reviews are never ‘required to be positive’. They just need to be factual.
Any person reading this that has been accused of something that they did not do and then that person spreads it to others with the sole intent of causing harm to you will understand where we are coming from.
Sunnyside continues to provide award winning service year after year to thousands of customers. Even though we do not pay the Homestar’s listing fee which offers many reviewing perks to a company, we hope they remove this fabricated review.
UPDATE: Homestars did not bother to respond. We wonder if that's because we do not pay their monthly review listing fee. This monthly fee gives many perks to a small business. One of which has allowed them to dictate the wording in the reviews in past years. Most consumers are unaware of this. You can tell which companies are the ones that pay this reviewing fee to homestars when you see those companies that pop up as a "get a quote" ad on the site. To read more about what people are saying about homestars, google "Homestars toronto head office" to read their google reviews.