The process of my kitchen renovation started out well, and I was impressed with how efficiently we were able to get the ball rolling. However, as soon as the renovation portion started, I experienced multiple issues that I felt could have been easily avoided by simple means of communication.
I was assigned a project manager who was switched out without my knowledge until the first day of demo, when someone entirely new just showed up at my house without any explanation. While I was fine with the change, it would have been courteous to have given me a heads up. Unfortunately, the new project manager who was assigned to me was perhaps overwhelmed, or just inexperienced, because he was unable to efficiently manage the operation. As a result, I found myself, as the client, being asked questions from different trades that I did not have any answers to, and also having to push the manager to coordinate appointments to get things moving -- this was specifically why we decided to go with OGC. We had over a week’s delay when absolutely nothing took place after the demo. For my first experience with a renovation, I was quite underwhelmed with how things were being handled. To make matters worse, the designer with whom I originally worked just stopped responding to my emails for 2 weeks, and even after I asked multiple times what was happening, no one could give me a straight answer. I was finally given an excuse that it was related to the pandemic, which, although understandable that there may have been a change in operations or understaffing, it would have been nice to be kept in the loop from the beginning, instead of causing an increase in my frustration and undue stress trying to chase someone down who simply wasn’t there. The moment that OGC was aware one of their employees would not be available should have been the moment they notified their client.
Finally, another change in staffing occurred and I was assigned a new designer Sharri, and project manager Paolo, but again I only found out when they showed up at my house. While this change was clearly needed and welcome, a simple email to advise me that this was happening would have been appreciated. Despite this lack of warning, Sharri and Paolo were both able to turn things around. Once they took over the project things started to be handled with more efficiency, competence and professionalism. They were both responsive and in continual communication, which was a nice change compared to my experience up to that point. They saw to any issues right away, coming to my home either the same day or next day. Also, when the bin left in my driveway had caused damages, OGC not only patched up the damaged areas, they fixed up other problem spots and made it look like new.
If I were to make a suggestion it would be that a little communication goes a long way. If I was made aware of any issues right from the start, my experience with OGC could have been less frustrating at the beginning and even more positive. By the end, while there were still some delays in the final project completion (what I expected to be an 8-week process ended up taking about 14 weeks), I felt that OGC wanted to make things right and they did help deliver a final product that I am happy with.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $100,000.00