TT Bloor West

Once in a while you come across simply honest, dedicated and i dare say, nice individual, who appears to really care about the job and how they deal with people. In this age, many peple would say the trades are not trustworthy and to be wary (and i would say the same, except for this time). We booked an appointment with Drain Con and Valentyn showed up right on schedule. His job was simple, replace the drain that had broken off the tub. He quoted the price and set off to the store to find the part. It turned out it did not fit so he returned to the store to get another one. The second part did not fit so he could not make the repair in the end. After 2 trips to the store, he explained how we could obtain the part and what we could do to restore the drain. After all the time spent, all he accepted from u was our thanks and that was it! I would absolutely recommend this company even though we did not get our drain fixed as the service was exceptional.

So we engaged lock tite via Fotis last year in June 2011 and like almost everyone else, did not get the work done until September with little to no communication. However, we were not overly concerned since this was a big job also involving my neighbors and figured the work would be done by the end of summer. However, now there are some big problems with the work and for the last 4 weeks, we have been trying to find a way to talk to the owner, Greg directly with no luck. We have faxed information, left several messages with the receptionist and even called Fotis the sales rep with no response - all to no avail. A section of the walkway has caved in and a long crack has appeared/slope along the rest of the walkway - looks like the soil bed/screening settled quite a bit and left no support for the walkway and I feel its getting worse with every rainfall. There is a section in the back that is not properly sloped causing water to pool. I have asked the receptionist to provide Greg's number with no luck, and have left a message with her for him to call me also with no luck. I find it such terrible customer service that we cannot reach this company except for when they want to obtain your business. I was told that the repair guy will simply show up one weekend and do the work - but how can he do the job with the right equipment if he has not even seen the problem? Are we expected to stay home weekend after weekend hoping this guy 'might' show up? no matter how good you work may be, when there is a lack of customer service, it is simply not worth engaging a business. This is really unacceptable as we have plans to go away soon and this issue is causing anxiety- with summer winding down, we are running out of time and this is turning into a big mess. I mean, a company should be able to give a schedule of when work will be done and stick to that date - why is that so difficult? ------------------------------ *****Update Sept 22***** Greg and his crew ended up contacting us a couple of weeks ago - he really apologized for the delay in contacting us and kept in touch with us regularly afterwards. Greg (who is always nice and courteous) confirmed when he would come and called when he could not make it - I have to say, after my initial frustrations, we am most certainly happy with Greg and his crew. The repairs are now done and we are very happy with them (holiday saved!) - i think that if a solution can be found to the contact issues, this company would be exceptional. I have amended my ratings. Thanks Greg!!!

Excellent work by Dmitriy and his crew - they are also quite fun to work with - attitude is great and they got along well with everyone. You'd never believe how many problems you can encounter with an Ikea kitchen, but he made it all seem so easy. The quality of the work is great and I am already planning to use him for some built ins that i need in other areas of the house. Their prices are reasonable and they really enjoy the work and put in the effort to ensure it is a job well done.

Extremely satisfied with the work, and more importantly, the service i received from Ambia windows and doors. SInce this was a bit unique (using hardie siding for the house), Tony took the time to really determine the best type of windows - he had several meetings with the relevant trades as well as myself before we decided on a type of window. Again, despite problems with dealing with some of the trades, he was always professional and responded to any concerns. The work was completely at an excellent level and i have already recommended him to a friend of mine.

I came across Howieco on this very site a few months ago and decided to trust all the reviews. I have a very old house that needed an electrical service upgrade to 100 Amp as well as a complete rewire (in addition to other renovation work). Ken responded to my initial call right away and provided a clear estimate within a few days. He also took the time to explain the work that i needed and was willing to work with me to save some money where i could. I had a general contractor, Kawagrup supervising the other repairs and he turned out to be a nightmare. The job was severely delayed and i was unable to proceed with the electrical until a couple of months from his first visit. Turned out i needed him to come in and work at the last minute and he was able to get crew in to start work within 2 days!. His team including Donny did an excellent job and Ken even made a few trips down after the rough in to discuss any minor issues such as light fixture placement etc., with no problem. The job ended up being delayed until late December due to problems with my GC, and Ken was able to get someone on on Christmas eve to finish the rest of the work including installing the microwave so we could have a good Christmas after the nightmare i had with my GC. His work is very clean and great quality - i have had a subsequent contractor in to finish the rest of my reno work and he commented on the really good electrical job. I have already recommended Howeico to a few people. I will be using Howieco again to rewire my other home next year, he was such a joy to work with and i hope whoever reads this does not hesitate to hire them! Thanks Ken!