Arizona Painting Company Review:
I am writing this negative review not to bash Arizona Painting Company in whole, but to provide other homeowners with information in order to help them make an educated decision when hiring a painting contractor to work on their home as well as to make Arizona Painting Company aware of the issues they may be having in the field so they can correct them. Unfortunately a company's reputation is very dependent upon the workers they hire and the actual work they perform. In my case I was very disappointed with the quality of workmanship. There was a big difference between the quality of work I was led to expect and what I feel I received. My decision to use Arizona Painting Company was based on their impressive credentials (Rosie on the House certified, A+ rating BBB according to their website, Winner of Angie's List, and recommended on 92.3 News Talk). I still did my due diligence and got 3 estimates. Arizona painting Company was a bit more expensive, but I was impressed with their credentials, the salesman was thorough, they provide a 3yr warranty and they use a better quality of paint (Dunn Edwards). The scope of work of to be performed was exterior painting of my 1400sf single story house and perimeter block fencing. This was to include: power washing whole house and block fence & to scrape and prime facia. My first concerns arose when the workers arrived 1 1/2 hours late (9 am). I had to work that day so we decided my wife would take off and stay home in order to give the workers any access to the house they may need and more importantly to walk the job site with them and point out the areas of major concern. The areas of concern included: southwest facing facia as well as the upper entry facia. The southwest facia was in bad condition (peeling and cracking) because of the harsh sun exposure and the upper entry way facia had never been painted when the house was built 11 years ago - this area of facia can only be accessed by using a ladder and getting onto the roof. These areas were all pointed out and discussed by my wife with the on-sight foreman at the start of the day. These areas were also discussed with the salesman during the sales call and is why scrapping and priming the facia was included in the estimate. My next concern arose when I walked the job site alone later that evening. I noticed lot of dirt on the block wall near the bottom that has been there quite a while. There was no evidence of water at the base like there was around the house. I ran my hand down the wall and dirt came off, I also ran a hose on a section and noticeable dirt and grime ran off leaving water marks. At that point I assumed they had not gotten to power wash the wall yet. I went inside and asked my wife if they had washed the fence. She did not notice if they had, but she was certain they did the house because she could hear it and there was evidence of water. The next morning the workers arrived and began working. This was Saturday and I was off. I got outside shortly after what I mistakenly thought was the sound of them pressure washing the fence but was them painting the fence. I stopped the foreman and asked if he planned on washing the wall and he informed me he had. I showed him the dirt at the bottom of the wall, the dirt that came of on my hands and the clean water stain from where I wet the wall the evening before. He assured me he washed it and told me he would brush the bottom down with a broom. At this point I rationalized the he must have washed it because with 11 years of dirt on the wall it would probably peel quickly and they would have to repair it under the 3 yr warranty and why would he lie? At a later point in the day when the foreman was working near the entry way I stopped him to discuss the upper section of facia I was concerned about and to verify that my wife had pointed it out to him clearly. He assured me it would be addressed. The work concluded and I walked the job with the Forman. When we arrived at the entry way facia I asked him if I needed to get a ladder out to inspect the upper facia to which he said no and assured me he had taken care of it. I signed the final paperwork. A week later I had to get up on the roof to address another issue when I looked over at the upper entry way facia I was disgusted - no primer and no paint!!! I immediately called Arizona Painting Company to explain the situation, my disappointment , and my concern. They were apologetic and set set up service to get it straightened out. When the original crew arrived to due the work I initially did not confront the foreman who previously lied to my face twice, I just explained it was missed and that there was bare metal and wood up there and that it would need to be scrapped, primed and painted. About ten minutes later I heard them putting the ladder away. This couldn't be right as primer would take at least that long to dry. I insisted he put the ladder back so I could inspect the work - I got shot a very agitated glance from the foreman and a ladder positioned inadequately for anyone to climb. I adjusted the ladder and went up. What I found up there infuriated me: no scrapping, no primer, bare metal and wood showing through paint, and areas completely missed. At this point I confronted the foreman on his initial lies about the work being done in the first place and for not properly completing what we had just discussed he was going to do. I told him to let the first coat dry and then second coat it completely and that I would inspect it again. They finished and left. I was left wondering what other items did not get done as contracted for. This is unacceptable workmanship and I am sure this is not how Arizona Painting Company expects their workers to perform. I do believe they want to maintain their reputation and will warranty any work as necessary. I'm not sure if what I experienced was a fluke or an issue with a particular crew, but in whole the job was nothing near what I expected for the credentials presented and money paid and I have no doubt I could have gotten the same quality for a much lesser price. Also, upon reading other reviews I see a couple other customers that had issues with work not being performed in areas no expected to be seen or inspected by the homeowner. I did call and talk directly to the production manager who was understanding an sympathetic and hopefully will address the issues in house as promised. I believe feedback from customers is important whether positive or negative in order to help us as homeowners to be wary and as companies to improve our service. I believe this is another area Arizona Painting Company needs to improve upon. Part of the final paperwork I had received was a handout with instructions on how to provide a testimonial/review of the work completed. In an effort to provide some feedback for other homeowners I tried to post a review accordingly, but in order to do so must create a google account which I do not wish to do. I then figured I would try the referral sites - I tried to post at Rosie on the House which had no discernible way to post a review and then to Angie's list which I would have to join for a fee.
RESPONSE FROM Arizona Painting Company:
We're very sorry that you had issues with your crew. We appreciate your input and are taking appropriate steps to improve our crew so this does not happen in the future! We would love an opportunity to return and fix these items properly and I will personally see to it that it gets done to your satisfaction.
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