Five Star Painting of Bellevue

"Mr. Smith was more than a challenge to deal with unfortunately. We painted his home over 4 years ago and he contacted us a few months ago with some minor issues. Even though we offer a 2 year warranty, we decided to see if we could help him out with his issues at no cost to him. It was immediately apparent that Mr. Smith did not do any annual maintenance on his newly painted house like we told him he needed to do to ensure the longevity of the paint job (pressure washing in the spring, routine inspections, etc.) We did what we could for him but he ended up essentially telling us to repaint his entire home. Reminder, our warranty is 2 years an"

"Thank you very much Linda."

"Hi Nick, We were able to figure out what happened in your situation. We do not actually install millwork (crown molding, baseboards, etc.). Whenever we get a customer who wants work to be done that we do not do, we have a network of other licensed, bonded and insured professionals that we refer them to. The specific contractor we referred you to (Rafael) is not actually a "handyman" but is a general contractor and actually does full remodel work. We would NEVER subcontract anyone for work that we do not do ourselves, we will simply refer you to someone like Rafael who we know will do great work and is trustworthy. We're very sorry for the confusion on this matter. We have reviewed this with our office staff and have better trained them on communicating our services better to our customers. Thank you for your bringing this situation to our attention Nick."

"Hi Eric, thank you for your review. We are NOT a "sales office". We have employees who have worked for us for many years and do NOT subcontractor our work out. The owner of our company has been in the industry for over 35 years and we have been in business in the Puget Sound area for 10 years. We believe we went above and beyond for you during your project. We did many items for free that was not on the contract such as go to home depot to purchase bird wire when the contract specifically said you would supply it, we installed it at zero cost to you, we removed, painted and installed where the bird wire was located which was not included in the contract. Sometimes no good deed goes unpunished, unfortunately. We do thank you for your business and for the review."

"UPDATE 11-16-20: Ryan FINALLY paid his bill after placing a lien on this property. Ryan booked us through Home Advisor based on our reviews and because we were cheaper than another painting company. We completed our contractual agreement with Ryan, but it wasn't until we tried to schedule the final inspection and collect the final payment that Ryan disputed the contract. Ryan demanded that we do additional work for free (including pulling weeds from his yard). We ended our working relationship with Ryan due to his foulness, immaturity, and his attempt to bully and extort us. Because we would not comply with Ryan's demands he then ordered us off his property stating that if we returned he would consider it "criminal trespass". Ryan was provided a very detailed bid that outlined the scope of work that included what work was going to be done and what work was specifically NOT going to be done. After the work was completed as contracted we reached out to Ryan to schedule the walk through with him or his real estate agent to ensure everything was taken care and address any touch up's or concerns if needed. Ryan inquired why the additional work (he assumed we would do) was not done. I don't know if Ryan confused our scope of work with the bid provided by the other painting company, but it seems so. We reiterated his scope of work that he agreed to. Ryan admitted to not reading his contract prior to agreeing to us to start the work. It was explained that he is responsible to read his contract and ask questions, but he chose not to. We offered to do the additional work for an additional cost. He was trying to insist that we do the work for free, then he tried to negotiate a ridiculous cost that he thinks was fair. Ryan put in an email to us that if we did not do the additional work on his terms that he was going to post a bad review. That's Extortion! Ryan wanted us to coordinate additional services for him, such as a house cleaning service and a gardener to mow his lawn, but expected that we - A painting company, pull weeds from the grounds? We did hire a gardener to mow the 2 (Foot) tall grass, but at no time prior did Ryan ask that the gardener pull the weeds, as obviously that would have been an additional cost, so maybe that was why Ryan Assumed that pulling weeds is something that a painting company would do. We did refuse to provide Ryan our cleaning services as the owner did not want to subject them to Ryan's abuse. Ryan has not once taken accountability for not reading his contract before agreeing to our services. Trying to resolve his claim by phone was pointless as Ryan had no intention of taking any responsibility and continued to be vile. By this point Ryan's vicious rage towards our team was completely unacceptable and was clear that Ryan can not control his temper. Ryan refused to pay and said he was going to bring in another company. Shortly after, Ryan then reached back out to us with an apology, he justified his poor behavior because he was responding to the Managers "passive aggressive abuse" but he did make a promise that if we would take his call that he would not be rude. The owner of Five Star Painting insisted that no more phone calls would be held with Ryan and that she will deal with Ryan by email only so that everyone involved is accountable. Understanding that Ryan was trying to prepare the home for sale, the owner of Five Star Painting reconsidered and she offered to Ryan that we would return to the property on the condition that; Ryan provide a letter of authorization that allows our team back on the property, that Ryan be respectful and cooperative with the new project manager, and that Ryan provide a list and (ideally) photos of the items he claimed needed touch up's. In addition it was made clear to him that we would only address issues that were on the original scope of work."