ComplaintsforPainter1 of Columbus

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired them to paint all of the rooms upstairs and downstairs in my home. I paid $4600. They began the work in December 2022. The problems began on the first day, when three walked off the job, leaving two to do the work.   

  They worked 12 hours the next couple of days. They painted two coats but did not let the paint dry between coats.

  We saw streaks downstairs in January. 

  About September, I contacted the business to let them know I was unhappy about the streaks. I asked the owner to look at the job. The owner came out last month, and he agreed there was an issue. He asked for a wet paper towel, and wiped them off. He asked if the streaks were gone, and we agreed they were gone. He left. When it dried the streaks reappeared. I called him back. he said I would have to continue to wipe them down. 

  I am in ill health, and cannot do that.

  He said he would send a little check to have it redone. He mailed a check for $100. 

   

  

  Business response

  11/08/2023

  Good afternoon ***** (and BBB), 

  
  First and foremost, our goal is to satisfy customers so when customer concerns arise, we always respond, and in your case, I made a personal visit to understand and attempt to support. Your situation is historically unique and the evidence we have suggests that our services could not be the source of your concerns. The most notable evidence we have that proves we could not have created these streaks are the attached December 15th 2022 dated (sample) photographs of your downstairs walls that show no evidence of a streaking appearance on substrates that are finish painted and dry. You can also find these and additional photographs via the following link* ********************************************** These photographs were taken after the project was completed and are date and time stamped by a 3rd party cloud-based software. Furthermore, you yourself have stated within your BBB complaint that this streak appearance was first seen in January of 2023 (your words are: “we saw streaks in January”) which means there was no evidence of this condition for 'at least' 16 days after we completed your interior painting project. It also implies your agreement that this appearance did not exist at the time we completed your project, and you paid your project invoice in full. Finally, we don't understand why you waited to communicate anything to us until October of 2023 which is nearly a year after the project was completed and 10 months after you say you first noticed this appearance. These combined facts promote the impossibility that Painter1 could have been the source/cause of this streak appearance.

  On October 10th, 2023, I visited you in your home to assess your concerns where I too recognized what appeared to be some form of streaking appearance on the lower portions of your 1st floor walls. While I was unable to diagnose the source/cause, (with your permission) I did attempt and was successful in removing these streaks from a 2’ x 3’ sample wall section by wiping it with a microfiber cloth and lukewarm water. For evidence of this, please see the attached image or you may view it via the following link: *********************************************. You agreed that this had addressed the issue on that wall section at that time and it had not returned 1 day later when we followed up via telephone.

  Even after considering all the facts identified above, I still expressed my willingness to support and offered multiple options for how we'd be willing to go the extra mile to do so (in large part because I was sympathetic to your health condition). Unfortunately, you and your husband ****** rejected all options except for us mailing you a check. I offered the following with your responses included:
  1.) We would send a crewmember back to hand clean the streaked wall sections at no charge… You rejected this because you said you did not want our painters back in your home as some of our workers had accused you of making prejudicial remarks about their race while they were working within your home. It is true that some of our painters reported that you made prejudicial remarks, so I was planning to send an alternative crew member to clean your walls. Again you rejected this option.
  2.) Our Director of Operations would himself return and perform this cleaning task at no charge… You rejected this as you stated you did not like him.
  3.) The final offer I made to your husband (******) was that I could mail you a $100 check for what I perceived to be more than enough money required for you to hire a 3rd party cleaning service (of your choosing) to wipe/clean what is less than 100 square feet of wall surface. Your husband ****** accepted this offer and thanked me at the time.

  My/our last communication with you included your husband thanking me for my efforts and he extended his appreciation for mailing the aforementioned check. Shortly after you deposited said check we are now surprised to receive what are multiple variations of BBB, ***** and Google Business complaints. This situation is more than unfair and unfortunate. We are a small family business that made extra effort to support you in a situation that we did not create. Why do you feel we deserve such reputational smearing? 

  Customer response

  11/20/2023

  When the painters painted my living room I feel that they did something to the paint. The whole process was not handled properly even the owner told me that. I will not change my mind cause I know that they did something to the paint. I won’t to know what happened to the extra paint left over for the living room. We also washed the walls and the streaks came back. 
  Regards,
  ***** ******

  

  Business response

  11/20/2023

  It is difficult to respond to such a claim other than to say there is no conceivable method to tamper with paint that could create the condition this client is claiming. This client has reported this condition is only apparent on their living room walls yet our company painted all of the walls within their basement, 1st floor, and 2nd floor spaces which included the bedrooms, bathrooms, hallways, dining room, kitchen, etcetera (their entire home). With all the aforementioned facts considered, we must respectively decline to communicate any further. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩