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How Do I Deal with a Bad House Painter?

How Do I Deal with a Bad House Painter?

If you talk to your friends about painting companies and contractors, you have probably heard some of the same kinds of horror stories that we have. Poor workmanship, dishonest practices, rude customer service… there are a few bad apples out there, giving all of us a bad name! What should you do if your house painter turns out to be one of these types?

First of all, you should know that there are ways to screen your house painting company options to avoid this type of situation. We’ll discuss that at the end of this article. But what do you do if you are in that situation already?

Friendly First Steps

Communication is the key to a good painting project, and if the contractor is not communicating well with you, you can take the initiative. Try to talk to the highest-up foreman or manager you can get a hold of. Take the time to politely, but firmly, explain your concerns and ask how the company plans to address them.

A more assertive step would be to visit the office or headquarters of the painting company, and express your apprehensions to the most senior employee you can find.

Having attempted this civil path, if you are still not satisfied with the responsiveness of your house painter, it’s time to put on some pressure.

Leverage Online Review Platforms

Service companies (such as house painting contractors) rely on online reviews to bring them business. If you have been put in a position of needing some kind of pressure to put on the contractor, tell them you plan to leave them negative reviews online. Be specific, rather than vague. Tell them that you plan to post negative reviews explaining the company’s bad practices on Yelp, Angie’s List, Google Places, HomeAdvisor, the Better Business Bureau, and/or any other helpful and relevant review forum.

Still didn’t work? It’s time to really post those reviews. Be straightforward and honest, without coming across as vindictive or vicious, and your review will be taken seriously by other potential clients. This may finally prompt your contractor to make good on his promises, in hopes that you would modify the review afterwards.

The Law Is on Your Side!

When all else has failed, you can speak to a lawyer to see if you can make a claim or take legal action against the painting company, especially if they have taken a deposit without doing any work, or if they have caused damage to your home or property.

If the company has not collected a significant sum from you, and they have not caused damage to the property, you may do best to just cut your losses and find a quality painting company.

How to Prevent a Painting Company Disaster

Before you hire a painting contractor, it definitely pays to do your homework:

  • Read reviews online to find out if other people have had negative experiences with this company. Don’t just look at testimonials on the company’s own site, but look for third-party review platforms.
  • Look in detail at the painting company’s estimate before agreeing to it. Is it detailed and specific? Does it have a breakdown of the procedures, the materials, and the costs? If not, you might not be able to hold the company to your expectations.
  • Look for signs of professionalism in the company, such as uniforms, letterhead, punctuality, communication, and so on.
  • Beware of companies that ask for a large portion of the project cost in advance. It is not necessarily a red light, but if the company shows any other signs of being unprofessional or disreputable, this should cause hesitation.
  • Make sure the company is licensed and insured.

A Bay-Area Painting Company You Can Trust

MB Jessee is a reputable, reliable painting contractor that has been painting homes and businesses here in the San Francisco Bay area since 1995. We provide premium services at fair prices, and we make customer satisfaction our number one priority. In fact, we have a guarantee that goes far beyond what most painting contractors will offer.

Call us today, or contact us online to find out how MB Jessee can make your house painting experience a dream-come-true, rather than a nightmare you can’t wake up from! We look forward to hearing from you.

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Customer Reviews

“I can't say enough about how courteous and professional my foreman was. He was on time every morning and arrived cheerful and ready to go. He is highly organized and very thoughtful. He was extremely careful and respectful when moving my belongings - a mature professional.”

— Nora Robinson

“Just wanted to let you know that the crew was great to have around the house for the past two weeks. All three of them were professional, courteous, and attentive to my thoughts/concerns and were extremely knowledgeable. They paid great attention to the detail and it shows.”

— Mark & Roberta Gross

“I loved working with M.B. Jessee from start to finish on a relatively small paint job that grew a bit. I felt in very good hands from the moment Matt Jessee came out to give me the estimate and talk about my job. He was very easy to talk to and he handled my changes very well. Then the actual work done by Rigoberto and Mario was impeccable. They were neat and meticulous and the paint job looks beautiful. I could not have asked for more and when I did, they accommodated me 100%. I will not hesitate to call M.B. Jessee again and to refer them to friends.”

— Nancy Kurkjian

“Many thanks to Rigoberto and Damon and the extraordinary team who transformed my castle in the skies.They are magicians. I appreciate their work very much.”

— Kathleen A
San Francisco

“In September, MBJessee finished painting two sides of our 3-story condominium building (six owners). We were impressed by the professionalism of the company and every one of its workers, Matt Jessee couldn't have been more helpful in planning the project. His painters were well-trained, easy to communicate with and eager to please. In addition to painting the stucco, they made extensive repairs on windows and frames, which will save us considerable money in the future. They finished earlier than anticipated, with as many as five men working on the job, and the scaffolding came down the next day. All of us were delighted with the results. Now my husband and I are looking forward to having MB Jessee paint our own apartment later this month. Matt and Gustavo (who will be our crew leader again) have explained how they will work to make the painting proceed smoothly while we're living here, and they have been endlessly patient with our protracted decision-making process. If you look at their website, you'll learn that MB Jessee is an exemplary company that takes good care of its workers as well as its customers, and contributes public service projects to the community. All in all, we can't recommend MB Jessee highly enough.”

— Jayne W.
San Francisco, CA

“MB Jessee just finished our exterior and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The foreman (Pedro) and lead painter (Ricardo) were incredible to work with: they communicated scheduling clearly, Ricardo was a joy to be around every day, the showed up early every day, were incredibly tidy and did great paint work. The final walkthrough experience was incredible. Pedro pointed out items I missed demonstrating a clear desire to complete another quality project. I highly recommend them. As others have noted they definitely aren't the cheapest but you quickly realize that you're getting what you pay for. The 3-year guarantee is also a nice touch since there are likely touch-up items that will show up after the job is done.”

— Joshua J.
Oakland, CA

“I love the article in the paper on your company. Thank you for supporting our community by painting at the Claremont Middle School. Thanks!”

— Carla Banks

“The kitchen looks NEW! You guys are amazing.”

“The people at M.B. Jessee are great – from the painters to the office staff to Matt. Talk about leadership from the top.”

— Kevin Ames, Mark Becker Homes

“The entire MB Jessee team is courteous, efficient and professional. From scheduling and estimating to the crew managers and crew, they all did an excellent job on a small (but complicated) two room project in my house. I'm already thinking about getting them scheduled for the next project in the spring.”

— Cari Cheney

“The completed 'Client Satisfaction Survey' we sent in only modestly reflects our total satisfaction with the work. As a retired small business owner, I compliment you on setting 'best practices' that are consistently followed. Everything described in your marketing materials was a reality! The crew is a super bowl team and our neighbors commented on how quiet they were. We are very happy to be a client of MB Jessee.”

— Richard
Orinda

“Julie, by the way, I have never been so impressed with the service of a painting job before! It was like magical elves came and painted our walls without us having to do a thing! It looks amazing and just wanted to let you know how happy we are. Thanks”

— Anja
Piedmont