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Used "Floors By John Raper" to lay laminate flooring. It was NOT a good experience. Cannot recommend.
Not sure of the details of your particular experience, but this company has a long list of nothing but A reviews on Angieslist, and an A+ BBB record with only one complaint -- where the person was complaining that their total bill was $1,030 instead of the quoted $950 (my god, on a flooring job? really?)
Would love to hear the circumstances of your experience if you don't mind to share.
I bought my flooring from Thad's Carpet One on Atlantic Ave in Raleigh as part of a truckload sale (they do them from time to time). A friend and I were going to install it ourselves, but we were having trouble, so I went back to the store and added on installation. Since all the old flooring was already out, all they had to do was pout down the new, so it went really quickly and the price was very reasonable. This was my LR and a very small hallway.
Not sure of the details of your particular experience, but this company has a long list of nothing but A reviews on Angieslist, and an A+ BBB record with only one complaint -- where the person was complaining that their total bill was $1,030 instead of the quoted $950 (my god, on a flooring job? really?)
Would love to hear the circumstances of your experience if you don't mind to share.
I recently learned the hard way on a roofing contractor experience that you can't always trust the Angie's List reviews. Most company reviews were positive and he had an A+ BBB rating, but it still turned out to be a less than stellar experience for my roofing project.
I recently learned the hard way on a roofing contractor experience that you can't always trust the Angie's List reviews. Most company reviews were positive and he had an A+ BBB rating, but it still turned out to be a less than stellar experience for my roofing project.
Construction projects in general are VERY highly prone to "less than stellar" experiences, by their very nature. And, AngiesList and the BBB are not guarantees that every project the company touches will turn out splendidly (that doesn't happen for any contractor, no matter how good they are).
But, when you see 30 or 40 grades of A, with lots of happy customers going into detail about their particular project, with nobody reporting anything negative, then you see only one BBB complaint and someone's making a federal case about the final quote being off be less than a hundred dollars difference from the original quote, it does spark inquiry into the specifics of the particular case when someone recommends against the company.
Folks often discount the BBB and AngiesList, yet will shortly thereafter trust the recommendation of someone they've never met on city-data. One-off word of mouth recommendations have just as much risk - in fact probably more than the aggregate of high numbers of verified account reviews like AngiesList.
FWIW I've had at least one unspectacular result from AngiesList as well, but those experiences were dwarfed by good ones. In that particular case, the contractor with the good reputation came and gave the quote, then sent a subcontractor to do the work that I don't think had the same talent level. That happens whenever good contractors experience more growth than they can handle and try to meet demand by subbing out work.
Perhaps one of the worst experiences I've ever had was with someone who came highly recommended here on City-Data that I found through a random Google search.
In addition to AngiesList or BBB, I would take word of mouth recommendations from verified NextDoor users over anonymous CD people any day.
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In addition to AngiesList or BBB, I would take word of mouth recommendations from verified NextDoor users over anonymous CD people any day.
The problem with BBB is that that A+ rating doesn't have to be earned. It is a fairly meaningless rating. I am more likely to lend credence to a B rating or lower, because that indicates that there has been activity on the contractor's account. The fact that a contractor has an A+, and no one has filed a complaint with BBB does not mean that the customers are satisfied.
Regarding recommendations on CD, or anywhere:
Giving recommendations and references is always difficult. Too many times, a service provider who has done well repeatedly fails when referred to someone else, and it reflects on the person giving the reference.
Contractors lose key people, or whole crews, and cannot deliver the same experience.
I like the CD policy that spankin' new members cannot give recommendations of any sort. I'm immediately skeptical when a new member's first post is a recommendation for a service provider.
I have become very careful about giving recommendations after people who have served me well have dropped the ball when referred to others.
It is embarrassing and reflects on me.
The problem with BBB is that that A+ rating doesn't have to be earned. It is a fairly meaningless rating. I am more likely to lend credence to a B rating or lower, because that indicates that there has been activity on the contractor's account. The fact that a contractor has an A+, and no one has filed a complaint with BBB does not mean that the customers are satisfied.
Well when considering the BBB rating, you need to consider a couple of things: how long the company has been in business, and whether or not they are BBB accredited. It doesn't mean newer businesses or non-accredited businesses should never be used, but when you see a company that's been accredited for 5, 10, 15+ years or whatever and they still have an A+ rating, it is usually a good sign. People typically do not report good experiences to the BBB, so no news is usually good news and an A+ just means "no complaints" or that complaints have been resolved.
I actually respect the mere fact they have gone to the trouble of applying for accreditation. It indicates to me that they have confident in their own ability and shows to me their intentions are in the right place. It does not guarantee their company will do a great job in every single case. But, for them to sign up for the BBB or put themselves on AngiesList indicates a willingness to subject themselves to criticism.
Unless a company has only been in business a short period of time, I actually view lack of presence on either as a red flag. I look at the contractors I've had dealings with with who were truly stand-up folks, and all of them are both BBB accredited and on AngiesList. Do they get dinged occasionally on AngiesList? Yes but it is important to read why they were dinged, and their response to the situation, etc. In any of these businesses you sometimes run into a nightmare customer that wasn't identified until it was too late, or a homeowner with some challenges that are insurmountable given challenging personalities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
Regarding recommendations on CD, or anywhere:
Giving recommendations and references is always difficult. Too many times, a service provider who has done well repeatedly fails when referred to someone else, and it reflects on the person giving the reference.
Contractors lose key people, or whole crews, and cannot deliver the same experience.
I like the CD policy that spankin' new members cannot give recommendations of any sort. I'm immediately skeptical when a new member's first post is a recommendation for a service provider.
I have become very careful about giving recommendations after people who have served me well have dropped the ball when referred to others.
It is embarrassing and reflects on me.
I can fully understand that. If I were a realtor I would be extremely hesitant to give word of mouth recommendations for the exact reason you mentioned. I have actually seen a case where a contractor came recommended by several neighbors and family members of those neighbors because they had good experiences, only to result in one final disastrous experience that ended up leaving the homeowner holding the bag on many thousands of dollars, as the contractor abandoned the project mid-way.
Relying on word of mouth from someone you know is risky enough, relying on word of mouth from random forum personalities is probably the worst of all worlds.
While the discussion on Angie's list and the BBB are helpful, if we could return to the original request for recommendations on flooring that would be appreciated. We also live in the Chapel Hill area and are looking to replace a parquet floor (in a kitchen) with a good quality laminate as part of our kitchen remodel.
Agreed. I too am interested in recommendations for flooring installers. I need someone to fix or re-do my botched laminate install and install carpet in other locations. I think I would prefer dealing with an individual professional installer who knows his craft rather than a store that sells the product and sends their people to install it.
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