SJB in Toronto

We had John Bell Painting come in (John Bell personally visited) to assess a paint job we had done by another company in our recently constructed condo. The original paint job was executed extremely poorly (at relatively high cost). The original painters had done considerable damage to our interior doors by applying fast-drying flat paint using rollers to smooth surface doors - this left the doors with an unattractive finish and texture. The original painters had also done a poor job in terms of preparing the walls, repairing minor damage/defects and overall finishing (e.g. cutting in) of the paint work. The designer who had engaged the painters was unwilling to resolve the issues, so we were left with a poor paint job for which we had paid in full. John saw this as a challenge. He reviewed the existing paint work in great detail. John was very honest and straightforward with us; he was able to point out: - what were underlying flaws in the walls that couldn't be remedied (without significant intervention) - what were errors/poor technique on the part of the original painters that could (and in some cases couldn't) be readily remedied - additional flaws that we had not previously identified, that could be readiliy remedied It was an educational experience and helped to clearly set our expectations about what could be done to bring the paint job up to professional standards and to restore our damaged doors. John then proposed a 'trial' solution - he would bring in his best painter to work on one area of the condo, including a couple doors, so that we could see the result and decide if we wanted to move forward. The lead painter, Jeff, was clearly an expert in paint selection - he tried a number of different paints to find the one that would produce the best finish on the damaged doors. Like John, Jeff has an eye for detail and would remedy problems we hadn't seen. Jeff did a great job of repairing minor wall defects so that these did not show in the paint job. As a result, we proceeded with the full re-paint of the condo; John was sensitive to our price concerns given how much we had already paid and we were able to come to an agreement that suited all of us. John's team completed the work quickly and efficiently, while we were on vacation. We came back to a condo that looked considerably more 'finished' than it had previously and to doors that had been restored, to the extent possible, to their original lustre. John inspected the work with us, quickly addressed any minor misses, and offered a 2-yr warranty on the paint job - i.e. if we see any additional deficiencies, they will remedy. Working with John and his team was a great experience. He is detail oriented, manages expectations well and delivers a quality paint job with excellent customer service. His services are priced accordingly and appropriate for what he delivers. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend John Bell or to work with him again. Susan B.