This page is about companies or people who have, in one way or another, either pleased us (my wife and me) very well, or displeased us strongly.
| Who | How |
|---|---|
| Bicknell Painting (703) 352-4448 |
Excellent work at a reasonable price. Did so well on my townhouse that I had them paint the house I actually live in too, both initially and some touchup upon moveout, and then some more painting when we moved back to the area. |
| Clover Contracting (703) 538-5400 |
Good work at good prices, and helpful advice to boot. I called them in to clear out a drain that had a near-total stoppage that I couldn't reach with my hand-powered drain auger. They showed up very early (7 AM) because that's what was convenient for me. As he worked, the guy explained to me the likely cause (corrosion in the galvanized pipes) and advised me on how to keep it clear (mainly, an occasional dose of bleach). When he was done with that drain, he offered to clear out another one, since it was connected to the same downpipe (where the problem seemed to be, mainly) and I still had several minutes worth of service within the minimum time. All told, it was faster, cheaper, and cleaner, than the time I had Roto-Rooter do one drain. (RR wasn't bad, mind you, but CC was better.) I don't know what they do besides plumbing. |
| Fairfax Honda (703) 934-8500 |
Honesty and value. My wife gets her car serviced there. One time, it was
making screeching noises when it moved, especially when backing up. We
thought the entire drive train was getting ready to fall apart. They looked
it over. The cause? A rock stuck in the undercarriage somewhere, probably
from one of the gravel roads we drove over on our honeymoon. The bill? Zero.
I was so impressed with this, and their previous good service and prices, that when it finally came time to buy a new car, I went there, even though there are two dealers closer. And then, when my old car turned out not to be worth trading in (as opposed to donating for a tax writeoff), they let me leave the car on their lot until I could arrange to donate it somewhere (which turned out to be a few weeks). When I finally managed to arrange for a charity to take it away, Fairfax Honda helped me get the plates off, which I couldn't do myself due to some rusted-on bolts. |
| Floors USA (703) ???-???? |
Good work at a good price. At least, for the carpet removal and hardwood floor sanding and coating that we had them do. Then when I stopped in and asked about web-tape to keep oriental rugs in place on a hardwood floor, he chopped a big chunk off the price of the pads made of the same stuff, advising me that (as others have concurred) the tape doesn't work, you need something much wider. |
| Home Connections (301) 565-5902 |
They don't do work directly for you, per se; they are a free referral service, including background checks and dispute mediation. That's how I found Bicknell Painting and Clover Contracting, plus a few other services I didn't wind up using (through no fault of theirs). If you're in the Washington DC area, give 'em a try. |
| Home Depot | Good prices, but more importantly, clueful help, willing to take the time to explain things to the clueless. They help you figure out what you need, help you find it, and tell you how to use it. Often, this will save you lots of time and money. I have had good experiences at their Alexandria, Fairfax, and Vienna stores. The main downside is that it can be a bit tough finding a worker who's not already in the midst of helping someone, and without help, it can be difficult to track down the exact tiny little part you need. |
| Pizza Hut | Reliable fast delivery. Of course, it helps that I'm only about three minutes from their local center, but still, they've been reliable. During the Super Bowl of 1998, I called another place (sorry, I forget the name) to order a pizza. They said it would be about 30 minutes. After an hour, I call up to check on it and they tell me the guy just left. After another half hour, I call up to check on it and they say again that the guy just left. Being a bit backed up during the Super Bowl, I can understand, even though that much backup shows a lack of planning. However, I really don't cotton to being lied to. I told them to forget it, and called Pizza Hut... who said it would be about half an hour, but was here in about twenty minutes (as usual). |
| Who | How |
|---|---|
| A caterer who shall not be named (for now) |
Responsible for The Disaster, and refuses to return phone calls from us... or our lawyer. |
| Dr. Mandana Shafai | Kept me waiting an hour in her office, after I had been escorted back there from the waiting room of her group practice. No apology, nobody sent in to tell me how long it would be, no explanation, nothing, until I asked (at the very end of the appointment), and then, just an explanation. (Explanation: she had some lengthy procedures to do (suddenly, I ass-u-me, else they should have been scheduled for more time), on the previous two patients.) If that's what happens to an early-morning appointment (it was supposed to be 9 AM, IIRC), I don't want to know how backed up she gets by the end of the day! To her credit, she does seem to know her medicine, at least her dermatology, but there's a lot more than that to being a Good Doctor. |
| Pretty much the whole @#$%^&* lawn-care industry |
It started with the kid across the street. We had a deal under which he
would mow my lawn when it needed to be mowed, and then I'd pay him. I
trusted him to not mow it when not needed. So far, so good.
Then came the next spring. The lawn's getting a bit shaggy. I cross the street and ask when he intends to mow. He's not mowing lawns any more... has a "real" job now, as a cashier. Okay... but telling me long beforehand would have been The Right Thing To Do. So I set about trying to find a new lawn service. I get a flyer in the mail with a coupon for Lawn Doctor. I call them up to arrange an estimate. In the message I leave on their answering machine, I say "the flyer doesn't say anything about mowing, but I think you do do that, right?". The lady who calls back to refer me to my local affiliate doesn't say anything about mowing. Neither did the local affiliate. One morning, as Esther and I are about to leave, there is someone on my lawn. Upon closer inspection, his jacket has a Lawn Doctor logo on it. After a discussion of weedkiller, fertilizer, core aeration, and so on, I ask about mowing. "Oh, we stopped doing that a few years ago." So I call Home Connections (see above). They give me the name of a local lawn service. In retrospect, they might have done a decent job, but I didn't give them a chance because the estimate they gave me was rather high. So I look at the ads in the little local papers. I call almost every one of them that mentions mowing. At almost every one, I don't reach a human, but leave a message on a machine, asking to arrange an estimate for lawn mowing. Most don't bother calling me back. One gives me a good price, and I tell them to go ahead. I hear back from them in a few days. Only now do they tell me that they're not taking any more customers this year, which most of the others told me up front. Another decides to string me along for whatever reason, and gives me an estimate for what I think is a reasonable price. I call them and tell them to go ahead. They say at one point that I'll be on the Thursday/Friday schedule, and at another that I'll be on the Friday/Saturday schedule. Come Thursday, no show. Okay, maybe they'll come Friday or Saturday. Come Friday, no show. Okay, maybe they did mean Friday/Saturday. Come Saturday, you guessed it, no show. I call and ask what the problem is. I get a load of profuse apologies about how backed up they are due to the recent rain. I tell them, this coming week, they better mow. Thursday, no show. Friday, no show. I call them and leave a message to the effect that they better mow Saturday, or they can just forget the whole damn thing, and their shoddy practices will be exposed on the Internet. Saturday, still no show. Sunday, Esther and I go buy a mower, and call the last company and tell them they blew it. Monday I post a message on dc.general, I think it was, and tell the story. |
| Wal-Mart Route 1 Alexandria, VA |
Lack of help. I went in to buy a rifle they had advertised. (To their credit, it was a good price on a good rifle.) The apparently-only clerk that was working the gun counter had to go get a background check done on another customer. (Here in Virginia, buying a gun from a dealer requires an "instant" computerized check of your criminal and mental records.) Meanwhile, I and about five other customers, some of whom were there to buy things other than firearms (i.e., who could have been taken care of while the background check was being arranged), were left waiting. When I looked at my watch, after about five minutes, I noted the time. I left fifteen minutes later, and bought a slightly different rifle elsewhere. The only time I ever saw any help at the gun counter was when someone told us that the normal help was on the phone for a background check. |
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Cowards who flame me for wanting the merchandise mentioned immediately above |
I note that you don't even have the balls to put your name or email address, or at least some forum where we can discuss your serious case of hoplophobia. Fuck off and die, asshole. |