I've rarely felt compelled to leave an online review. My grandfather was a small business owner who…read moreoften said "if you're satisfied with our service, tell your friends. If you're dissatisfied, tell me". We've always admired entrepreneurs and try our best to support small businesses. But not all small business owners share the same values, so I have chosen to share our experience with John Cochrane.
John completed a remodel for my husband and I two years ago. He came highly recommended by a friend who had hired his company for multiple projects spanning over a decade. His initial quote was above our budget, but I was assured it would be money well spent. Without going into many details, I will say that the project was plagued with problems from the beginning, resulting in what was originally scheduled as an eight week remodel taking nearly six months. One setback resulted from a fairly severe leak, which despite being fixed left us with repairs that are still visible. Despite the extra time and money spent, the results were underwhelming. My husband and I did not skimp on our finishes, but the execution of the work left us ashamed to "show off" our remodel. Honestly, by the end of the project we just wanted our home back and were tired of voicing concerns that only fell on deaf ears.
My husband's main observation was that John's team really only consisted of three individuals. Over the six months they became fixtures in our home, we discovered that none of them were licensed. In fact, we were surprised to discover that the same team members responsible for the plumbing, were also responsible for the electric work, tile setting, drywall work, and painting. We would later discover that John, despite the fact that he was rarely present, was the only individual actually licensed to perform the work. Even more alarming, John responded to one of my husband's electric questions by responding "I'm no electrician". This left us wondering who was responsible for the electric work, if the only person licensed to complete it couldn't answer a simple question.
These frequent disappointments are not what prompted me to finally write this review. There were two events after the project which inspired these words of warning for anyone considering using John's company in the future.
Not long after the work was completed, a door that John's company installed started sticking to the point that we had to force it closed. I left messages on both John's cell phone as well as his office. None of my calls were returned. When I finally got someone on the phone, I was rudely informed that my messages had been received, but John had been "very busy in the field" and unable to return my calls. I called again weeks later, only to be informed that our remodel was out of warranty and we would be charged for any repairs.
However this was not the final insult.
We have a family friend who will often stay with us between flights out of LAX. One such occasion coincided with our remodel. Two weeks ago over dinner he confided something he overheard. John and his team were unaware we had a houseguest. The morning in question, after my husband and Ieft for work, our friend overheard John and one of his team talking in our driveway. Over the course of the conversation, John referred to me as a "fu*king puta" (whore in Spanish) numerous times. Aware of the issues we were having with the project at that point, our friend chose not to intercede for fear of complicating matters further.
Upon hearing this, I immediately called the friend who originally referred John. I anticipated shock, but she merely laughed it off saying "yeah, John has a problem with women". I was beside myself. Not only was I shocked by the dismissive attitude of our friend, but the fact that someone we entrusted with our home would be so unjustifiably disrespectful.
My husband and I were always respectful to John and his team, despite our dissatisfaction with the work they performed. Not only did the remodel take three times longer than anticipated, not only did the work fall short of our expectations, but John failed to stand behind his work, all while targeting me for his misogynistic disdain.
We eventually hired a handyman to repair the door John's team installed. There have been other minor issues with the remodel, and it's a shame that John would not stand behind his work. The good news is, there are still hard working entrepreneurs out there, and we are happy to support their business.
As my Grandfather used to say, If you're satisfied with our service, tell your friends. If you're dissatisfied, tell me. Well John, we tried to tell you, but you wouldn't take our calls, so we chose to tell our friends instead.