Having received a piece of art from a nationally known/reputable auction house that was in need of…read morecleaning, I contacted Buchanan and Kiguel for restoration assistance. Paul Williams was wonderfully helpful and knowledgeable in examining and then spotting that the item was not what it had been advertised to be. He also provided printed research verifying his conclusion which was provided for assistance in re-addressing the concern with the company from which it had been purchased. He did this all at no cost, as a service to assist this customer. I highly recommend their restoration services to those in the Charlottesville area, as it was very worthwhile and helpful!

From the owner: Established in 1966, the Buchanan & Kiguel name has become synonymous for quality and…read morecraftsmanship. We frame to museum standards to insure the longevity of your art and always take great care in your project through all aspects of the framing proces

I was very pleased with AskLandis' services on a recent clean out of a home to be sold. They…read moreshowed up on time, the 5-member team was courteous and professional and they completed their services ahead of schedule.

I would not recommend, many items I had tagged for sale were trashed. The inventory list was wrong…read moreeven after several conversations. Items sold were at the fraction of used resale. Overpriced, lack of communication and very disappointed, should of saved more of the antiques they did not know the value of or care to understand.

I took my Apple Watch in to get fixed in early December. It needed to be sent to Richmond because…read morethat's apparently where they have the sautering tool needed to fix the batter. By December 15, I'd received a call that the watch was fixed, but then they backtracked and said it was still losing its charge. From that point on, it was radio silence; I called them on 12/22 and12/31, each time without them being able to tell me what was wrong with the device. By 1/30, they told me that the device was unfixable and then would send it back to Charlottesville to get it to me. And again, I heard nothing. When I called on 2/10, I finally spoke with someone helpful who'd admitted that the watch had been lost in the mail. I asked that person what could be done, and they offered to see if the company could help me replace the device; I asked to get that in writing in the form of an email, which they obliged and sent on 2/11. I've now responded to that email two times (on 2/14 and 2/17) hoping to move forward with the replacement of my device or some kind of a refund, and no one has answered. Fruit Fixed showed embarrassingly poor communication and bad customer service. I have no idea how their rating is so high - I feel like many of these reviews can't be legitimate. I now have to purchase a new watch and can't use my previous device as a trade-in because they have refused to help me when it was lost in transit between their two stores, and when apparently no one who worked there even realized it was gone. Pathetic.

UPDATE: Wow. Their response to this issue admits they broke the phone and tried to get me to pay…read moreto fix their mistake. This is a clear pattern. I urge everyone to look at Fixed Fruit's responses to the reviews. In each case, they twist the fact to place blame on the customer. This is an untrustworthy business that is unwilling to stand behind their work. Strong recommendation to avoid! ORIGINAL REVIEW: I visited Fixed Fruit for a simple battery replacement on my iPhone, but the experience left a lot to be desired. During the repair, the technician damaged my phone's screen. Although they admitted responsibility, they still tried to charge me for a new screen instead of fixing their mistake at no cost. While the staff were not rude, their unwillingness to correct an error they caused raises concerns about the ethics of this business. If you're looking for a repair shop that you can trust, look elsewhere

If you are considering working with this business after the death of a loved one, please carefully…read moreconsider other options. I had a very difficult time with this business on a number of levels. I would never entrust them with anything again. Consider the amount of time you have to deal with your family home and the level of emotions you attach to family belongings. Don't make a quick decision if there is no need. Remember that businesses set up around death leverage your sentimentality. If a vendor is going to take ~half of what your possessions yield, you might be better off giving your items to family, donating to non-profits, or consigning. Do not believe anyone who pretends to be doing you a big favor; you're handing over valued possessions for far less than what they are worth; he wouldn't be doing the work if it didn't yield large profit. Look at the online history of different auctions the vendor has held. Really check out the details. Don't assume an estate sale person has a big reach amongst collectors; I actually ended up meeting a few people who purchased items from our estate sale and I was told that the people they routinely see at Gates sales are people who purchase for quick resale, including those who buy jewelry and sell it by the gram to "melters"; not collectors. They also told me that the home of a widowed woman who kept a nice home is a "dream" scenario for this business. We'd hope most things would go to people who would love them, and we definitely did not think that items would be removed from our home and sold without our permission. Toward the end of the auction timeline when not much had happened in the way of marketing or outreach from what I could tell, nor were the bids very high, I contacted Gates and he told me that only the last three hours of the online auction matter, so remember that. Protect yourself contractually, do not put up with a nebulous contract. Ask for exact start and end dates. Do not let the vendor know you are running out of time and would really like him to handle the job. Beyond the insulting percentage he will take from the proceeds, he might also add a staging fee late in the conversation. Have attorney review the contract prior to signing (obviously). Our sale dragged on and the owner and his employees had 3+ months access to our home. I was in on the West Coast and the neighbors and cameras kept me posted, Gates did not. I do not feel that the owner adhered to agreed upon start dates, and then we were stuck in the SIP situation. I did notice he got another gig during that time, so he prioritized that, but he should have let me know. Between the start of the agreement and the end date of the sale more than 3.5 months elapsed. I also feel that there was some disorganization on the part of the vendor; he listed the incorrect county for the online estate sale; probably causing some people not to bid. When Gates finally posted the items online he did not tell me; I found it via search. He had a number of items listed that I specifically asked him to exclude from the sale. My real estate agent and I also had several emails and texts go unanswered over the course of this time. When responding Gates was snide and rude, including sad attempts at condescending. He unnecessarily told me that one of the purchasers had thrown away some of my Mom's things when he brought the items home. When you've lost a parent you don't need that pettiness. Some items were inaccurately described; e.g, inaccurate artist name, some items were not added to the online auction. Crystal glasses were broken and he said "they were that way in the cabinet" which is highly unlikely given that everything was photographed for insurance purposes on the last day we were in the house and there were no broken glasses in our china cabinet. Other negatives: they allowed our verizon equipment to be taken by the person who purchased the tv. Gates brought in a number of broken down furniture items into our home without telling me first and put them in the auction (he used those items as leading items in the auction, and then listed a second time on the last page of items; in our opinion, working harder for the consignor's items than our own). When I asked the vendor about this he said that the consignor of those items was an attorney, which, I suppose was a clumsy attempt at intimidation. I was going to just try to forget this awful experience, but then I discovered that a woman who worked for Gates was selling some of our belongings on her social media (without my permission) prior to our estate sale and at 100% profit for herself. This is the worst vendor experience I have ever had; and definitely the worst business aspect of dealing with my Mother's estate. The level of disrespect was stunning to me. I have no doubt Gates will attempt to vilify me as he has with others who left poor reviews. Have at it. My documentation is solid.

Completely unorganized, unprofessional, and rude. I will never do business with this company again…read more I had a terrible experience with Gates Estates. I purchased a sofa from an estate sale that they ran, and hired the movers they recommended to move the sofa from Woodlake to my home in Henrico. When the movers dropped off the sofa we discovered that one of the cushions didn't fit the sofa and actually belonged to a matching chair (that I did not purchase). The movers said that an employee of Gates Estates had confirmed with them all the items that were loaded onto their truck. Since this was no fault of the movers, I had to drive from my home in Henrico to Woodlake in order to exchange the cushions (1 hour round trip). Upon arrival at the estate sale I received no apology (or thank you for returning the cushion). I asked for a refund of the bid premium (which was $29.06) in order to partially cover for their mistake which resulted in an hour missed from work and the cost of gas. Mr. Gates refused to admit his employee had made a mistake. He condescendingly offered $15 "out of his own pocket" to make things right. I think the full $29.06 refund was not unreasonable as he had still made over $200 on this sale. The money isn't even what I'm angry about--it is the principle of the matter. Mr. Gates should be able to own up to his mistakes and treat his customers with respect.