My rating is for the customer service experience at the Ontario store (Holt and Mountain), specifically with the store manager, Tad. I was a customer at the E. Foothill (Upland) Paint Bucket for over 30 years. I've been a competent DIY painter for decades. I learned how to do faux finishes directly from the staff at the Upland store. They guided me to Benjamin Moore paints, the proper tools and techniques to achieve a Mediterranean colorwashed look, using glaze over paint. I've colorwashed most of my (two-story, 3-bdrm) home, updating twice.
I'm currently remodeling two bathrooms. I went to the Ontario store with my contractor, Alyssa (Kitchen Medic), knowing EXACTLY the look and colors I wanted. Tad steered us to Benjamin Moore Aura paint; since I'm doing bathrooms, I agreed. He also advised us to use a MATTE finish, and to tint the glaze using the same color as the base wall color (Starry Night Blue). I wanted a very deep, mysterious look, like a Moroccan spa. I'm using Moroccan zellige tiles and wanted the painted walls in a similar color. My painter used a tinted primer and two coats of matte paint. He then glazed one wall, following Tad's directions precisely (we mixed paint to glaze in a 1:4 ratio, crosshatching it on). After 24 hours, there was absolutely NO trace of the glaze. NONE! The wall had "swallowed" it!
Simple research on the internet (and speaking with experienced painters) advised NEVER glaze over matte finish, for precisely the reason we saw: it absorbs the glaze. Furthermore, glazing with the same color as the base coat (which I admit went against my instincts; I'd never done that before, but assumed that Tad was an expert) is NOT advised, since it provides little to no contrast. Alyssa returned to the Paint Bucket to speak with Tad and...the results weren't pretty.
Tad did not admit that he'd given us poor advice, causing us to lose days of drying time and effort, not to mention the expense of buying Ben Moore most expensive paint in the WRONG finish. When Alyssa reminded him that we'd shown him photos and explained in detail the look and finish we wanted, he simply shrugged. He didn't offer to rectify his error in any way, offering to refund what I'd paid, or cover the cost of the replacement paint and clear coat primer I need to use to "save" my bathroom without having to start over from scratch. No apology obviously --not even an acknowledgement. To have this poor level of customer service from a family-owned business that I've used for decades, and upon whose expertise and KINDNESS I've ALWAYS been able to count, was infuriating and disappointing. BUYER BEWARE of the manager in the Ontario Paint Bucket store. read more