Julie S Djn

This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ

Verified Reviewer
| map-marker Minneapolis, Minnesota

Will not stand by the work

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full
College Works painted our home. They provide a 5 year warranty. The paint was chipping off within 5 years. They came back and repainted. The job was very sloppy and disappointing. The paint is again chipping off within 5 years and they will not stand by it. It was a total waste of money. Don't use this company!
View full review
Loss:
$5000
Cons:
  • Do not stand by their work

Preferred solution: Full refund

User's recommendation: Do not stand by their work - Don't use this company!

Earley Avo
map-marker University Place, Washington

Do not risk having your house painted by College Works Painting

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

I feel that College Works Painting is a scam. Aggressive marketing brought a salesperson to my house.

The contract was written in Jun and the job was to be completed by 15 July. It is now late August and things are a mess. Prep work was minimal and workmanship poor. Scheduling was a major problem with the crew not showing up 2 days when they were expected.

Many areas not painted at all. Poor workmanship and quality of painting on the areas that were covered. Customer service not responsive to resolving the issue. I have requested a full refund and repair of damage to deck, windows, light fixtures, roof, and a vehicle.

I made a major mistake by trusting the job would be completed as contracted and now will need to resolve the issues in court.

Do not make the mistake I made in trusting College Works. Do not risk your house.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi John. We are so sorry to hear about your experience so far working with us. We are having a customer service rep reach out to you ASAP to get this handled and taken care of for you. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675.
View full review
Cons:
  • Job quality and customer service
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Loss:
$2950
Preferred solution:

Full refund

Anonymous
map-marker Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

College Works Painting House Painting Review from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Very Very UNSATISFIED. ((( Terrible terrible job.))) Very Expensive for the type of workmenship.

Wish I would of avoided college works altogether. I was told house would be scraped of old peeling paint. Its full of peeling paint and they sprayed right over the peeling paint. You can flick the peeling paint off with your fingernail.

How long do you think that paint job will last. They should of used a PAINT BRUSH. They told me paint would not hold on some of the wood. A paint brush would of covered it.

Just terrible terrible terrible..

I will be sure to tell all my friends and all I meet to avoid College Works painters... I was scammed,, ripped off.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi Robert, so sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. Sounds like we were able to set up a time to come take look at your home with you. Do not hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675 if we can further assist you.
View full review
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Anonymous
map-marker Alliance, Ohio

Glad they never called me back!

College Works painted our 2 story wood shingle house in August 2013. We thought they did a satisfactory job.

However, the following spring we noticed they missed an area on the upper part of the house. I called their office in California early in the spring of 2014, and after numerous calls, 2 college students finally painted the area that was missed during Labor Day weekend. Those 2 students already had started college at Ohio State. In June of 2015, several areas on 3 sides of our house were pealing.

After College Works took forever to come out the previous year to complete the job that was missed, I scraped and touched up the areas that were pealing myself. My wife and I have lived in our house 30 years, and it has been painted by teachers 3 or 4 times over those 30 years. When the teachers painted our house it went 6 to 7 years before there was any pealing. When College Works painted our house there was more pealing in less than 2 years.

I would have hired the teachers again, but they no longer paint houses because of their age. Last October or November, I noticed that there were more areas that were pealing on the upper part of our house. i do not own a ladder to reach those areas to touch them up myself. I read the warranty brochure and it said they would repaint areas for $24.00/hour during the first five years after the 2 year warranty was up.

I called their office in January of 2016, talked to Brie, and she connected me to Julio. I left a voice mail with Julio, and he never returned my voice mail. I called 2 weeks later, talked to Brie, and she connected me to Steven. I explained the situation to Steven, and he said he would call back in a day or two.

I even emailed them after they didn't return my phone calls.

I am glad now that College Works never called me back to repaint my house for $24.00/hour because I would have wasted more money for College Works to do another POOR job on our house. I hope whoever reads this has someone else paint their house other than College Works.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi Christopher, glad we could remedy this situation for you. If you have any more concerns or need any further help please do not hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675.
View full review
Cons:
  • Communication
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Anonymous
map-marker Arvada, Colorado

College Works Door to Door Soliciting RUDE!!!

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

We clearly have a NO SOLICITING sign posted outside our front door and the individual who was hired by this company blatantly disregarded this today when they posted a flier on my front door. This may not sound important, but the sign is there for a reason....I work night shift and I have a dog who is very protective of his surroundings.

When the individual posted a flier on my front door today, they set off my dog who began barking and woke me up between night shifts. This is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE!!! I called the company to submit a complaint, and was told there was no one available to help me and that the only thing the phone representative could do was take my information and "get a message to corporate." College Works should train their employees to take private property more seriously and ensure they respect the request of home owners!

We will NEVER use the services of College Works!!!!

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi Cheyenne, we apologize for bugging you. It looks like we just left a flyer so that we would not bug you at the door. If we can help you in any other way, please do not hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675.
View full review
Cons:
  • Communication
Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Preferred solution:

Re-evaluate College Works door to door soliciting policies

Anonymous
map-marker Bellingham, Washington

Treats employees like ***

They Hired my son, and hasn't paid him yet, after 3 weeks, said his painting x 5 hours in the hot sun was "training", and therefor will not be paid. Also no regard to safety of the cheap labor students or kids just out of high school. So far I would warn people not to work for them!!!

I will call OHSA on them, and report to Better business bureau,

They should pay my son and his friend for the 5 hours of so called training of painting a fence in the hot sun. They were totally expecting to get paid. Even so called training on the job, you get paid!! Slave labor Company!! Don't hire them to paint your house!!

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi, we are so sorry to hear about the experience working with your son. We compensated your son for the 5 hours he worked and threw in a little bit more for the inconvenience. Glad we are able to get things resolved for you guys. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at 888-450-9675 or info@collegeworks.com if we can be of any more assistance.
View full review
Cons:
  • How they treat employees
Reason of review:
Problems with payment
Loss:
$250
Preferred solution:

Full refund

Dolph Gmc
map-marker Madison, Wisconsin

Low quality, I wish I would have avoided

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

From my experience with College Works Painting, they do not do a decent paint job. The manager/salesman was a smooth talker who should be a used car salesman. For the same money, I think we would have been better off with a paint job from a professional skilled painter. Given the questionable adequacy of their prep washing and their not applying a primer, I am concerned about the durability of the paint job. I would not recommend College Works. I question if they really know painting. I think a lot depends on the student manager that heads-up your painting job. Some might be OK but my manager and his assistant were sloppy and did not do good quality work. The problem is you may not know if the ones you hire are OK until your painting is done and maybe years later.

I have aluminum siding. Over the past 40 or so years, the paint had gotten dirty and stained and we wanted a color change. The manager came the night before the start of painting and sprayed down the house with a garden hose. How well, I do not know. We had been home but he worked unannounced and we did not know until the next day that he had sprayed the house down for painting. In his sales pitch, he had told us regulations prevented him from using a power washer if the house was built before 1987 because of the possibility of lead paint. I have researched EPA guidelines and did not find such an explicit restriction although it may exist. I found rules and guidelines on the required work precautions that are needed if there is lose, flaking or chipping lead paint which we did not have

They worked about one and a half day painting. The manager was not on site the full-time. The manager’s assistant worked hard but I question if he had been decently trained. I think I overheard the manager giving him instruction at the beginning of the job on how to do paint spraying. He had told us or led us to believe in his sales pitch that he and his crew were trained by Sherwin-Williams. They put on a second coat but after only a few hours of letting the first coat dry. I had them use a highly recommended high quality paint for which I had to pay extra.

When they were done, we did a walk around and I paid them. Later I got looking more at the house. It just did not look right. Looking closer, I found over-spray all around the house on the white soffit (i.e., the overhang) and on windows and screens. There was a significant amount of paint flashing which might have been avoided with a good primer coat. My neighbor, a professional painter for over 35 years, said it was bad job just from looking at it from across the street. I stopped payment on my check.

That got their attention and they came back for a day. They did some touch-up repainting but refused to do redo it. They tried cleaning the soffit but ended up repainting it. How good, I question? They cleaned paint off the windows but left windows smeary. They gave me a $50 credit for the paint on the screens. The assistant worked on the soffit while standing on an upside down five gallon pail. With their touch=up work the house looks better but with plenty of flashing remaining and lacking the quality that I expect a professional painter would provide. I would not let College Works touch my house again. I recommend getting quotes from professional skilled painters before going with College Works Painting.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi David,

We're again so sorry about the experience you've had with College Works. Glad we were able to get you taken care of though and appreciate your patience. If you need anything further, please don't hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675 or info@collegeworks.com.
View full review
Pros:
  • Were accomodating and courteous
Cons:
  • Poor workmanship
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Loss:
$2150
Preferred solution:

Price reduction

Anonymous
map-marker Merrill, Wisconsin

Terrible service, 2 weeks and only 30% complete and then they pulled off job!!Give me my money back! and get your equipment off my property!

terrible terrible service and no resolution to our issue. Constanly having to call corporate office to find out what is going on with our paint job.

No one here, they pulled off job 5 days ago. Get better info from interns painting my house then the branch manager. Branch Manager nowhere to be seen! horrible job site management.

Random painting and prepping of areas of the house, that make zero sense. We paid for lead pant extra removal and they left lead paint chips all over our yard and driveway! Absolutely discussted by this company.

We purchased the 5 years warranty, seems like it's going to take 5 years just to have them paint our house! Give us our money back and get off my property!

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi James & Cathy, we are very happy that we were able to get you guys taken care of by assigning another manager to the project. Sounds like everything turned out great! Please contact us at 888-450-9675 or info@collegeworks.com if we can be of any more assistance.
View full review
Cons:
  • Poor workmanship
  • Communication
  • Reliability promptness quality
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Loss:
$1000
Preferred solution:

Full refund

Anonymous
map-marker Houston, Texas

What A Joke "College Works" not for me!

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

In the first 10 days of this project the crew showed up twice. Although the contract specified "Super Stretch" caulk be used the College Works paint crew used a caulk they were accustomed to using.

The facia boards on my house are rough cut cedar. When a few of the facia boards needed replacement College Works used treated pine in place of the cedar. When confronted and informed that the paint will not penetrated into the treated lumber and the paint will not stick I was completely ignored "no speekie englis"... A cedar box located on the side of my house where the phone and cable distribute was to be rebuilt.

After agreeing to an increase in the contracted price in order to have the cable box rebuilt they covered the rotted wood at the bottom with treated pine.

My grass has really suffered from all of the rags, cans, bottles and other unsightly objects routinely left on my lawn over night for days on end. When the college works paint crew supervisor refused to use cedar for the rest of the job because it was more expensive than treated pine I contacted Jarred his manager and told him that this project was over. Jarred offered to refund $500 of my $1000 deposit money. I countered with an offer to purchase the paint they had already purchased and any "like" materials they could provided receipts for.

This is apparently unacceptable as Jarred insists that he feels that 1/2 of my deposit money is fair. I understand his position however I am faced with double expenses now by having another paint crew 1) undo the work performed with incorrect materials (removing the caulk and 2) installing the correct caulk.

I recommend that anyone trapped a similar situation file a claim in small claims court.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi Randall, we are so sorry to hear about your experience with us. We are glad that Jared has been able to come up with a solution for you guys. If anything comes up in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675 or info@collegeworks.com.
View full review
Cons:
  • Reliability promptness quality
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Loss:
$680
Preferred solution:

Full refund

Donita Vfm
map-marker Blaine, Washington

College Works painting for homeowners.

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

I wish I had never hired them. The paint job was horrible, it's been 2 weeks and the paint is peeling. Some areas were not even painted.

When this started I asked that a supervisor be present everyday, it was promised but not done.

The young men working on my house were very nice but had no experience. They sprayed my car, screens, deck, roof and outside lights.

I called the company to complain and even though the young lady helping me was very pleasant she was not very helpful. She kept having the regional supervisor (who wasn't here) call me. He even agreed there was a problem, but instead of fixing it, fired the first two young men. Later he had the job site supervisor come finish the work. He was worse then the original painters. Told me he'd be back to fix the problems, but instead showed up to get his equipment when I wasn't home and I haven't heard from him since. He did though leave all the trash and empty paint cans for me to dispose of.

After that I called to asked for a form to file a claim for damages done but was told there wasn't one. I am now seeking legal advice.

My best advice Do Not hire College Works to paint your house.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi Lydia, we are very happy to get you taken care here with a partial refund on the work. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at 888-450-9675 or info@collegeworks.com if we can help you any further.
View full review
Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Poor workmanship
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Preferred solution:

Let the company propose a solution

Anonymous

Avoid College Works Painting - minimal prep work, terrible workmanship, expensive!

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full
Avoid College Works Painting - minimal prep work, terrible workmanship, expensive!
Avoid College Works Painting - minimal prep work, terrible workmanship, expensive! - Image 2
Avoid College Works Painting - minimal prep work, terrible workmanship, expensive! - Image 3
Avoid College Works Painting - minimal prep work, terrible workmanship, expensive! - Image 4
Avoid College Works Painting - minimal prep work, terrible workmanship, expensive! - Image 5
Avoid College Works Painting - minimal prep work, terrible workmanship, expensive! - Image 6

On May 30, 2015 I contracted paint work for 1 small interior room, 2 windows and exterior soffits (2' x 104'). Only one of the windows needed exterior re-glazing and paint on the exterior.

I was told the work would be done by people who were trained by the Sherwin-Williams Paint company. That gave me a measure of confidence that the job would turn out well. It did not.

The work did not start until early July. It proceeded very sporadically until it was finally finished on July 5th. I could have done this work myself in no more than 3 days and would have done a much better job and saved a lot of money.

They began the inside trim with flat paint which did not match the semi-gloss through the rest of the house. That was taken care of with the correct paint that I supplied.

Inside trim paint was left to dry on the colored part of the wall, requiring touch up work with paint that did not match the wall color. That could have easily been avoided if the painter had used a clean damp cloth to wipe away the trim paint that got on the wall before it had a chance to dry, or if the trim had been masked.

The window sills were not sanded or primed, so a stain from a flower pot is still visible. The part of one window, by the latch, was not painted at all.

Very sloppy application of the paint shows brush strokes on the soffits going every which way, never in a uniform direction. The soffit vents were clogged with paint. Although I opted for Sherwin-Williams best paint, it did not cover the soffits well.

Believe it or not, the attached pictures are all after the paintwork was completed.

This nightmare cost me close to $1600.

Steer clear of College Work Painting.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi Bob and Trish, we just got word we were able to get your request taken care of. Please do not hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675 or info@collegeworks.com if we can help you further.
View full review
Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Poor workmanship
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Loss:
$1100
Preferred solution:

Price reduction

Anonymous
map-marker Milwaukee, Wisconsin

COMPLETLEY UNSATISFIED

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

Incompetent workers, messing work, old paint bleeding through, did not tape anything off, stain all over pool. Job was not at all like we were promised.

We had workers who had never painted or stained before!! Now we have a bunch of clean up work to do. Would NOT recommend!!!! From the start of the job, everything was unprofessional.

I felt like I had a bunch of inexperienced high school kids working on my house. I could have done a better job for ALOT cheaper!

I would definately go with a professional painting company the next time. Customer Beware: Lots of promises made that never happend.

College Works Painting Reply:
We just spoke with our Intern Sam and we're glad you were pleased with our efforts in making things right with your paint job. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you need anything in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us at 888-450-9675 or info@collegeworks.com
View full review
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Loss:
$1800
Preferred solution:

Either money back or have a PROFESSIONAL who knows what they are doing come out and fix the problems

Anonymous
map-marker Bellevue, Washington

Seattle's Worst Experience EVER Read this!

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

Painted houses in college, know the GIG! Contracted trim $3900, 1/3'd second story.

Ouch? Expected students, got untrained but honest Salvadorian laborers. Where's the boss? Contracted "Best" Sherwin Williams paint.

Arrived with cheapest, no scrapping tools or sandpaper. Painting is all about prep! Discovered "Best" was below SW average, so paid even more to upgrade "Best" to actual second best. Told boss was mad that I discovered use of cheap paint.

Painted trim hanging over 8 -12 pitch roof. Guess they didn't plan on backside, until I told them to do it, really? Called corporate. "Booked for rest of season" and, "If it flakes we guarantee our work".

But you did *** work!!! You've gotta love that attitude. When boss showed to collect money, a rather slimy guy, I got $600 back for work not done, great!!! The whole thing was a farce, and I'm the type who doesn't waste time with failures.

I'll be doing it myself and taking the hit.

My Bad.

College Works Painting Reply:
We are very sorry to hear about your experience and we have done our best to do right by you as the customer. We are glad we came up with a solution and our supervisor deducted $800 from the job total. If there is anything further we can do, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service team at 888-450-9675.
View full review
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Loss:
$2500
Kanin Hwg
map-marker Upland, California

College Works Painting - Painting Review from Upland, California

College works painting (cwp) hires people right off the street with no experience, and they put them to work on your home. While their inexperienced workers are doing an understandably unprofessional job, the crew leader is bringing new applicants to my house to interview for a job.

The company is licensed, but they don't hire pros, or real painters. A very regrettable experience

College Works Painting Reply:
We are very sorry to hear about your experience. We'd love to help you out here and get you taken care of. We do not have any contact information for you. Could you please get in touch with me at jbay27@collegeworks.com? My name is Jason and I'd love to be able to help you out in any way possible.
View full review
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Anonymous
map-marker Apex, North Carolina

Do Not Hire College Works!

stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full stars-rating-full

I signed a contract with College Works in April 2014 after being sold on high quality craftsmanship, well trained employees and superior products. They told us prior to signing the contract that they did not hire experienced painters because all experienced painters had already developed bad habits that weren't up to the College Works standard and that they hired and trained their painters to perform at a superior level.

That was total BULL! They hire young kids, send them to Sherwin Williams for 1 day of training and then send them out on jobs to learn on the job. They work was substandard at best, and it took a meeting with the regional manager to get everything fixed, or so we thought. The regional manager was less than receptive to my dissatisfaction and only wanted to do the minimum so they could move on to the next job, he displayed horrible customer service.

An example of the poor customer service is the crew working was having trouble getting to some of the higher spaces on my house (needed a 40 foot ladder) The company only had one and it was more than 60 miles away. The regional manager suggested they paint as high as they could and just adjust our cost, leaving 12 feet of the house unpainted on one side....ABSURD!!!!!!! And this was all after the project manager told him she would need a forty foot ladder and he disputed her....my 14 year old son can look at the house tell you a 40 foot ladder is needed. The regional manager did nothing to fix this problem and the project manager had to call a family friend and borrow a ladder to get the job done.

Since the change in the weather, from Summer to Fall, we are finding more and more mistakes that my 14 year old would not have made. We paid for the mold and mildew treatment prior to painting and caulking (mold and mildew resistant caulk was supposed to be used) and now, less than 6 months since completion the trim has mold! Wood trim that was rotten above the garage door had an 8 inch by 3 inch section filled in with caulk. All of my outdoor light fixtures with globes have been painted to the ceiling/soffit.

I have found more overspray on windows that I didn't catch this summer and even some on the shingles. As dissatisfied as I am with job, I do not blame the project manager or the crew(s) that worked on my house. I blame College Works management! They set these young people up to fail by not providing them with the training, equipment or experience that they would need to do a high quality job!

College works does not hire experience painters, but not for the reason they tell people. They CHOOSE to hire young students because they can pay them less and have little to no overhead in their training because the first few houses they paint each summer are the training grounds with exactly the results one would anticipate.

I also filled out the online review form (on the college works website) after the job was done and expressed my disappointment. I received an automated response that they were sorry I was not satisfied and that a representative would be contacting me to discuss the issue...that was in August and I still have not heard from them.

DO NOT HIRE COLLEGE WORKS!!!!!

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi, I am very sorry to hear about your experience in dealing with our company. Unfortunately, Pissed Consumer does not give us the contact information of people that post reviews. We'd love to talk with you about your experience and help you out in any way possible. Can you reach out to us at either 888-450-9675 or jbay27@collegeworks? My name is Jason and I can help you out. Thank you.
View full review
Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Loss:
$4569
1 comment
Guest

I worked for them one time I was the most experienced worker there and did double what 2 people did. When they hired me they told me they would discuss my pay after the first day.

I told them I wanted $15.00 per hour before I started, or even came in for a "one hour work interview" after working 2 days they told me if they didn't finish the house on Monday we would not get paid that they under bid the job and they had already been there a week.

and that when we did finish on monday that the had to pay me minimum wage for my work when I had done more then even the supervisor and painted parts of the house no one would do because of the danger. so i never came back and that was in june and they are still refusing to pay me or even talk to me on the phone.

Anonymous

Pretty good service.

I hired college works painting in 2014. The communication was not so great, but once they got here they really worked.

The painters that came consisted of a man and a woman. Half way through day one the woman left for some reason and the young man was left by himself; this left me skeptical, however he did a tremendous job. I give the company a D overall, but this young man deserved an A with the job he did on my house.

If you are considering College Works Painting, don't, find this young man and hire him, he does all the work either way. I can't remember his name but the intern he worked for was Nathan.

College Works Painting Reply:
Hi Jacob, I just sent over an email to you trying to reach out. Please let me know if there is anything we can do to help you at this time. My email address is jbay27@collegeworks.com and my name is Jason.
View full review
Reason of review:
Good quality

Why Trust Reviews on PissedConsumer?

  • Professional auto and live moderation
  • 100% user-generated content
  • Equal opportunity and protection
  • Zero tolerance for fake reviews
  • Verified content
  • PissedConsumer is on the Inc. 5000 list

For more information read Blog article