From a satisfied customer to an extremely harassed customer in 6 months! Since last July this is the 3rd job I’ve given Berger. The first job was undertaken very well by their contractors Poornima in Kolkata. So we gave a wallpapering job in my mother’s house to Berger.
It was apparently their first 4 walls wallpapering in a single room and they did it ok. So we decided to go with Berger for full repair and painting of the rest of my mother’s house immediately after Diwali. After delaying it till Nov end the work began on Nov 20 for 2 rooms, kitchen, tiny verandah, and bath.
Full repair jobs were undertaken by the contractor and we were given a separate bill for it. We asked for full Berger Express Service. The schedule is given to us - 15 days to completion. As of Dec 20, the work was stopped as the contractor had personal problems. They had painted a wall on which complete damage was already being shown. He asked for a few days time. He showed up on the first week of January, took his full payment, and said his painter would finish his part of the work starting the very next day.
The Berger executive had not visited even once after giving us the initial price estimate. Many, many phone calls later the Berger executive shouted at me on the phone - speaker, in front of a room full of people- that damp on the wall, even immediately after fresh Repair and painting, was not his concern. He had asked me to forward the Job Completion SMS to him in the middle of January with the promise that he would get the work on that wall redone properly.
He had even said I can trust him with sending a Completion SMS since he had "a separate trustworthy relationship with us as old customers." I again waited till Feb 4( for a 15-day tiny house painting started on Nov 20) then called their central Customer Care hotline. Thank God response was immediate. It seems to be the only division of Berger which works efficiently. They had called several times previously to find out if Express Service was used. I had informed them that it hadn’t been used.
One painter only had done very little sanding, painting, and cleaning by hand only. Helper had come for movement and a couple of doors only. After Feb 4 their Team Head promised a survey of the work finally. He called the next day and informed me the contractor would redo that wall the next day. Also, the adjoining wall had paint peeling and damp in spots. He said that wall needed a finishing coat of paint too and he would see it was done immediately too. After more than a week finally, the original incomplete wall was done somehow!
The adjoining wall remained untouched. Another(?) phone call to the team leader and the damp spot was repaired the next day. Finally, on 17 FEBRUARY the Spot Only was repainted with a coat of paint. The complete wall which the Team Leader had said would get a coat of paint and proper finishing - a deep color wall - was NOT painted. I sent the Team Leader the report and pictures in SMS on phone last night. I called him up twice today.
The gentleman is not answering my phone anymore. I had given the Berger team a heads up that I would give an online complaint on this if even after extreme consideration and 3 months extra they did not finish their job. So finally, after 20 calls and acute harassment, I have to report their quality of work and service, to a Repeat Customer, online.
Their painter has warned my family before leaving that the rest of the walls will start peeling and damage showing very soon too. The repair and painting jobs were both undertaken by the Berger-assigned contractor only. Meanwhile, the bathroom renovation job undertaken by local mistiris of our area was taken up on Dec 5 and completed expertly in 4 days as promised.
They took their full payment and left on Dec 9 after a satisfied check-up. Just to inform you how local mistiris also perform, unlike professed Expert paint companies. Knowing that all customers scan reviews seriously before committing their homes and investing in unknown contractors, I’m submitting this review for their knowledge of my first-hand experience. Photos of wall included.