What our clients are saying
Dear Charles and Chuck,
I have been the project manager for Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Temple, TX. As we near the end of the project, I wanted to reflect some of our experiences with you and provide some feedback that will hopefully be useful to future church projects.
We selected Church Interiors for our remodel because, after interviewing multiple construction and remodel firms, we believed that the resources and expertise of a company that exclusively worked with church remodels would be beneficial. I would like to have been able to say that we were 100% satisfied with our decision, but there are some definite areas of improvement that CI could make to result in an overall better experience.
I have been the project manager for Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Temple, TX. As we near the end of the project, I wanted to reflect some of our experiences with you and provide some feedback that will hopefully be useful to future church projects.
We selected Church Interiors for our remodel because, after interviewing multiple construction and remodel firms, we believed that the resources and expertise of a company that exclusively worked with church remodels would be beneficial. I would like to have been able to say that we were 100% satisfied with our decision, but there are some definite areas of improvement that CI could make to result in an overall better experience.
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Without question, the best part of the entire experience was Jim Webb and the contractors that he was personally responsible for. He was incredibly attentive to detail, he is knowledgeable and was able to give us insight into why he was doing something the way he was doing it if we asked, was always available to answer questions, oversaw every aspect of anyone else working in the building so that we had confidence while he was there, and went above and beyond on the quality of work that he and his other contractors (Bill Young the painter and Travis the electrician) executed. He is without a doubt the best asset of Church Interiors and the CI reputation in our experience.
When the job was sold to us, we were told that we would have a super/project manager on-site until it was finished-that was Jim for us. What the fine print in the contract said however, and Ryan confirmed later when the question was raised, is that what CI meant by that was that the project manager would be onsite daily until construction completion—not project completion. From a customer perspective, those semantics are significant and misleading. We had 7 people in the room on several occasions when the project was pitched to us and we all heard the same message: you will have a supervisor until the end. We expected that to be for project duration. The reality of what those words meant was that Jim was to pack and leave before flooring even began or was executed and before Series installed the seating--there would be NO oversight to those two large pieces of the final project. Unfortunately, as it turned out, those are the two pieces of the entire project that have not gone well, have had to be done and redone and still are not correct, and that have significantly changed our entire impression of Church Interiors and the level of service and quality that you provide.
Because we expanded the project and added some additional work for Jim and Bill, they did actually end up on property for the initial stages of the flooring and seating install. And thankfully, because what they witnessed was shoddy work from a flooring crew that was sloppy and didn’t prepare the floors appropriately, didn’t lay flooring well, damaged walls and baseboards and overall did a terrible job. What we heard from CI was not a rush to make it right; Jim sent pictures and details to Ryan about what was wrong; he walked it in person with Bo; I had to communicate multiple times with Ryan and we had to convince them that it wasn’t okay. I sent pictures; Jim sent pictures. When Ryan finally came to see for himself, he saw the mess, agreed it wasn’t right and started a new process; but after the lag time, the work then had to stop for almost 10 days. Finally a new crew came last week, with Jairo as the new crew manager, and Ryan came for another half day, with Bo, and we walked it again. But again, it was me against them on the poor installation and this time Jim wasn’t there to expertly articulate what all was wrong and what they had and hadn’t done correctly. Bo was more eager to convince me of why and what didn’t need to be redone than to make it right because it would have been so much work; so Jairo and his crew (much better than the first crew but only able to do what his boss authorized) redid several of the sections but not all of them, and completed the undone rooms. And yet the job is still not finished. They left one room that was not prepped properly and was not laid properly (from the first crew), but that Bo had not wanted them to redo; they also installed the cove base in the bathrooms and basement quickly apparently, and so it waves around the rooms, flush in some places, not flush in others. This is still not acceptable. I texted Ryan again yesterday (March 23) and he acknowledged that it was still wrong, and he contacted Bo again this morning via email, and outlined what is still wrong on the install—this is weeks and weeks after it should have been completed. We are still waiting for them to reply and come finish the job. If Jim had been in charge, they would have either not have been hired in the first place, or stopped on the first day and been made to do it correctly. But they weren’t his crew, not receptive to his advice and input, and so even though he was onsite doing another portion of the building, he was not authorized by CI to oversee any of it. He should have been; and if he had been, this ultimately would have been completed on time and saved everyone time, money and overall impression of Church Interiors and the kind of work that you produce. But according to the contract, there was to be no one to oversee any of that debacle. This is a highly frustrating situation and one that ultimately has tainted our view of Church Interiors, and is something that could easily be avoided if a project manager/super was scheduled to be onsite and overseeing to the very end.
The Series experience was similar. The crew came to lay out and install the seats. They laid them out wrong and would not listen to me or Jim (I asked him to stop what he was working on and help navigate this with us) and they would have installed the entire sanctuary wrong, damaging the hardwood floors in the process. Ryan came for a half a day trying to straighten it out and redraw it; and then I, Jim, our pastor and his wife, spent the better part of 3 days up there continuing to negotiate the layout. We went around and around with the installers and finally I spoke to Juan myself. It was ridiculous. It stemmed, in part, to the fact that the field visit that they required us to have and pay for months earlier was wrong. The balcony and the main floor were measured wrong; laid out wrong on the architectural drawings; and would have been installed wrong, except that Jim was there (because of the additional part of the church and because I asked him to help us and he agreed even though that was not his job). For both the balcony and the main floor, Ryan and Jim redrew the layouts and remeasured and got it right—not Series. We did not get what we paid for and what we were sold as far as their expertise. The installers finally installed the seats and they damaged the wood floor by using the white masking tape to tape off the string grid, and it pulled off the stain and then they installed almost every row with crooked ends. It is ridiculous given they charged close to $70,000 for the site visit, drawings and product. The whole process is unacceptable.
These last two pieces of the project are the only pieces that Jim did not oversee and they are still not completed and are lower quality than the construction portions. We have received all our “finals” from the City inspectors on each part of the job and given a green light to move in; but the flooring and seating are still unfinished and I am still waiting to hear on any resolution. We are left with a final frustrated and unsatisfied impression of the work that Church Interiors provides and that is regrettable. This could be a different experience for any church in the future, and render fully satisfied customers, by actually doing what we expected and assumed in the beginning—oversight to the end. Leaving your clients with no one to oversee such significant pieces—in cost and also function—jeopardizes the entire process and product.
We look forward to having our building and being able to use it as a congregation (once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted) and the sanctuary, atrium and new entrance are beautiful and welcoming and functional. Jim Webb and his crews are responsible for building and shaping and finishing out those areas and they were done with excellence. If we are ever asked to provide a reference, we would recommend Church Interiors with caution to not only listen to the sales pitch but to read the fine print meticulously in the contract and on any change order to make sure that what was agreed on and understood is actually what gets put on the page; and that we would recommend your company as long as Jim was the project manager, because he is the one in whose work we are confident and satisfied.
I did not enter this project expecting to have to be suspicious and on guard about every detail, every word, every minute part of the project; we trusted that we hired you all to be our advisors on the details, to help us know what we should and shouldn’t do and choose, be part of the positive transformation—we hired you to help us do this well. You have a special niche in remodeling and it’s one that could really be a great service to churches. But you have room for improvement on what and how and by whom you are represented.
I hope that you will take this feedback seriously and implement some changes and oversight in the service you deliver so that future clients do not experience this same frustrating situaiton. There is potential for excellence and better experiences.
Yours truly,
When the job was sold to us, we were told that we would have a super/project manager on-site until it was finished-that was Jim for us. What the fine print in the contract said however, and Ryan confirmed later when the question was raised, is that what CI meant by that was that the project manager would be onsite daily until construction completion—not project completion. From a customer perspective, those semantics are significant and misleading. We had 7 people in the room on several occasions when the project was pitched to us and we all heard the same message: you will have a supervisor until the end. We expected that to be for project duration. The reality of what those words meant was that Jim was to pack and leave before flooring even began or was executed and before Series installed the seating--there would be NO oversight to those two large pieces of the final project. Unfortunately, as it turned out, those are the two pieces of the entire project that have not gone well, have had to be done and redone and still are not correct, and that have significantly changed our entire impression of Church Interiors and the level of service and quality that you provide.
Because we expanded the project and added some additional work for Jim and Bill, they did actually end up on property for the initial stages of the flooring and seating install. And thankfully, because what they witnessed was shoddy work from a flooring crew that was sloppy and didn’t prepare the floors appropriately, didn’t lay flooring well, damaged walls and baseboards and overall did a terrible job. What we heard from CI was not a rush to make it right; Jim sent pictures and details to Ryan about what was wrong; he walked it in person with Bo; I had to communicate multiple times with Ryan and we had to convince them that it wasn’t okay. I sent pictures; Jim sent pictures. When Ryan finally came to see for himself, he saw the mess, agreed it wasn’t right and started a new process; but after the lag time, the work then had to stop for almost 10 days. Finally a new crew came last week, with Jairo as the new crew manager, and Ryan came for another half day, with Bo, and we walked it again. But again, it was me against them on the poor installation and this time Jim wasn’t there to expertly articulate what all was wrong and what they had and hadn’t done correctly. Bo was more eager to convince me of why and what didn’t need to be redone than to make it right because it would have been so much work; so Jairo and his crew (much better than the first crew but only able to do what his boss authorized) redid several of the sections but not all of them, and completed the undone rooms. And yet the job is still not finished. They left one room that was not prepped properly and was not laid properly (from the first crew), but that Bo had not wanted them to redo; they also installed the cove base in the bathrooms and basement quickly apparently, and so it waves around the rooms, flush in some places, not flush in others. This is still not acceptable. I texted Ryan again yesterday (March 23) and he acknowledged that it was still wrong, and he contacted Bo again this morning via email, and outlined what is still wrong on the install—this is weeks and weeks after it should have been completed. We are still waiting for them to reply and come finish the job. If Jim had been in charge, they would have either not have been hired in the first place, or stopped on the first day and been made to do it correctly. But they weren’t his crew, not receptive to his advice and input, and so even though he was onsite doing another portion of the building, he was not authorized by CI to oversee any of it. He should have been; and if he had been, this ultimately would have been completed on time and saved everyone time, money and overall impression of Church Interiors and the kind of work that you produce. But according to the contract, there was to be no one to oversee any of that debacle. This is a highly frustrating situation and one that ultimately has tainted our view of Church Interiors, and is something that could easily be avoided if a project manager/super was scheduled to be onsite and overseeing to the very end.
The Series experience was similar. The crew came to lay out and install the seats. They laid them out wrong and would not listen to me or Jim (I asked him to stop what he was working on and help navigate this with us) and they would have installed the entire sanctuary wrong, damaging the hardwood floors in the process. Ryan came for a half a day trying to straighten it out and redraw it; and then I, Jim, our pastor and his wife, spent the better part of 3 days up there continuing to negotiate the layout. We went around and around with the installers and finally I spoke to Juan myself. It was ridiculous. It stemmed, in part, to the fact that the field visit that they required us to have and pay for months earlier was wrong. The balcony and the main floor were measured wrong; laid out wrong on the architectural drawings; and would have been installed wrong, except that Jim was there (because of the additional part of the church and because I asked him to help us and he agreed even though that was not his job). For both the balcony and the main floor, Ryan and Jim redrew the layouts and remeasured and got it right—not Series. We did not get what we paid for and what we were sold as far as their expertise. The installers finally installed the seats and they damaged the wood floor by using the white masking tape to tape off the string grid, and it pulled off the stain and then they installed almost every row with crooked ends. It is ridiculous given they charged close to $70,000 for the site visit, drawings and product. The whole process is unacceptable.
These last two pieces of the project are the only pieces that Jim did not oversee and they are still not completed and are lower quality than the construction portions. We have received all our “finals” from the City inspectors on each part of the job and given a green light to move in; but the flooring and seating are still unfinished and I am still waiting to hear on any resolution. We are left with a final frustrated and unsatisfied impression of the work that Church Interiors provides and that is regrettable. This could be a different experience for any church in the future, and render fully satisfied customers, by actually doing what we expected and assumed in the beginning—oversight to the end. Leaving your clients with no one to oversee such significant pieces—in cost and also function—jeopardizes the entire process and product.
We look forward to having our building and being able to use it as a congregation (once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted) and the sanctuary, atrium and new entrance are beautiful and welcoming and functional. Jim Webb and his crews are responsible for building and shaping and finishing out those areas and they were done with excellence. If we are ever asked to provide a reference, we would recommend Church Interiors with caution to not only listen to the sales pitch but to read the fine print meticulously in the contract and on any change order to make sure that what was agreed on and understood is actually what gets put on the page; and that we would recommend your company as long as Jim was the project manager, because he is the one in whose work we are confident and satisfied.
I did not enter this project expecting to have to be suspicious and on guard about every detail, every word, every minute part of the project; we trusted that we hired you all to be our advisors on the details, to help us know what we should and shouldn’t do and choose, be part of the positive transformation—we hired you to help us do this well. You have a special niche in remodeling and it’s one that could really be a great service to churches. But you have room for improvement on what and how and by whom you are represented.
I hope that you will take this feedback seriously and implement some changes and oversight in the service you deliver so that future clients do not experience this same frustrating situaiton. There is potential for excellence and better experiences.
Yours truly,
Brittany F. Norman
Redeemer Presbyterian Church Building Committee Chair
