If you have read my previous postings you will know already that I have had what could be termed a “bad experience” with a contractor,  who did work at my house (I am going to have to deal with said contractor on some things that have come up so stay tuned to see how he deals with that).

We decided to finish the basement which the previous contractor, in our opinion, wanted too much $$$ to do the finish,  so we said we didn’t want him to do it. Although we were going to pay the price and have him come back and finish it at a later date, until things went awry.

Okay, so Twin Builders is the name of the company that we chose to finish our partially finished basement  I already told you that prior to the job they had promised things that I thought were awesome BUT I was being cautious about the whole thing. I mean, once bitten twice shy, right? I thought it all could be too good to be true!

So, they claimed they would have the job done prior to Christmas, in approx. 17 days and that it would cost us $10,000 for the basement and then between 2000-3500 for the flooring if we wanted them to do it. So, about $13,500 on the higher end.  Now, with the other guy we signed a contract for a certain amount but he did the standard act for a contractor and the original $$ amount kept going up, so much so that we had to cancel a few major things..like the complete deck and part of the siding!  Anyway, we were prepared to be disappointed if this company turned out to be like the other.

So, you may want to know what happened, considering I am here and the job should be done! Okay, I will not make you wait any longer.

This company, Twin Builders, in one word is PROFESSIONAL! My gosh they are the BEST I have worked with. You may think my only experience is with the other contractor but it is not!! We built a house also, with a different contractor…so we have some experience and these guys are the BEST! If you live in the Indianapolis area, please call them. They are beyond good! I do not think there is a term in the English language that can express how happy we are with the way they performed! PROFESSIONAL.

This company not only delivered on every promise they went above and beyond the contract and NO we were never charged a penny more! That was the first thing everyone we talked to about this asked….how much did they charge you to do that? Nope..nothing. There were just some things that they looked at and said…”hey, you know that is expected” and they did it. Example…a light in the laundry room…framed the hoses, a light in the utility room ( they were not even doing any work in there) a new light on the stairwell ( there was one there but they didn’t feel it represented the NEW look so they changed it out with our permission) the stairwell…it was already drywalled, but they redid the entire thing because it was not as nice as the rest of the room. These things might seem little or to be expected items, but construction doesn’t always work that way, we have learned that. It is the small things that make a company referable..( is that a word?)  Anyway, they are some of the best people to work with. They are polite and fast and good. The work is quality! And they will not leave a job if it does not meet their standards! They do walkthroughs during every stage of the project and do not expect a penny unless it passes the walk through. We paid each time because it passed!  When we did the finale walk through there were a couple of things we did not notice but the manager did….the guys will be coming back out to finish up on these small items. And these small items are like caulking around a vent… and a couple of other  drywall items, but he could not let the job be finished until they were done! He didn’t expect to be paid….but asked us if it was ok to agree they would come back for those minor items and that we could make the finale payment. IF that was ok with us, that would be great, and of course it was!

SO, YES it is done, on time and it did not cost us anymore than stated!!!  AM I happy? Ummmmmmmmmmm let me think…..YEAH!

We love our basement and we are happy to refer them to anyone.

We want to have them come back to finish our deck and build a pool! 

Twin Builders (317)862-4611

7335 Preamble Ct, Indianapolis, IN 46259                                                        

Ask for Jim Kernodle-Tell him Christine Martin referred you! Maybe he will give us a break on the work to come!  :)  You reading this Jim?

Hello!

Many of you know that I am a distributor for Xocai, I have a website at www.xocai-healthydarkchocolate.com  visit anytime that you would like to know more about this amazing chocolate!

Well,

I have now joined up with an amazing company you might have heard of Send Out Cards!! Amazing company. I feel so blessed to be finding these companies that care more about others than themselves. Of course I know it is no coincidence that I have been lead to these companies. 

Send Out Cards is a online automated system that allows the customer to join in one of 3 levels,  depending on whether they want to just send cards or if they want to make a business out of it.  The system is very good and fun! It is easy to use and has many many  little things that make it so efficient, for example when you send a card to someone it automatically saves that persons name into your contacts, no need to save it or go do it yourself.  It also allows you to use your own handwriting and signature when you send a card!! Yes, even though you are doing it all online Cool, huh?

If you are interested in finding out more please go to www.sendoutcards.com/63456 and get a free gift account on me. Send out a few cards, see how you like it.  If you want to join to just send cards, awesome! It is a great and convenient service…if you would like to join to build a business, then you can do that and you will be blessed to be joining a awesome company!!!

Hope to talk soon!

Christine

Changing lives…one card at a time!

Hello and Good Day to all!

Have I told you that I am a consumer of dark chocolate. Not just DARK chocolate, but HEALTHY dark chocolate!

Yes, it is true, I eat Xocai Dark Healthy chocolate!  And it is yummy! It also is very good for you.

Have you tried it? Would you like to? I can be persuaded to send you a sample if you ask really nicely! 

There is tons of info on my website www.xocai-healthydarkchocolate.com   check it out. You will read some great testimonies, one of them is mine.  Long story short is that I had BAD…did I say BAD…YES…BAD acid reflux for about 4-5 years, so bad that the Doc felt it was starting to scar my esophagus, well after consuming my lovely chocolate for a week it disappeared! I get the occasional flare up but I do not take my meds the way I used to! WHOOHOO!  Anyway, go to my site and check it out. Click on the links…do some reading or watching, see for yourself!

Happy eating!

Sometimes I take a long time to write a review. But hey! I still have not wrote the one up about my home remodel!!! I will..I will…it is just when it is controversial, I think it needs some time to lapse between the service and the review..to get some CLEAR perspective! If ya know what I mean!

But that is not the case with this review! I have just taken my time cuz I….DID!

What can I say about Kathy Moore and The Blog Shoppe?

First and foremost let me say that Kathy knows how to give great customer service!! You will not be disappointed in the service at all!

Beyond that?
Well, I just love her! Really! She helped me with this new blog and the Forum! She helped me with the whole redesign of my site. I am sure alot of you out there know….a website redesign can be a daunting task!

I found Kathy through a referral on www.mommymillionaire.com . The referrer had many good things to say about Kathy and her work. I e-mailed her and after a slow start we really got into things and stuff got to moving.

Now, let me say the “slow” start was not Kathy’s fault! I do not blame her in the least!

When I originally emailed her I told her I was talking to a few different people and needed to figure out who would be best suited to help me. She really was waiting on me to make a decision. Once I did we were off and running.

I really enjoyed working with Kathy. She is very patient and creative, I LOVE those qualities in a person!!! She listened to me as I tried to figure out exactly what is was that I wanted for my new design. Let me tell you I have a file of emails that amount to well over 50!!! We were burning up cyberspace!

She did a redesign and made a banner for my site..see the GURLZ?? I love them! She found me hosting and did all the techie stuff!

I just sat back and said…”yes, I love that”……”uh, no, not that” ” ummm, could you change the colors?” “oh, could you change them back?” “Oh, one last thing, can you add this”? “Kaaaaaaaaaaaaathyyyyyyyyyy, did I say, one last thing”???? “Kathy,Kathy,Kathy,Kathy,Kathy…..” I bet she is glad this is done!!
And she did it all with a “virtual smile” on her face. I know she was smiling, I COULD FEEL IT!

If you need someone to help you with a new blog, Kathy Moore is your GURL! www.theblogshoppe.com

Go see what she can do for you and tell her that Christine sent you……or maybe you should not to mention my name??? LOL Ahh what the heck, live on the edge!

Did you know that I have a Forum where I have a thread devoted to businesses and ratings of how wonderful I think they are…OR on occasion, not so wonderful!!

Visit the Forum….see for yourself. The list is not that big right now, eventually it will be HUGE!!!!!!! And one by one we will take over the world..the business world, where we will force businesses to have nothing but GOOD customer service and there will be NOTHING in the BAD customer service threads!!! MWAHhhhhahahaha<——- maniacal laughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CIAO BELLA’S!

Recently I visited this resort! Here is my review-

As you drive South on I65 towards Kentucky ( in Indiana) then head East abit on 56 through the hills of Madison and then on to Vevay in Switzerland county, you will soon come upon a large resort apparently looming out of nowhere.

It is a beautiful resort and a nice surprise after driving for many miles and not seeing much of anything. We were here for a 4 night birthday stay! My husband and I both have birthdays during the 3rd week of July. We try and go away for a few days every year. Belterra was our choice this year!

We pulled up and the valet came running to take our car to its home for the night. And, yes, they took lovely care of my baby. OH and valet parking is FREE.

As we entered the resort we were impressed by the lobby and the great domed area just beyond the lobby desk. Sunlight floods in through the glass dome. It is very nice. There is also a beautiful glassed atrium walkway that leads to the casino and resturants.

Upon check in we were treated kindly and with speed. I must say they are very efficient. Once while there, the computer system went down. I have experience with resorts and the computer systems going down! I have never seen it handled so fluidly and calmly. They were great. We experienced no problems with the check in or out process.During our stay we used room service and ate at several of their restaurants. Our service with all was outstanding. The food, at times, was exceptional.

We had a deluxe king bed non-smoking room. The room was a nice size, I would say it was about 350 sq. ft. with a very large bathroom.

There is a flat screen in the bathroom! There is a separate shower and a whirlpool tub. I LOVE bathroom!! When I book a room I always ask about the bathroom, sometimes people think I am crazy, but like I care? no, I do not. I love bathrooms. And this one is a doozy! Beautiful.

The suite itself was very nice also. Luxurious bed linens and tasteful furnishings. Large windows graced the room and gave us a view of …ummm..well, the parking garage! Oh well!

The casino is a casino. I am not a big gambler. But, I have been to a few casinos, including Vegas casinos. What I like about the riverboat casinos are that you feel like you are in Vegas once you get into them. You have a tendency to forget where you are. OH and if you are a non smoker….thay have non smoking rooms. Gotta love it! Although, I do not mind so much. I admit that I have more fun in the smoking areas.

There was only one bad experience the entire time we were there and that happened at Starbucks. Even though Starbucks is within the Resort, I am not so sure I would blame the resort. I would have to find out if they are a vendor or if they are employed directly by Belterra. Either way, it was not I that received the bad service but I can tell you, with 100% confidence, it made me feel bad and caused a bad experience for me. As well as the poor girl being treated so badly. For more on what happened go to my thread under “bad service” and then go to Starbucks. You decide.

Overall this was a very relaxing and fun mini vacation! I would highly recommend, even if you do not gamble, to visit. If you are like me and just enjoy the time spent at a nice resort then GO. It is a nice resort and has a nice spa ( I did not visit this time) enjoy yourself. OR if you like to gamble….definitly go and if you play the slots, ummm here is a tip for you. As you enter the casino turn right and go to the back by the bar, on the right wall there are Wheel of Fortune slots….PLAY them! Be patient. Every time we are there people are always on them and having a blast and winning. I did not get to play one until right before we had to leave and it was FUN and I won!!! But we had to go! Okay, so get out there and have some fun! Go to Belterra! She is beautiful, relaxing and FUN!
« Last Edit: Today at 11:02am by Christine Martin »

I have posted this review as GREAT customer service even though, as you read, you will see that I am less then a satisfied customer. BUT, I can not say they are entirely bad. They have some very great service points and for the seriousness of these points I feel it is imperative that I put this in this forum rather then BAD. I would hate for someone with an extreme need to pass on this company because it is in the BAD forum! Read and decide for yourself!

This company buys and sells homes. They are one of those companies that can come in and buy your home when you are in trouble or you have a need to sell fast and due to the market cannot. These are just a couple of the scenarios that could cause you to call this company, there are many other ways they can help a homeowner.

How did I come to use this company? In May of 2001 my husband and I found that we just did not really like living in the house that we just had built! Crazy huh?

But it is true, we just realized that we really are not subdivision kinda people. It happens. So, we start looking for a home with some acreage, by Sept we have a new home about 20 miles away from our current home. We put our current home, the subdivision home on land contract with some pretty shady characters that did not seem too shady at the time. After about 4 months we realize the characters are shady and I hire a lawyer to help us get out of that situation. Then we decide to rent the house ourselves, no land contract just straight landlords and tenants.

See, we now have 2 mortgages and we need to keep subdivision house rented or we have to pay over $2500.00 a month in mortgages! OUCH! So, I go and look for a nice family to rent to and what do I find? A nice family, mom,dad and 3 kids. I check the references and do all that stuff to make sure we will not get ripped off and viola` we have a renter! Problem solved right? Wrong!

I HATE being a landlord! Will never do it again and you can not make me! After a few months of renting this nice family stops paying us and then decides to leave in the middle of the night! But can they just leave? OH NO…they MUST trash the place, right? I mean, is that not the renters right? Or policy or credo? Something.

Do you think I am jaded by my experience? You could say so. Think I have TRUST issues? Maybe.

Onto the scene comes Realty Solutions,LLC. the afore mentioned company. They tell us that they can buy our house and our problems will be all but gone! It sounds like a great deal.

We do not make anything from the deal but we also do not have to pay that mortgage anymore. We end up selling the house to them, again on contract,kinda, and we sell it to them for over $20,000 less then we bought it for! And he tells me how this is a bad deal for him! Over the years that house could have been sold for more then we bought it for let alone what he bought it for from us. When I think back on this I can not believe we did it. But we were desperate to be done with this mess. And it seemed pretty simple! The best part was that we would not have to pay that mortgage anymore.

We could have took a gamble that this company was legitimate but as it turned out the lawyer I used earlier in this story turned out to know the owner of this company and gave a good reference..YEAH, Like I would do anything without talking to the lawyer first! Of course, I did not have the lawyer look at the contract…stupid,huh?

You would think that I had learned by now. Oh well.

Let me say that this company has taken care of the property over the years and paid down the principle on the mortgage thousands more then it had to be BUT and here is the big ugly BUT! The owner explained to us that the house would remain on our credit, it was still ours, they would take care of everything financial to do with the house until they could get a renter to buy the house. My husband was not too keen on this idea at first but we asked the company how long it would take to sell the house and get it out of our name, the owner said about 3 years, hopefully sooner. He said he didn’t expect it to take longer then that.

Over the years they could have sold it for more then we paid for it. A few years after this contract was signed I became a Realtor and know the market in the area. Believe me, I watched the house and the neighborhood, I was so encouraged by what I saw but they never sold the house. We “sold” to them in 2002 and they still have not gotten it refinanced out of our name. They claim they want it sold as much if not more then we do but their actions speak louder then their words….seems like a broken record huh? Everybody thinks they can say one thing and do another and nobody will notice.

One thing that I didn’t mention is that after they had the house for about 2 years I go to look at the contract and see when our 3 years would arrive…we really want this off of our credit and are looking forward to it. Guess what! The contract states that he doesn’t have to refinance it that we gave them a mortgage good for 30 years! HOW STUPID were we?!!? We didn’t even know that! He never said to us that we were giving him a 30 year mortgage. He said we were doing something way better then a land contract ( which our land contract said it would be refinanced in 3 years) but this was way better and there was no mention, verbally, of a 30 year mortgage, but it was there in black and white!

So, while the property has been taken care of and the monthly bill has been paid on time, I can not say that they did not mislead us. What I need for people to understand is that if they need their mortgage off of their credit report then read the contract and make sure that it says they have to refinance in a timely manner. If it says 30 years then you are going to carry this mortgage, that means DEBT for as long as they want you to. Make sure you understand what that means to you and your financial outlook.

If you want a new home you already have a mortgage! You can get part of that removed from your debt ratio IF you can prove the property is leased and you should be able to with the contract. But you have to have a good financial situation, no special circumstances. This whole thing can make things tricky for you. Make sure you understand that the original house is still on your credit report…it is still yours on paper.This was not explained to us until almost 2 years after we entered into the contract and then the company just said too bad, but it is good for your credit to have us paying your bill! Ummm well, we would have sold the house outright if we had understood and not been told that the house would be refinanced within 3 years.

This was a big deal to us and we feel that we were lied to.Oh yea…also, you should know that most mortgage companies these days do not allow you to assign your mortgage to other people and that is what this is. By doing this you stand the chance that your mortgage company will call in your note in full. They usually will not do that, as long as it is being paid faithfully. But it can happen, it is within their rights.

So, do I recommend this company? As long as you understand that there is nothing in the contract that says they have to refinance into their name or anyone else
’s in anything less then 30 years and you are ok with that ( unless your contract says different). Then YES, use them, they take care of the property and pay the mortgage. If they tell you that they can sell the property or refi in 3 years or so…realize these are just words, it is not a fact and it is not in your contract. If you want it in your contract then get it added if you can not get it added and are not ok with it then walk away.I wish we had been given this opportunity. We would have sold our house ourselves if we had known.

There- now you know the reason that I gave them a 9 rather then a 10. It could have been worse, but really, I appreciate that they take care of the house and pay the mortgage on time. I know from past experiences what a headache this could be.

We woke up this Sunday morning, it was a nice day, a little humid, we get some coffee and then off to church we go! It was a great sermon, should I review my church?
<—— NOT my church! Just a stock pic I found

Maybe, someday, not sure today is the day and what would I say? What could I say? I wouldn’t want to upset my main man,by saying anything negative, now would I? SO, let me just go ahead, right here and now, and say my church is AWESOME! always is…always…always… ok, nuff said!
After church, guess where we went for lunch? Give up? Now, if you browse my Forum, at all, you will notice a pattern of eating establishments…
oh okay, I will tell you! Longhorn!

That is right, a steakhouse! Yumm and what do you have at a Steakhouse? SHRIMP! well, if you are me then you do! Don’t worry, everyone else had steak. There, happy? Jeesh! You red meat eaters! your a pushy bunch! Don’t get me wrong, I eat red meat every once in a while, it’s ok. But, I LOVED my shrimp. If you want some really good fried shrimp go to Longhorn! Okay, they have awesome grilled and sauteed shrimp as well, I just felt like fried today.
So, the food was awesome, no wait, as usual, the place was as clean as always, YES, I took a peak in the restroom before I left and it was up to par. Our server was a very sweet girl, very attentive. YOU know who you are! I make it a habit of not mentioning names in my blogs or on the Forum….sometimes I think I should change that policy. Hmmm well, how about this, how about I give you a hint….her name is a month of the year and it begins with an “A”..too many clues? oh well! She was very good. I think that I have had good service at Longhorn all but one time. You remember that time the server decided it was best to argue with me about the tonion and basically told me she was right and I was wrong even though I pointed out that I have been coming to Longhorn for many years..remember HER? Yeah, she is the one that inspired the blog about not ruining your credibility with your guests by LYING….opps, did I say that? Okay..okay…I will move on. The girl with the name of a month of the year starting with an “A” was NOT like the “other” girl. She was great and I think she should have a raise, so if any of you managers are reading this just consider it OR at the very least, if you can not do the raise today, then when she comes up for review, give her a good raise! For now, acknowledge what she has done because she made your restaurant look good! And the “OTHER” girl…well, just talk to your servers about NOT lying to your guests! There is just no reason to ever do that and once the guest realizes you are lying they will not believe another word you say!
So, to wrap things up, Longhorn good, girl with the bad attitude in the past bad and girl with the name that is a month that begins with an “A”…perfect!

Please run,don’t walk, to the nearest Longhorn steakhouse ( and if you are near the AVON,IN location even better) and tell them Christine sent you!

You see their commercials all of the time on TV. Empire today, for flooring installed today! Well, that part is TRUE. I mean, we did not get it the same day but we were really impressed at how quickly they came to do the installation.

And that is where the good part of this story ends.

The sales man came to our house and showed us all of his samples, we picked out what we liked and were not too shocked by the price so went ahead and agreed to buy the carpet. It was a Monday when he was at our home and by the next morning they were out installing the carpet. WOW~ it was so fast it was almost inconvenient!

 The man that showed up to do the installation was polite and just did his job. I do not claim to be a expert at carpet installation, never have, but when he was installing this carpet he was cutting it up into smaller pieces and fitting them together. The room was only about 16×16, I didn’t get why he was making so many cuts. So I ask him if this is normal and he says yes, that is the way they install. Okay then. Well, he finishes and leaves, about 2 hours later my husband gets home and he takes a look at the carpet and I tell him the story and he gets pretty bent out of shape. He wants them to come back and do this correct because he says that there is no reason for so many cuts in the carpet. We call the manager and he agrees, there should not be so many cuts. Next day another guy shows up and he installs the carpet. Well, it doesn’t appear to fit, he is pulling it and pulling it. He gets it installed and it just looks terrible. He claims to have years of carpet installing experience, but I just can not believe that.

I am not happy with it but quite frankly he doesn’t care.

He leaves and I call my husband. He comes home looks at it and we call the manager again. This time we are not wanting anything but our money back. We do not trust them to do this right, they have had 2 chances and blew them both.

We have to fight with them to get our money back but eventually did. They told us they were going to come back and get their carpet, it was new after all. They were a bit nasty with us over the whole thing. Bottom line~ We had to remove the carpet from our floor and then the carpet sat in our garage for a year before we finally gave it away!

I would never use this company again and can not recommend them, not even to my enemies!  NOT THAT I HAVE ANY!!!

I am doing some remodeling on my house, we started the project back in Jan. and recently began the process of removing the siding. Yes, we are using a contractor.

So, he removed the siding in the back of the house and says he saw SWARMS of carpenter ants. They had burrowed through the plywood but had not gotten to the frame of the house, yet. So, I called Terminex and they had someone out there the next day. The cost of this was somewhere in the ballpark of 400.00 payable over a year in installments when they return on a quarterly basis, with a upfront fee of about 150.00.

They come out and do their job and it was very simple, no worries about pets or kids getting hurt by sprays or anything, and then they leave About 2 days later we start getting little armies of carpenter ants streaming through our house, if you have never seen a carpenter ant, well I am here to tell you that they are BIG!!! Dang BIG!! And scary, especially if you have a 6# newborn in your house, which we did at the time. So I call Terminex again and after a few calls back and forth( they actually did drop the ball on this one, but recovered nicely) we finally got a tech out to the house. We have never had ants in the house, but once they start spraying the ants scatter and they will enter the house looking for refuge. So this is what was happening. He sprayed and things have been better. We get a few stragglers daily and have had a problem with them congregating around the animals food dishes, other then that it has not been too bad. They told us that would eventually get better.

So, yesterday my contractor gets to the South side of the house and pulls the siding down and what does he find? Yup, ants. There were not as many as the first time but they were there none the less. So, I call Terminex and have a very long discussion with a very nice man names Steve. He tells me they are going to schedule a tech to come out and spray while the siding is still being replaced and then have a tech come out when they tare down the siding on the North side of the house, hoping that the ants still might be there but in a mush lesser amount.

Now, if you have any experience with companies and what happens when you have to have them come out again for service calls you know that they usually have a trip fee, especially if you live very rural. and we do! OKAY, so here is the really awesome part of this companies customer service, not only are they coordinating all of this to make sure they are giving quality service but they are NOT charging us for it! YES, you heard me right, no charge! They will come back as many times as they have to until the pests are gone, per their contract! Only catch is they have to wait 10 days between sprays.

It is not too often that you find companies that still offer great customer service but this is one of them!!

Terminex is AWESOME and I highly recommend them! I usually have a hard time getting services out where I live because people do not want to drive this far. I never once heard anything about them charging me more due to the distance!! I LOVE THEM! THEY CARE AND IT SHOWS!

Terminex is a glowing example of what a company should be doing to win loyal customers!

Christine