Buildsmith Solutions

We have read the response to my husbands 1-star review, and it certainly makes for an interesting read.

It is, however, worth remembering that there are always two sides to a project, and unfortunately this response presents only one of them. It is disappointing that they have not used this opportunity to look inwards, so this is my review as an affected party.

We didn’t leave our review lightly, nor was it written as part of some “strategy to gain leverage”. It was written because our experience of the project was extremely stressful, costly and, in our view, fell a long way short of what we reasonably expected when appointing a project manager to oversee and rectify the problems left by a previous builder.

We were not looking for perfection.

We were looking for competent project management, clear communication, accountability and, ultimately, someone we could trust to help get our home back on track.

Instead, we experienced a project that brought us considerable anxiety and worry, alongside significant additional financial cost.

We are pleased that the finished property is described as “something beautiful”. We live there, and of course we are grateful to have a finished home.

But a nice end result does not automatically erase the experience of getting there.

We also find the suggestion that we simply “didn’t want to play to the rules” particularly disappointing.

There is a very big difference between not wanting to follow reasonable contractual processes and raising legitimate concerns about how a project is being managed. Having questions with how matters are being handled does not mean a client is unwilling to be helped. Also, it is simply not true that we were making decisions or changing the project without consent of Buildsmiths, and we believe Buildsmith used these unsubstantiated comments to cover their lack of professionalism.

We also note the suggestion that our review may eventually be removed.

For clarity, we have nothing to hide and stand by what we wrote. Our review reflects our experience, our costs, our concerns and our recollection of what happened.

We have no interest in damaging anyone’s reputation. We simply believe that if a business is going to publicly respond to a critical review, it should also be prepared to acknowledge that the client’s experience may differ considerably from its own.

We appreciate that businesses can learn from difficult projects.

We certainly have.

We’ve learnt that choosing the right people to manage something as important, expensive and emotionally draining as a building project is absolutely critical.

We genuinely wish Buildsmitth well in the future and hope that the lessons they say they have taken from our project are reflected in the experiences of their future clients.

Our review wasn’t intended to be personal.

It was intended to be honest.

And we stand by it.

Buildsmith Solutions turned our renovation into a proper doddle. Punctual, tidy, and thoroughly professional throughout. They sorted every snag with calm expertise, and the finish on our kitchen extension is spot on. Would happily use them again for any future building work.

I have referred multiple clients to Leo and his amazing team, especially when they are looking for an off-ramp that doesn’t involve long, drawn-out and expensive litigation. Buildsmith Solutions are supremely knowledgable, practical and commercial in the field of construction, and I could not recommend them highly enough. The highest compliment I can pay them is that they do things properly in an indsutry where people who do that again and again can be very hard to come by! Leo also has the edge and personality that means he brings more value than your average surveyor/project manager, and he is always, always willing to help.