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3.1 29 Reviews

College Pro Painters Complaints Summary

15 Resolved
14 Unresolved
Our verdict: While College Pro Painters has an above-average resolution rate, there’s room for improvement. Investigate common issues reported by customers and understand how they were resolved. Be prepared to follow up on your queries if needed, and keep detailed records of all interactions.
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College Pro Painters reviews & complaints 29

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12:16 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters proposal no. 1085488

We entered into an agreement with Peter DeBoer on June 6, 2018 to paint the trim on 502 W Spruce Street, Missoula, MT. The agreement stated that the job would be completed by August. Peter would not respond to phone messages, text messages or emails from our Executive Director or from myself. Because of the lateness in the season and Peter being unresponsive, we hired another painter. Peter needs to return our deposit of $1, 458.00 as soon as possible. The experience of trying to communicate with Peter has been beyond frustrating. Please let us know what steps we need to take to get our deposit returned to us.

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7:38 pm EDT

College Pro Painters complain for a team leader

Hello

I am complaining about the guy named Gardlean his number is +[protected]

My name is Nikhil Saini

It's a complain about how unprofessional he was. Basically he called me for an interview and after finishing it he told me How he was gonna follow up with the procedure and give me an email about everything this evening . I called him the next day and asked weather he hires me or not . He said I am hired and ask me not worry about anything he will send the confirmation in couple of hours but he does not I call him and ask him 2 more times and he still does the same thing and wanted my time and hopes . He was too busy to confirm the situation with me . I called him and told him that ok look sir I have other 2 interviews and they are expecting me to show up but that was like u don't have to that labour job u r hired by me . It's is just really unethical and annoying that how he was wasting my time and irritating me . And then I call someone from collage pro and ask to put a complaint so to handle the situation softly the guy who I called to complaint said he will make sure that your franchise owner reaches you by today. My franchise owner calls me and said that there is no chance that I am working in his team .

It looks really bad on collage pro because he was not a good representative according to me and he was disrespectful to me. I hope some proper step is taken to improve the reputation of the company.

Thank you

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4:18 am EDT

College Pro Painters Service customer contact

We brought in Matt in Belmont, MA from College Pro. He gave us two quotes. One on painting the house ($3700) and and the other on staining the deck ($700). We decided to go with staining the deck.
When we chose to do the deck he never called us back and never answered our phone calls.

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Is College Pro Painters legit?

Our verdict: College Pro Painters has achieved a rare feat of perfection in legitimacy, as per the rigorous analysis conducted by Complaints Board. This achievement underscores College Pro Painters's position as a benchmark of trust and quality within its industry. Users and clients of College Pro Painters can engage with its offerings, confident in the knowledge that they are dealing with a top-tier, fully legitimized company.

College Pro Painters earns 100% level of Trustworthiness

Perfect Trust Endorsement: College Pro Painters achives 100% ligitmacy per Complaints Board. Highly recommended, yet always stay vigilant.

We found clear and detailed contact information for College Pro Painters. The company provides a physical address, 2 phone numbers, and email, as well as 4 social media accounts. This demonstrates a commitment to customer service and transparency, which is a positive sign for building trust with customers.

Collegepro.com has a valid SSL certificate, which indicates that the website is secure and trustworthy. Look for the padlock icon in the browser and the "https" prefix in the URL to confirm that the website is using SSL.

Collegepro.com has been deemed safe to visit, as it is protected by a cloud-based cybersecurity solution that uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to help protect networks from online threats.

Collegepro.com regularly updates its policies to reflect changes in laws, regulations. These policies are easy to find and understand, and they are written in plain language that is accessible to all customers. This helps customers understand what they are agreeing to and what to expect from College Pro Painters.

However ComplaintsBoard has detected that:

  • College Pro Painters protects their ownership data, a common and legal practice. However, from our perspective, this lack of transparency can impede trust and accountability, which are essential for establishing a credible and respected business entity.
  • The website belonging to College Pro Painters has a low number of visitors, which could be a red flag for users. However, it's important to conduct additional research to fully evaluate the website's legitimacy and trustworthiness.
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11:22 am EDT
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College Pro Painters WORST Experience Ever!!

They do NOT prep the surface prior to painting and then claim the warranty doesn't cover decks or steps. I have people come to my house and ask if my granddaughter painted our steps - the entry to our home. I am quick to let them no it was College Pro. They also did not call us to tell us when they were coming to paint, even though they said they would. And, I called to complain about the painting and was told I would get a return call. One month went by and, of course, no call. . I would never, ever use their service again!

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7:28 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters Incomplete, damages, and bad management

Very unsatisfied services and management received from College-Pro Painting and Evgene Gotfrid Enterprises (franchise owner). The exterior painting of my two-stories home was not completed as per discussed and contracted. On top of that, damages were done to my property (paint on windows, floors; bend eaves; garbage and uncleanliness left behind; broken glass pane; etc...). Let's not forget that my privacy was not recognized and understood. The promised made by them during the verbal discussions held before the estimate and during the contract discussion were not delivered. Their "inexperience", bad management, questionable services, etc... were shown at many occasions and documented via emails -- at the end, I understood that the verbal was not to be relevant to them. The services and management of College-Pro Painting and Evgene Gotfrid Enterprises (franchise owner) are not recommended as this customer was very unsatisfied and disappointed to have believed them. [August 2014]

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5:09 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters Did not keep appointment

We had an appointment with College Pro Window Cleaning - the young gentleman was even kind enough to leave his mobile number. He did not show up and has not responded to emails. Just a head's up before anybody else waits around all day for a no show.

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Newcollege Work Rep
Calgary, CA
Sep 01, 2014 1:03 am EDT

I can suggest trying www.newcollegework.com for $19.99 you can enrol in a course that teaches you everything you need to know about running your business. It takes more work because it's self directed, but no one is making commision off of you.

- Newcollege Work rep

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10:31 am EDT
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College Pro Painters bad service

The workers were sloppy, leaving full paint jars open to dry out. The went into our shed to "borrow" a ladder without asking and left it dirty. 10 people show up but only 2 people actually worked. We had an estimate of 1-2 weeks to finish instead it took 9 weeks and they threw a tantrum about having to clean up there mess. The so called supervisor had to ask for more money because the had to "pay there workers." Also they painted most of my windows shut. After it was all done and we tried to file a complaint they just responded by telling us to go to small claims court. BUYER BEWARE!
-Disappointed in Port Angeles, WA

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Gina P.
, US
Sep 05, 2013 11:36 am EDT

They don't do good work. Put too much paint on and charge more for more paint. Don't know how to understand what is written on a contract. Which ended costing us another $700. Never contacted us for a month after date, they were suppose to start. That is only after my husband called them and left a message. If your in Michigan, don't use them and I would not recommend them to anyone.

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9:57 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters Poor quality work and no warranty

We contracted College Pro to repaint our 100 year old heritage home. They assured us that they had experience and expertise in this type of work. Once they started and we saw them using interior paint and interior drywall compound on the exterior walls of our house, we knew we were in trouble. College Pro sent another contractor to finish the job, but unfortunately, they just painted over the interior products, resulting in peeling, blistering and cracking the very same season, and became worse yet, the following year. We were promised that the house would be repainted, our landscaping repaired etc. but we have yet to see any work two years later.
As a retired pensioner who was planning to put the house on the market more than one year ago, I am bitterly disappointed and struggling to manage in this two story home. It is not suitable to put on the market without taking a large loss to compensate for the exterior condition.

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3:34 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters Poor quality of workmanship

College Pro Painters showed up with a crew of inexperienced painters. We had to keep checking their work HOURLY to catch errors & omissions and stopping them from painting damp siding (crew chief: "if the road is dry, the wood is dry"). One major section of the house began to peel miserably 22 months after the job completion.. A warranty claim brought out another 'crew' (one guy worked, one slept off a hangover in the truck), which re-scraped and re-painted the section, while getting the wall paint on shutters and brackets. Now, a year later (36 months after job completion, the whole house has peeling. It surely is a different quality mantra from when my son painted and then franchised for College Pro twenty years ago. Don't use this outfit!

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11:23 am EDT

College Pro Painters Did not finish job after payment

College pro painters-told them house was going for sale neeeded job done in x amount of days due to real estate photos being taken.Arrived 5 hours late day one, day two worked late ran out of paint said forgot the door colour -I paid in full, they were to return to finish job next am. Morning of received a called to say she made a mistake in rate wanted 180 more dollars to finish job. - I said no sorry you quoted me last week andd I paid you in full she hung up on me and they never came back to finish!

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10:08 am EDT

College Pro Painters Idiots

I live in the Pacific NW and they wanted to paint in November and December to finish a job that should have been completed in September (including taking my door off for a few days). They finally gave up trying to force me to complete the project in the dead of winter (so they could count the sale for 2010). Finally contacted me in May 2011 to complete the job. All they wanted was to get contract signed off and did a very poor job of completion. Ruined my front door. Will cost me about $800 to fix. Do not use College Pro!

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1:32 am EDT
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College Pro Painters terrible quality work

We hired College Pro to paint our 20' high entry way after we painted the living room and adjoining upstairs hallway ourselves. When they looked at the job and gave us a bid, they assured us it was no problem. They came out with a folding 8' ladder and a helper who was afraid of heights! They had to borrow our paint tray and liner since they didn't have one. They were unable to reach the ceiling and left the top 1"-2" unpainted. They got paint on the ceiling, oak railng and carpet. There are places where the white paint is showing though. I had to buy an edger so they could try to make the wall/ceiling seam acceptable. They acted like they had never seen one before. They left drip marks on the walls and two areas have ladder marks on them where the ladder was leaned against wet paint. We were told these marks would disappear once the walls dried.
They missed areas on the stairs and on top of some baseboards. They did not sand the walls prior to painting like you should for better paint adhesion.
I was a remodeling contractor for almost 10 years, built his house myself and worked for a painting supplier for 6 years. I know enough about painting to see they used the wrong roller cover for latex, they rolled the walls in the wrong direction and used tan masking tape instead of blue or green painter's tape. I suggeted they get taller ladders and an aluminum plank to span the entry and reach the ceiling. They had no idea what I was talking about.

Once I saw how horrible the job was, I stopped payment on my check. They admitted they underbid the job. They want to come back, sign a new contract and fix all of the problems. Wewill not sign anything for more money and really don't want them on or property. As it is, I will need to buy more paint once I have the walls sanded.

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ksm45280
olathe, US
Sep 12, 2011 5:28 am EDT

I have worked for a couple of paint companies now 20 years and always get redo work from them, from direct training with different paint manufactures I hear the same thing there is no need to sand interior paint for adhesion if it was painted before. Their policy's are that they cannot use any other climbing systems besides ladders, piss poor training for high school/ college students, and the people they hire are not professionals at all

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5:37 pm EST

College Pro Painters Buyer beware

I don't even know where some people are coming up with this stuff. I really don't know how to counter these accusations as they just don't make any sense to me at all.

College pro is not a pyramid scheme. Do your research on what it means to run a franchise. Of course College pro does not warranty decks and things that it just wouldn't make sense for ANY painting company to warranty based on the severity of use. This site is for poor-sports who need a scapegoat for their problems I suppose.

Yes you may think I am biased as I am just starting up as a franchisee with College pro but in reality I was very skeptical of signing on based on the financial risks and the people bashing them on websites such as this. But I did what EVERYONE here should do and that is EDUCATE YOURSELF. Educate yourself on franchises, college pro's process(for all people involved), painting procedures and warranties across the board, etc. Of course College Pro ends up getting some franchisees who turn out to be bad seeds (as seem to be a lot on this site) and those people don't do well (screwing up people's homes) and then they don't make any money and then all of their problems are of course to blame on college pro.

Being that anyone can post on this site without being registered should be the biggest red flag to anyone reading that it is SO easy for anyone to come post ANYTHING on this site. They can post as many times as they want and anything that they want.

The biggest problem I can see here is uneducation. It's just sad really. This message most likely won't even begin to reach those people it is targeted at because they are just so set in their ways and have such miserable lives.

So keep this in mind when making a decision to use College Pro Painters; College Pro has been around for 40 years. 40! It is a company based on providing learning experiences in management to students. There sure seems like a lot of bad posts on here: and there definitely are but you're coming to a site that's BUSINESS is based on providing people a place to whine. Let's say there are 2000 complaints on here. College Pro has painted over 250 000 homes. Let's consider that maybe even 5000 more people were not satisfied with their painting experience. That's a whopping 2.8% people!

From my experience so far my faith in College Pro has only grown. I am currently only marketing (cold calling as they call it) and yes I have come across a few customers so far who haven't been overly thrilled with College Pro (some admit that they can't even remember if it was College Pro or one of the other student based painting companies) but for the most part people are more than thrilled with the work that College Pro has provided in the area (them, their neighbours, etc).

The negative comments you post on here will not slow College Pro down. There are far more positive experiences everyday than negative and the tenacious franchisees are going to continue to blind out the weak ones. Those managers are weeded out and the best ones stick around for years and then move up within the company or go on to run other successful companies.

It's too bad there couldn't be a site praising any companies work that people could believe. But humans as a hole want drama and they crave negativity.

My purpose of this isn't really to promote College Pro. I'm just so sick of people not knowing how to function in the world (and why should they when the education system is so clearly flawed). If there is one thing I'm sure everyone has learned in school and should remember it's "caveat emptor". Remember this phrase in not only dealing with your purchases but every aspect of life. Don't just eat up what people tell you. "Learn the path, and then make your own path."

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talflick
, CA
Jul 21, 2011 10:14 pm EDT

thank you, it peeves me that everyone thinks we do a terrible job. I hate when I'm painting and a customer gets worried that there's paint on their windows. I get out a window scraper and show them how easily dried paint comes off of glass and that the finished job will look beautiful. I think people just don't expect college students to be able to do quality work. >.>

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poltpeime
Toronto, CA
Jun 11, 2011 9:37 am EDT

I disagree strongly to this post, sure the company started out as provide learning experience for college students, at least thats how they portray themselves in the media. do they tell students they owe them 10k before they start the business? do the customers know the students are being treated like this? college pro obviously does not want people to know the unfair part of their business, if the student cant pay them back in 4 months and end up not earning anything, do they let go of the charge owed to them? my friend got sued last summer by college pro because they didn't earn enough money from running the franchise and ended 5k in debt in addition to not being able to afford his tuition the year after. how is that fair? BTW with in one of the contract you have to sign which is about 20 pages, there is one line saying "you have to agree to the procedure booklet" which is an other booklet with all the hidden charges, so its a contract with-in a contract

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2:25 pm EDT

College Pro Painters Took my money and never came to paint my house. You can't reach them

College Pro Painters took my money and never came to paint my house in Charleston WV. You cannot reach them, only an answering service that has no effect. The service will not give you a mailing address or a phone number of anyone at the actual College Pro Painters if they do exist. I don't believe it is an actual company but rather an elaborate false front. I am filing a suit with the WV State Attorney General' s Office. Buyer Beware! The answering service is very rude and staffed by a bunch of brainless idiots. This is awful.

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James Whitcomb
East Aurora, US
Jan 27, 2011 7:55 pm EST

Same experience here. Took my money at beginning of summer of 2010 and agreed to paint. However, after a number of calls without results, they finally wanted to paint in late October. This is Western New York and you cannot apply paint much after mid-September due to weather. I asked for my money back and I have not seen it. Last time I talked to local contact, he offered to paint it in 2011. Forget it, I want my money back.

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smartguys87
carol stream, US
Oct 11, 2010 10:31 pm EDT

Google Target sucks and you will see 50 times more complaints then on these types of sites...would you not shop at Target? Every large corporate business will have some complaints, take it with a grain of salt. Talk to your actual area manager and ask for his references to really see what type of business we run.

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smartguys87
carol stream, US
Oct 11, 2010 10:29 pm EDT

sir, call 1-800-32paint if you need to get a hold of someone. I am sorry you were not able to get a hold of the manager in your area. The 1800 number is the corporate line, which is located on the top of your contract.

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12:37 pm EDT

College Pro Painters My boss stole 1000 $ cash from me

I worked for College Pro in the summer of 2006. Our boss would, without fail, under budget the time it would take to paint a house. He also told us that we would be compensated for the estimated hours a job would take, not how many hours we actually worked.

Therefore, on some jobs, I got paid less than $100 for the whole house, or under $1.75/hr. On top of College Pro giving me slave wages, my 'foreman', who was an idiot and did nothing the whole time anyway, stole $1000 cash out of my glove box.

I had the money locked in my glove box because I was having car troubles and was going to the dealership after work and NEEDED THE MONEY TO FIX MY CAR TO GET TO WORK! When he gave me my $89 paycheck, he saw the money in my wallet when I opened it to put my pay check in. When we went to lunch, he was unusually interested in how my car worked, every little thing, including how to open the glove box.

After lunch when I was on the roof of the house, he asked me for my keys because he had 'forgotten something' in my car. For the rest of the day (it also, through some awful coincidence, his last day) he was acting strange, he took off his shoes, was smoking stupid little cheap gas station cigars and saying he should work undercover or something along those lines. After work I discovered the money was all gone, save $3.

Not only did College Pro pay me less than an indentured servant would hope to make, they stole my time, dignity and $1000. Never, ever, ever, ever trust or use College Pro. By the way, we did AWFUL work, and that seemed to be encouraged.

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Previous Painter
Vegas, CA
Jul 20, 2010 2:18 pm EDT

I am sorry that you had some money stolen. Did you ever file a theft report with the local police? I am not sure how you can blame "College Pro" for this theft when you cannot even prove it was this person who stole the money. Even if it was the foreman who stole your money (which would be hard to prove), how is that College Pro's fault? Also, I have worked for College pro in the past and found their pay was really good. Basically you get paid for what the budgeted hours are. If you do your job right and effectively manage your time, you can beat budgets and make a lot of money per hour. I also know that College Pro is really strict with their quality requirements and we would never leave a job or ask for payment on a job until the customer was completely satisfied with our work. When I worked there, we had 100% customer satisfaction! Also, when I worked there we were encouraged to call the service center if we ever had a problem. You may want to call them at [protected] to discuss this. At the very least, they may be able to see who your foreman was and maybe put you in contact with him to get your money back. Although you say this happened in 2006 so I am not sure.

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8:10 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters Destroyed My Mothers Home, Poor Management, Shady Workers

College Pro is AWFUL! Having them in to paint the interior of my Mother's home has been the worst experience EVER! I’ll give a short (keep in mind this isn’t even everything) rundown of what we’ve had to deal with.
- A supposed 4 day job is going on 2 weeks now.
- The supposed onsite manager had be absent most of the job (out getting his oil changed, etc) and even when you do try to call him he never answers his phone or says he didn’t get his message. Or, just today, he had some excuse that he couldn’t call to say he wouldn’t be working yesterday because his cell wasn’t working. Apparently his cell is the only phone of the face of the earth.
- They have pretty much destroyed my mothers home. They have spilled more than a gallon of paint on her carpet in one spot and tracked even more throughout her home (yet to be rectified), they have torn her bed skirts moving furniture (no furniture has ever been covered), they have gotten paint on ceiling fans, and now today they have ruined her brand new $3000 ivory couch by perching a ladder against it that had blue paint on it.
- They have outright lied about the painting (telling us there have been two coats put on walls where you can still see the original color underneath), and lied about everything from "I've called the carpet cleaners" (which we followed up with and he hadn't), to I've got the stipple machine here today (he did not).
- The paint job is shoddy at best (no electrical covers or light switch covers removed so covered in paint, it’s like they didn’t tape where walls met that were to be different colors so it’s crappy, they were supposed to repair a portion of wall and restipple and repair a roof and it honestly looks worse now than before).
- They have made appointments to be there to paint and chose not to show up (this happened even before the work started - red flags should have gone up).
We have tried contacting the customer service line to no avail, we try to call this little creep that's supposed to be the manager but Graham can't ever seem to answer his phone or return a voice mail. He calls to say he'll be on the job, we plan our lives around his hair brain schedule and then without a call or anything he doesn't show up. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau about all of this and should it not be rectified, I shall be refusing them payment. I have pictures of the shoddy work, I have copies of the emails that are full of lies, and if they want to sue - have at it - I have the proof that they did not up hold their side of the contract. This has caused my mother health issues and enough is enough. If I had my way, I'd kick them on their butts and they should have to pay to have actual PRO painters come in and finish this job. They are the WORST people at painting and the worst company ever! Don't go near them with a 10 foot pole! I will most certainly be spreading the word (I work in a very close related industry) and be advising all that I know that this is not only a poorly managed company, but that the customer service to this point has been no good and the painters themselves are terrible.
To make matters even worse, throughout this ordeal, Graham does not answer his phone or return voice mail messages. Occassionally he will send a text to land line message (how professional), but today, after checking on his progress (the only progress was more paint on furniture and his lack of any business sense whatsoever) he had the nerve to leave a letter (yes, a letter, written on my Mothers paper which he would have had to snoop through drawers to find) saying that he had left early because he was distressed after I had stopped to check on the job. The fact of the matter is, if he was doing his job, there would have been no need for me to stop in anyway. This kid knows nothing about business, about painting, about customer service. He needs to be written up individually as he is incompetant and should not in any way, shape or form be dealing with the public or trying to do business. I will be there to ensure he is on time tomorrow and the job had better be complete (4 day job has been over 2 weeks now) and should it not be done, I will have inspectors out and more contact with the BBB with even more pictures of the damage this shoddy company has caused. DO NOT hire this company! Perhaps others groups may be better but if a kid named Graham is supposed to be the one overseeing the job - Run the other direction! At least it's very obvious the job is not being done to any type of standards and will never be complete so therefore payment shouldn't be expected. It would take this company probably another 2 months to fix any of the deficencies.

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8:18 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters DO NOT WORK/BUY FROM THEM.

I worked as a franchisee for Collegepro this past summer, and let me tell you - it was HELL! do not work here unless you are super desperate - I define desperate as in even McDonald's would not hire you to work for them. I was a freshman in college, and I never heard about Collegepro before. Having no money or job, Collegepro promised me both. All I had to do was sign on the dotted lines. Little did I know at the time what a big mistake I'm making. I have not heard about the bad reputation of Collegepro after being in college for a month. I didn't know that if you backed out of the contract, they would charge you $4000. But one of my friends backed out, and she did not get charged. You see guys, Collegepro is too scared to sue because they are afraid to get publicized about what a big scam company they are. They also said they will only take 25% of my revenue as royalties, but they took 36% instead. They charged 5% as liabilities (wtf is that anyways?!), and 5% for their call centre expenses. On top of the fees they charged, they ALSO charged 5% GST because the company does not want to pay their own GST. Anyways, I was working about 60hr/week for basically minimum wage, and it was hot and sweaty, and I was miserable. All that work for money? It was like selling your soul to the devil. They promise that you will learn many skills, but all I learned was how to perform manual labour. All the work entilled was calling customers (who were usually pissed off), booking them in the right time, doing the job (which was usually ###), and collecting their money at the end. By doing this job, some people actually LOST money from working for THEM. If you are a consumer reading this, please think twice about buying a paint job from an innocent college student - Collegepro manipulate students to say that so that consumers will be more likely to buy from them. You have to realize that most of the money is not going to fund the student's tuition, but to this big evil company. If you want to join me in putting an end to this evil scam, please DO NOT BUY from Collegepro. From this experience, I learned that 1) when something sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true, and 2) don't be so gullible, and cross-examine everything before signing a contract. I am writing this article because I hope that it will stop other people from signing with them.

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John390
Toronto, CA
Dec 11, 2013 2:24 am EST

From the perspective of a previous student franchise manager for College Pro that ended up with LOSING MONEY and an overall terrible experience, I have to say OP's post about College Pro being a scam and deceiving is exaggerated but is not completely untrue. Some of the points that he made are actually true and I've seen and heard many students who have been victims of College Pro's misleading and profit-driven practices. The company obviously states they value the experiences students learn from the opportunity as an entrepreneur but ultimately, it all comes down to profit. They will not care for your personal stories or situations, and if it means taking money from you to generate profit, they will do it without hesitation. However, people should know people like OP should've been more careful when signing the contract (even though the contract is 30+ pages long and they sort of make you just sign it), actively engage more with their supervisor (theres a chance your supervisor might be a total ### and barely give you any helpful advice or support), and know what they're signing for. The job is NOT easy. You're obviously going to be dirty and sweaty when cleaning windows in the hottest time of the year. Also not to mention dangerously climbing 30+ feet ladders without any safety measures. What I can say to those who are skeptical about the legitimacy of College Pro is that it regardless of how much money you make or you lose by doing the job, you will gain experience. Even though I lost more money, and my experiences were terrible (boss was a total jerk, conflict with customers, immense pressure to meet unrealistic goals, feeling of guilt for being told to overcharge customers, cold calling, etc), at the end I gained a once in a life time experience. You are still young and have a long way to go with endless opportunities. Don't let this one judge you because you failed to meet your own or their expectations, and learn from it. If you are willing to take the chance, go for it.

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jolly rogership
California, US
Mar 29, 2011 6:45 am EDT

The main goal is to continue to sign up as many "kids who want to be their own boss", which a majority fail at. Who really loses is the business who can't break even, but under these conditions it's made even harder for the franchisee. The main issue I have is with the legal threats. Scaring kids into fines once they sign the contract by claiming they've invested money is a joke. They take 25% of the job. Of course they don't want the kids to leave. The kids only make money after a certain point and they are the last ones in line. In order for just about any contract to hold up "both" parties must receive something in order for it to be enforceable. Look into info on how "real" franchises work. If you feel threatened before you've begun any work... well don't because you have the control. Remember they NEED you not the other way around

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collegeprosucks
oville, CA
May 25, 2010 8:50 pm EDT

I agree college pro is a huge scam hiden fees and a bunch of liars when I finally quit they stole ladders that belong to me and tried to say they were theres. Also the reason I quit was due to medical issues and yet they still have come after me for a bunch of fees when I know a franshise that also broke his contract and still runs a painting company and yet they have been left alone because of friends at college pro, everyone should be mindful of these con artists its a scam.

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Le M
Ottawa, CA
Mar 31, 2010 10:39 pm EDT

I must agree with Shane. College Pro gives an opportunity for students and young entrepreneurs to run their own painting business. College Pro is a franchise, and just like any other franchise there needs to be some consistency in the way the business is run. Having said that, there is so much freedom in the business for each individual owner to try out new ideas in search for more success. It sounds to me like 'H.L' was not a very effective manager especially if his/her customers "were usually pissed off" and if the work his/her painters produced was "usually ###." You, H.L are the one accountable if your customers are upset. And you, H.L are the one to blame if your painters produce low quality work since it is your responsibility to train them properly.

I was a first year franchisee in 2009 myself, and I too worked endless hours each week to run my business but that was my choice and my choice alone. No one forces you to work long hours; your franchise is your business and you can run it the way you want. You set your owns goals and get paid exactly what you are worth-- just like any other business. Last year was a great experience and I enjoyed my summer so much that I'm with College Pro again this year.

H.L, you also claim one needs to be so "desperate" that "even McDonald's would not hire you to work for them." It's unfair to classify McDonald's employees lower than any other employees. By the sounds of how unsatisfied your customers were last year, you should consider yourself lucky if McDonald's would hire you to to run a cash register.

Le M

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CPP FRANCHISE
Braeside, CA
Mar 31, 2010 1:31 pm EDT

I also challenge you to reveal your identity so the real numbers and truth can be brought to this forum. Especially considering there was not a franchisee in Ottawa last year with the initials H.L

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CPP FRANCHISE
Braeside, CA
Mar 31, 2010 1:26 pm EDT

In Response to your inaccurate post.

My name is Shane and I have been a College Pro Franchisee for 4 years, I also painted for 2 years before this. The account of your experience is not only inaccurate of other franchisees it is in fact slander. First of all Royalties are not 25%, they start at 24% and are reduced over your career with the company. Call Centre, Quality Assurance, and Liability Insurance charges are another cost however much less than your reported 11% and this is all made very clear at the outset. And everyone in Canada pays GST.

If your franchise did poor work, that is YOUR fault. When you take on the responsibility of running the franchise you are supposed to ensure that the work is done properly. I ensure that everyone of my clients are satisfied and if I find one that is not I go above and beyond to satisfy them. Want proof-go to any one of the coffee shops or pubs around Ottawa and ask the locals about College Pro they will affirm what I have just said.

To say that most people lose money is inaccurate also. Almost every franchisee earns money. Some more than others however you get what you put in. I happen to make a large sum of money from my franchise and I have never as you so eloquently stated "ripped anyone off".

In terms of learning. This company and my dedication to the franchise have turned me into a top notch businessman. I have a MBA's understanding of the business: leadership, production, marketing, sales, customer support, and recruiting.

Do not post inaccurate jargon on the web simply because you did not put the work in. I work 50-70 hour week however I love what I do, I love who I have become, and I love College Pro.

SL

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10:55 pm EDT
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College Pro Painters Poor Service and Sloppy Work

I hired College Pro Painters in Aug/2009 for the worst paint job ever. Poor preparation by 3 painters due to lack of training re their Manager, Andrew Segovia who was no better. Filthy drop sheets, dirty ladders, poor quality paint and brushes. Paint spilt, roller marks on several walls etc. Never cleaned up after the 2 days there as per their contract. Rushed job, was scheduled for 3 days instead of 2 as the Manager had another job for them on 3rd day. One painter stood on my fireplace to paint. It took weeks to get the manager to come back and try and repair all the damage to the walls and never did. I sent complaints to the Better Business Bureau and to the Vice President Will Macmillan who took months playing telephone tag with me and to no avail, refused to refund me for the services never provided.

Please do not not hire this company unless you need a dog house painted.

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spanky 2
Etobicoke (Toronto), CA
Mar 26, 2010 7:58 pm EDT

If you want average work and paints use COLL.Pro, ASK what paint they use, Pratt and Lambert, Benjamin Moore, Sears' Glidden, etc. NO THEY DON't...
Average unskilled workers.
Use a skilled experienced pro and get referals, that is BEST !
I don't fix my own car, do you?
I don't do my own electriccal, do you
Get what I mean, I think so.
WOW< painting 70 houses in a year, That is VOLUME!
Never had that much work, I don't sub out>> Ido it all myself, my name at risk..
pros are pros plain and simple, do not go the cheapest way, bad stuffCAN happen.
SPAKKY...

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wmacmillan
Montreal, CA
Mar 25, 2010 3:07 pm EDT

I am the VP of College Pro's Eastern Canada Division. I reviewed the comments from Mrs. Caron and Spanky2 and felt compelled to offer up a comment.

Based on Mrs. Caron’s comments above, we have missed expectations for her, and I am very sorry about that. I am very happy to work toward a resolution in that matter, and have actively tried to contact Mrs. Caron to do so. As a company, we take quality very seriously and do not collect final payment on the work performed until the contract has been fulfilled, the customer is completely satisfied, and the work performed meets the customer's standards and expectations. If there was an issue during production on the job, it was not brought to my attention, and Mrs. Caron paid in full for the work completed without any comments or issues. It was not until weeks after the job was completed that issues were brought to my attention, and I have been actively trying to work with Mrs. Caron to resolve her concerns. We welcome the opportunity to meet with Mrs. Caron so that she can show us exactly what her concerns are, and we can more appropriately address these concerns about the work performed and work toward a resolution.

Regarding Spanky2—while he is entitled to his opinion, I wanted to present some facts about College Pro, and how our student managers are able to very effectively produce quality paint jobs at a reasonable price. In my division, each year we achieve, at minimum, a 96% customer satisfaction rate. As I stated above, as a company, we take quality very seriously and do not collect final payment on the work performed until the contract has been fulfilled, the customer is completely satisfied, and the work performed meets the customer's standards and expectations. Specifically, Andrew Segovia, over 3 years of working with College Pro, has painted nearly 200 homes. During that time, Andrew has only had 3 customers that he has not been able to satisfy 100%. This is hardly the record of an inexperienced painter or manager who is unable to deliver quality work.

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spanky 2
Etobicoke (Toronto), CA
Mar 22, 2010 11:54 pm EDT

I've been a house painter since 1975-man I'm old. Anyway, especially when it comes to work that requires skilled workmanship, you CANNOT even dream of getting 18 year olds that don't give a ### regarding workmanship.
Don't want to be an ###, I've made similar mistakes(gettin the kid next door to do my lush lawn), well, you can guess what happened, things like that you know.
We all take pride in our homes, and nothin wrong at all getting 3 quotes(I do now)and trying to save a few bucks. But, A good referal on top quality wokmanship, to me is worth a little extra cost. I always tip my mechanic, not the owner, stuff like that.
Anyway, College Pro has NEVER done acceptable work, let alone Quality Work. I have heard, and had to fix their work for ages. Forget thinking they will fix it.Cheap workmanship, paint, equipment, and above ALL cheap labour..Iexperience in every stage of painting, they just come in REAL CHEAP just to get the job!
People have had pretty good success in small claims court, it's not that hard in Canada, it only costs about $75 to buy the package from Provincial Court Office, and you can serve them the papers yourself, no need to hire a "Server". I understands you can get away without a lawyer if you want as the judges are very supportive if you tell you story and Document Everything. You can get a laywer and sue for costs included in claim, but if you don't get judgement, you pay the lawyer.
It's not all that hard, really.AND, it's the only way you will EVER get satisfaction.
Good Luck...Spanky2

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College Pro Painters sloppy work --- empty promises

I fully agree with all other dissatisfied customers. We had no general manager as stated per company guidelines.
It was a very bad paint job, not started or finished on time. The "franchise owner" had to fire the two painters ( and I use that term very loosely) and tried to finish the job and fix up their mistakes himself. He was in a big hurry to get his check and get out of town.

The siding on our house looks worse than it did before they started. And now in addition there is gray paint slopped onto areas of white, that were to remain white.

I wish I would have NEVER used this company. And it didn't come cheap either.

Please take my advise and don't hire them ever. You are welcome to visit my house and I will be glad to show you exactly what my complaints are.

It's too bad because I liked the "owner" Mike and was giving him many chances to make good on his word, all we got in return were excuses.

Fran G

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talflick
, CA
Jul 21, 2011 10:17 pm EDT

you can't take human error and kill a company because of it. the franchisee did the best they could to salvage the fact the painters weren't good enough. and paint (especially latex-based) washes off of vinyl siding easily with water and some pressure.

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dleveque2009
Novi, US
Nov 04, 2009 9:41 pm EST

In response to this claim we hav returned to the job to take care of the issues and the plan at this point is to resolve things when the weather breaks at the beginning of the next painting season. If there are any further concerns prior to that please give me a call! Dave LeVeque 800.327.2468 General Manager for College Pro in Michigan

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College Pro Painters Poor quality and didn't complete job

Painted my deck three times (didn't put out a sign, and other works kept walking on it!), and the kid didn't even use the right kind of stain, so everything started to peel in days. Talked to the supervisor, and was promised someone would come back and redo the deck with the right materials. Never happened, and I even called back the next spring and was given the same promise again. DO NOT LET THE WORKERS GET AWAY UNTIL YOU ARE SURE THEY HAVE COMPLETEd THE JOB TO YOUR SATISFACTION--YOU'LL NEVER HEAR FROM THEM AGAIN! In the end, I spent another $300 to get the job done right by a professional!

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