Not a Scam: An Honest Response to a One-Star Review From a San Diego Painting Company

Character & Craftsmanship Still Matter

My dad and uncle started this company with two words they wanted every customer to know us by: Character and Craftsmanship.

It’s rare for us to receive a one-star review. And when we do, I can’t hide it on Google—it’s there to stay. I won’t pretend it doesn’t affect me. It honestly makes me sick to my stomach when I see feedback that suggests we missed the mark.

I know I speak for my entire team when I say this: we feel it deeply.

Our front office, estimators, production manager, general manager, and painters in the field work incredibly hard to honor the legacy my dad and uncle started back in 1982—hiring people of good character and training them to deliver quality craftsmanship. That hasn’t changed.

As a small business owner, I don’t settle for “good enough,” and I don’t want to be the biggest just for the sake of it. I want to grow intentionally—because staying stagnant creates more headaches for everyone, including our customers. Growth allows us to build better systems, better checks and balances, and ultimately a better customer experience on every single job.

That means ongoing education—not just in paint products and application, but in communication, leadership, technology, and tools that help us serve people better.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And if we were a one-star company overall, that would say something. But we aren’t. My team strives for a five-star experience every time.

In this particular case, the reviewer wasn’t technically our customer—their neighbor hired us and was happy with the work and the experience. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you simply can’t please everyone. And that’s part of doing business.

That said, I’m not here to justify or dismiss feedback. There are times we’ve received criticism that helped us grow—maybe a painter wasn’t the right personality fit for a homeowner, not because of skill, but communication or expectations. When that happens, we listen. We talk about it. We train. We improve.

We’re not going anywhere.

I took over the reins from my father, Mike Chism, because I’m proud of what our family has built. He learned the trade from my grandfather, and I’m grateful to be a third-generation owner here in San Diego. Lord willing, one day one of my kids will carry this into a fourth generation.

We are not a scam, San Diego homeowners.

We will do whatever we can to make your experience worth the price you pay. We welcome honest feedback. Talk to us. Help us get better.

And don’t worry—we’re still pretty darn good at what we do.