Ah Soon

[ncy 0]

To familyof4, jaskel,smallboy, I will use familyof4 msg to answer all of you

May I ask if you have personally read Ah Soon's customers' t blog? Or do you have any personal encounter with him?

ncy: My observation is based on what I read on T Blogs and not thru personal encounter

I have a few things in mind that really made me wonder why u said:

1. you think Ah Soon is overrated when:

we, Uncle's customers do pin point the faults out when it happens. We do not hide and shun from such thigs, it's all real encounters, written all over in the blogs.

ncy: I think he is overrated, simply for the fact his names is mentioned everywhere here. Overrated might not be a bad thing. Unless you choose to see the word negatively. IPod is an overrated product. But who cares, right? Apple is laughing their way into the bank.

2. he is just a contractor, we did not sell him, people ask for his contacts willingly and we do tell them the problems we face as well. True, like what Ivy said, we also ask people to go to Mr Yeak as uncle is unable to handle the overwhelming projects. What do you think when people still call him for quotes or even sign with him after we have shared all the hiccups in RT?

ncy: I fully agree with your statement above

3. idolising. I also burst out laughing. Would you spend tens of thousands just to let uncle renovate your house just because of idolising? Maybe you will, but I won't because neither of my hubby or myself earn so much to just play with the money.

ncy: I didnt say someone idolized uncle soon that leads to him landing on the job. I hope you dont misconstrue what I said. I also burst out laughing seeing how each sentence of yours getting more and more personal like I touched a raw nerve in you

4. How many contractors/ID out there are willing to acknowledge the mistakes the sub-con made and willing to pull down and re-do for you without really even trying to cover up?

ncy: I am not from the Dept Of Statistics...hahaha joking. Errr....frankly I heard of contractors coming clean on this. So whats the point here in this question?

5. I do agree that since yourcontractor is good, do share the pictures of your reno. No harm introducing anny good and reliable contractor to the forum rather than trying to flame someone down right?

ncy: Again, I dont have the zanniest idea where you get this perception that I am putting someone down. I am saying it again that Ah Soon is not the only good contractor in SGP. So if you read the statement again, I am actually saying Ah Soon is good. Understand?Only that he is not the only one in SGP

6. Judging Uncle base on the statement is really not fair for him because no one rates him here. We share experiences and how uncle does his "service recovery", I really take that as him having pride in his work and also ever so sincere. This is his virtue.

ncy: I have to agree with you on the above. Because if not he wont have so much backlog orders with him.

And to Jaskel, I didnt use the words teenages and celebratries, the choice fo words came from you. I only said idolized. So if you have that perception that I meant that, then sorry to dissappoint you I didnt mean that

[ncy 0]

As I pointed out in my previous comments, some of the clients do gave me an impression of Ah Soon is really a "superstar" hahahaha...I believe thats what some are calling him.

However in all honesty, I do believe Ah Soon price is competitive and his workmanship is good if not he wont have so many backlog orders, but I just want to reiterate again that he is not the only contractor in SGP that can offer a good price. So lets keep our channels open here and exchange as much info as possible with other readers, so we can share the good and discard the bad. Ultimately, we are the customer and we pay our hard earned money to them, we only expect they deliver the best which includes good workmanship, good program coordination (means I do not need to worry if this is done, or I can catch hold of him or not)and also reasonable pricing.

But for me personally, Ah Soon style might not suit me for 2 reasons. If he is slightly cheaper or on par with another contractor, I would have simply not chosen Ah Soon for 2 reasons. First of all, he dont provide his quote in English. To someone who doesnt read Chinese, its a problem..hahahaha. Yes one might say can translate, but its a hassle. Second, I heard he is so busy, he dedicate it to his helpers, or sometimes Ah Soon is so busy, its hard to get hold of him. I have short tolerance for people that cant keep their promises on appointments. The same goes for my wife. Although cant blame Ah Soon on this, but its really a worry for some who wants to get it done chop chop.

As for the cost of my reno, I believe I had PM to some. I will continue to PM to those who wants to have a look at what I had done which incl the quote, pics and also price. I can state here my damage is $25k. Nothing fanciful done, just a normal basic run on the mill renovation.

Btw, I am out of the country at the moment. Will be back in action on Tues. So will PM those who had send me their requests. I will gladly share. Utlimately you guys/ladies will be the one deciding whats best. So good luck, enjoy the period of the pre and post renoation period. Its worthwhile the effort as its a place where we all call HOME

[Reiki 0]

Having read many comments/experiences/relationships from Uncle's clients in their TBlog, there is a sense of honesty and sincerity with this man. What is important here, Uncle delivers and he is able to do that within a small and tight budget [ok, it may not be the cheapest but still within reach]. Infact, I am full of respect - not only to Uncle Soon, but for uncle's clients. I don't feel that they are idolising him. Just that, there are now too many of his clients here, resulting with his name pops in many posts. Naturally, the bandwidth in RT seems bloated to readers.

No renovations are trouble free, be it when owners engaged an ID or a contractor. Guess, bottomline, when we put in our hard-earned money into renovation, it is only natural that we get ourselves involved in the process too. Perhaps, the difference - owners with an ID rely heavily on the ID to manage the whole project. To be the only person we liaise with. Sadly, it is always easier said than done. There are too many areas, with different trades involved in one renovation, and it is not viable with one person overseeing all. Owners, with expectations, need to step in too.

Uncle seems to be doing fine in this aspect, though room for improvement. My observation - uncle needs to know that he will be the only person a client will chase for errors/rectifications. And, when there are errors, a client should get the sub-cons to stop works till uncle give his final decision.

At the end of a renovation, important that we learn. We learn about the trade. A lesson that will make us wiser.

Cheers.

[familyof4 0]

in response to ncy:

May I ask if you have personally read Ah Soon's customers' t blog? Or do you have any personal encounter with him?

I have a few things in mind that really made me wonder why u said:

1. you think Ah Soon is overrated when:

we, Uncle's customers do pin point the faults out when it happens. We do not hide and shun from such thigs, it's all real encounters, written all over in the blogs.

2. he is just a contractor, we did not sell him, people ask for his contacts willingly and we do tell them the problems we face as well. True, like what Ivy said, we also ask people to go to Mr Yeak as uncle is unable to handle the overwhelming projects. What do you think when people still call him for quotes or even sign with him after we have shared all the hiccups in RT?

3. idolising. I also burst out laughing. Would you spend tens of thousands just to let uncle renovate your house just because of idolising? Maybe you will, but I won't because neither of my hubby or myself earn so much to just play with the money.

4. How many contractors/ID out there are willing to acknowledge the mistakes the sub-con made and willing to pull down and re-do for you without really even trying to cover up?

5. I do agree that since yourcontractor is good, do share the pictures of your reno. No harm introducing anny good and reliable contractor to the forum rather than trying to flame someone down right?

6. Judging Uncle base on the statement is really not fair for him because no one rates him here. We share experiences and how uncle does his "service recovery", I really take that as him having pride in his work and also ever so sincere. This is his virtue.

I pick a quote from lawry who had his fair share of problems and he engaged one of the BIG ID firm:

It's simple, Uncle charges at a reasonable price and he's professional enough with no tolerance for any nonsense (as far as I've read from you guy's blog on the way he does things, not that I encountered him personally).Compare this, to big companies with similar IDs who charges double and fared much worse. I'd take Uncle Soon anytime.

Edited May 30, 2009 by familyof4

[Supersimon27 2]

In response to NCY, when I was searching for a contractor, i dont see a lot of forumers recommending their contractors. But I do read about Ah soon, heard about this style of working, and the time I may have to fork out to project mgt.

So, recently after he has done up my house, we ask ourselves the question "Did we do the right thing to hire him" after the different saga we went thru. One question which we can't answer "if we had engage a ID or another contractor, would it be hussle free too?".

I agreed with that . All contractor or ID sure got problem . It's jus depend on how big or how small , how fast or how slow to get it resolve. The part that uncle soon tear down thing really touch me . don't think alot of contractor can do that

[Smallboy 0]

In response to NCY, when I was searching for a contractor, i dont see a lot of forumers recommending their contractors. But I do read about Ah soon, heard about this style of working, and the time I may have to fork out to project mgt.

So, recently after he has done up my house, we ask ourselves the question "Did we do the right thing to hire him" after the different saga we went thru. One question which we can't answer "if we had engage a ID or another contractor, would it be hussle free too?".

We had our fair share of hiccups with Ah Soon and I have objectively blog about it. I dont believe in giving blankets answer "Oh, it is his sub-con fault" or "Oh, it is like that" and I got to accept it. I am the customer and I pay to have a reasonable level of service and quality.

I now listed down several points of unhappiness:

1) Air con trunking forgotten to re-route

2) Kitchen cabinets made too short

3) TV console wood grain run wrongly

4) Cabinets doors lots of scratches

A lot of my woes are carpentry related. And I have sat down and resolved one by one with Uncle. He has always given us the assurance and most of them are torn down and replaced without me incurring any single costs.

Why we are so comfortable with him? He is committed to quality and willl do the best he can to make sure swee swee.

Even when we called him at 10pm+ for the final saga about the washing for my whole house before I move in the next day, he sent 3 guys and his brother, Jason to wash up till 1am.

Saying all these, humans are humans. We are prone to error too. No ID or contractors are error free. YET........

I must say some errors can best be avoided if Uncle got more time to project mgt. I expect the project mgt part but just that I didn't expect so much that I had to do.

One big flaw is Uncle is overloaded with projects and can't give enough TIME to each of the existing ones.

ThAT will be my biggest feedback.

I still wish he has given more time to project mgt.

I have no complaints for the work done weighed against the money I pay.

My friend called my house "value for money'........ so much done at such a reasonable price.

That's the biggest criteria for us.

Well, are there good contractors out there.... I believe so. But not many of their clients are posting here to give Ah soon 'a run for his money'..... hahaha.... I mean, if you have a good house done by your contractors, post here to give others a informed alternative. I believe others will benefit from it.

Pictures speaks a thousand words!!!!

And I wont ask for any contact if there are no pictures to reveal anything.

And I remain objective about Ah Soon. I dont idolize him or think he is any 'demi-god' hahaha....

[jaskel 2]

hahahhahahha idolizing sounds like its for people in their teens leh. we are all adults here and we are objective people. If you have met uncle you'll probably not use the word "idolize" on him hhahahahaha sorry uncle no offence

For forummers who read through the threads, will know that most of us don't go around recommending uncle, cos we are also worried that with him overloaded with projects, our projects will get neglected. However for those that sent pm to us asking for number, we will emphasize and re-emphasize uncle's working style.

For those that follow most of the recent thread closely, will also have noticed, for house owners who have a tight dateline, we, even suggest this folks to take Mr Yeak instead cos we know uncle is not good at managing timeline and Mr Yeak is another nice uncle who gives good quotes.

This is a forum to share all the goods and bads of our reno experience. As you may have realised, all uncle's customers are very real people, they express their true emotions. When they are upset, they post. When they met with hiccups, they post. When they are not happy with uncle's work standards, they also post. We don't hide uncle's flaws. It's all up in the threads for all to read and decide whether uncle is the person they wanna work with.

We have also seen people taking opportunity when we post issues we encounter and jumping in to magnify mistakes that uncle make, however, there are still willing owners, who have met up with uncle, still willing to work with him. What does that show? Will we, pawn our biggest asset in life just bcos we "idolize" a pot belly, pretty poor in grooming uncle??

hahahhaha sorry for my poor manners :x

There are always 2 side to a coin. When there are good, there will be bad, when there are bad there are bound to be good too.

For new home owners, the best bet will always be, see for yourself. Having gone through the process and also having visited many other home owners house to get ideas and to view workmanship, I guess many of us (this us means forummers ok, not just people using ah soon) will be willing to help and let you visit to view workmanship.

ncy, seems like your contractor did a good job then help everyone lah, post the pictures so that we can also learn what are the good things that we can follow and request mah. We are all here to help and share leh, not to flame anyone down.

Do agree with ivy on that . ncy if you had a good contractor, u are always welcome to recommend to other forumers, what I feel is u have not read most of the thread on the comments of Uncle Soon so u make such a comment. Although here is free for discussions and suggestions, but don't treat us like those teenagers that are crazy on celebraties.

Do a T-blog, post your reno and contractor workmanship, let other veiw it themselves and judge it.

[enivi 0]

hahahhahahha idolizing sounds like its for people in their teens leh. we are all adults here and we are objective people. If you have met uncle you'll probably not use the word "idolize" on him hhahahahaha sorry uncle no offence

For forummers who read through the threads, will know that most of us don't go around recommending uncle, cos we are also worried that with him overloaded with projects, our projects will get neglected. However for those that sent pm to us asking for number, we will emphasize and re-emphasize uncle's working style.

For those that follow most of the recent thread closely, will also have noticed, for house owners who have a tight dateline, we, even suggest this folks to take Mr Yeak instead cos we know uncle is not good at managing timeline and Mr Yeak is another nice uncle who gives good quotes.

This is a forum to share all the goods and bads of our reno experience. As you may have realised, all uncle's customers are very real people, they express their true emotions. When they are upset, they post. When they met with hiccups, they post. When they are not happy with uncle's work standards, they also post. We don't hide uncle's flaws. It's all up in the threads for all to read and decide whether uncle is the person they wanna work with.

We have also seen people taking opportunity when we post issues we encounter and jumping in to magnify mistakes that uncle make, however, there are still willing owners, who have met up with uncle, still willing to work with him. What does that show? Will we, pawn our biggest asset in life just bcos we "idolize" a pot belly, pretty poor in grooming uncle??

hahahhaha sorry for my poor manners :x

There are always 2 side to a coin. When there are good, there will be bad, when there are bad there are bound to be good too.

For new home owners, the best bet will always be, see for yourself. Having gone through the process and also having visited many other home owners house to get ideas and to view workmanship, I guess many of us (this us means forummers ok, not just people using ah soon) will be willing to help and let you visit to view workmanship.

ncy, seems like your contractor did a good job then help everyone lah, post the pictures so that we can also learn what are the good things that we can follow and request mah. We are all here to help and share leh, not to flame anyone down.

yea..yea..pics..

[ivy 0]

Personally does anyone here think that this Ah Soon guy is overrated? I mean you get 1 person talking and it starts to spread like wildfire. I am not saying he is not good or his price is unattractive, but what I am trying to say is that he is not the only contractor in whole SGP. I see some ppl posts are like idolizing him like........

I recently got my home done. I cant say I found the cheapest but what I can say is that aft doing my whole home, 4 room flat (86sqm) changing the floor tiles, hacking incl hacking the storeroom and rebuild a new one, painting/plastering, rewiring, building kitchen cabinets, master bdr cabinet and many other more, my bill come to about $25k . And its not Ah Soon. So folks out there, do keep your eyes open for other contractors too. Like mine, he has been in the biz for 10yrs now, no showroom, no fancy 3D drawing or anything, just him, his service, good price and also above all good aft sales service.

hahahhahahha idolizing sounds like its for people in their teens leh. we are all adults here and we are objective people. If you have met uncle you'll probably not use the word "idolize" on him hhahahahaha sorry uncle no offence

For forummers who read through the threads, will know that most of us don't go around recommending uncle, cos we are also worried that with him overloaded with projects, our projects will get neglected. However for those that sent pm to us asking for number, we will emphasize and re-emphasize uncle's working style.

For those that follow most of the recent thread closely, will also have noticed, for house owners who have a tight dateline, we, even suggest this folks to take Mr Yeak instead cos we know uncle is not good at managing timeline and Mr Yeak is another nice uncle who gives good quotes.

This is a forum to share all the goods and bads of our reno experience. As you may have realised, all uncle's customers are very real people, they express their true emotions. When they are upset, they post. When they met with hiccups, they post. When they are not happy with uncle's work standards, they also post. We don't hide uncle's flaws. It's all up in the threads for all to read and decide whether uncle is the person they wanna work with.

We have also seen people taking opportunity when we post issues we encounter and jumping in to magnify mistakes that uncle make, however, there are still willing owners, who have met up with uncle, still willing to work with him. What does that show? Will we, pawn our biggest asset in life just bcos we "idolize" a pot belly, pretty poor in grooming uncle??

hahahhaha sorry for my poor manners :x

There are always 2 side to a coin. When there are good, there will be bad, when there are bad there are bound to be good too.

For new home owners, the best bet will always be, see for yourself. Having gone through the process and also having visited many other home owners house to get ideas and to view workmanship, I guess many of us (this us means forummers ok, not just people using ah soon) will be willing to help and let you visit to view workmanship.

ncy, seems like your contractor did a good job then help everyone lah, post the pictures so that we can also learn what are the good things that we can follow and request mah. We are all here to help and share leh, not to flame anyone down.

[JCYQ 0]

Hi,

I would appreciate if someone PM Ah Soon's contact ASAP.

And does Ah Soon has a website or something?

Thank you!!

[enivi 0]

hi ncy tks for your pm..but u nvr tell me how much is your reno leh...

any pics to share with me on the works done by your contractor? or u got T-blog? hee hee

[shingirl 0]

ncy let me have the contacts too

[ncy 0]

Hi enivi, had PM you. All the best

[enivi 0]

Sohck, u wan to try getting quote from my contractor - his price quite attractive too. But workman ship I cannot say anything yet as my house haven’t complete yet (although so far so good).

Not trying to steal uncle soon business. Just trying to help here. Pm me if you are interested.

Ncy, Can u kindly send me your contractor's contact? If possible, can I also have your quotation as well?

millions of thanks

[sohck 0]

For my case, Ah Soon's quote ranks second: HS (contractor), Ah Soon, Ideal, Baroque, cheapest to most expensive in that order.

My consideration is that should I engage Ah Soon (as compared to Baroque) for that 5% savings, but having to do lots of project management and supervision myself. Or just throw it to the ID to worry, plus enjoy their design, space planning and color coordination.

So this is something we need to think about over the weekend, as we will make a decision who to go with by early next week.

PS: Ah Soon's English quote still haven't arrive yet....