Perfect Design

Esther K.

I do not understand all the negative reviews of Perfect Design on here. It's well known that in life, you can only pick 2 of these 3: time, quality, and price. You can have your project done quickly and cheaply, but the quality will be low. Or you can have it done high-quality and cheaply, but it will take a long time. Or you can have it done quickly and high-quality, but you will have to pay a lot. Perfect Design is like a unicorn because they offer all three: your project will be done pretty quickly, for a pretty good quality, and a reasonable price.

The downside to this is that they are crazy busy ALL THE TIME. So you do have to wait. They will put you on hold if you call them, they take a while to respond to your email, and you will have to wait in their waiting area if you come in wanting to talk to them about your project. And if you're expecting niceties like them taking the time to make small talk with you or offering you cucumber-infused water, this is not the place for you. Because they are so busy, they are very direct and to-the-point. Which is fine with me! I think they're worth it. Especially because they know how to get your plans passed by the city, which is really the most important thing. So they're 5 stars to me.

Zach B.

Took forever to get us our plans, never answered the phone, I always had to drive a hour and just show up to get any motion going until finally they got it done after 8 months

James L.

This establishment must be avoided at all costs. Their lack of responsiveness, quality, and attention to detail has caused painful delays in our permitting process. They do not answer their phone and email, you are literally forced to visit them in person and sit in the office to get them to take action on your project. I really wish the best for this team, but they are not the right partner for you if you are on any sort of timeline. So so painful.

Richard L.

Do not, I mean, DO NOT use them at all costs! Along with the architect I had to help me get plans done for my restaurant, they drove my costs upwards of over $50k. First off, the architect didn't draw out my floor plan correctly. Second, this engineer company did not draw my plans correctly. They said 3 week turnaround, it took them 6. Then city has corrections. They said 1 week, took them another 3. I even had to go in and go over some of the things with them. Which was supposed to be the architect's job. Floor drains were not put in the right places. They swapped out my existing 3/4"" water pipes to 1/2"" pipes. My contractor had to rip out every single pipe and repipe the whole place. And copper isn't cheap. They added a/c vents in places that didn't need it. They did not ask me what type of lighting I wanted, so they just put recessed lighting on the plans. They swapped out my 100amp electrical box to 200amp. So now I have to get plans done again because there is no way to run new wires through the building for 200amp without having to tear up the floor of 4 other businesses. Seems like they have people who have just finished school and don't know what they're doing. Just pulling things out of a book they learned from. My architect, Vivi (real name Xinyi), said she found this place for me because it was the cheapest and that she's never used them before. I asked her why they're taking so long and she said she was trying to save me money. Well, it's been over 1 year since I've had my lease and money is not being saved. I went to the company to talk to them and saw other plans that Vivi has sent in, sitting on the floor. I'd assume that she uses them quite frequently. This place looks very unorganized. There's blueprints all over the place, on the floors, all over the desks. My contractor is frustrated with how bad the plans look and how many of the same plans are in different pages, but have different results. Definitely look for something better. Spending a little more on a good engineer would save you now money on the long run.

Update :

Inspection on my place isn't getting passed because the architect didn't draw out existing electrical outlets. And she isn't answering our calls or texts. Also, the design company put electrical outlets in places that don't need them and go don't have the existing ones on the new plan. This is going to stall me for who knows how much longer.

Maurizio B.

This place sucks. They overdo and add unnecessary things to get plans approved passing all those extra costs to the builder and or owner. Stay away !!!

Charlene S.

FYI- I didn't end up using their service, so I can't speak to their actual ability except to say that the next person I contacted found a few ways to make my design work. It just goes to show how little Perfect Designs cares about helping people.

Also, I'm coming from a background with zero knowledge on the subject of Title 24, a position that I expressed to them.

Pros:
- Priced low.
- Girl who answered my phone calls was quite nice.
- Someone answered my scathing email politely, albeit without apology.

Cons:
- Terrible customer service. I mean, downright awful.
- Unwilling to help.


Long & short:
- They were recommended by someone.
- They were also NOT recommended by someone.
- I gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried them anyway
- Everything seemed fine until Peter said my plans wouldn't work.
- We talked, I got very, very little, incredibly rushed feedback, and then called back for clarification on two items.
- Then- bam! Unprofessionalism. I was treated with a lack of respect I hadn't experienced in a long time.
- Thus, I decided to take my business elsewhere.

That's pretty much it. The price seems good, but it's not worth working with this type of person. Even if they're experiencing holiday stress or frustrated with someone's lack of knowledge, it was a shockingly bad experience. Who know what would have happened if I needed changes made to my plans.

Azkaser C.

Beware, beware, beware. Don't use Perfect Design, They're anything but perfect. Not sure how perfect design and engineering is still in business.
The absolute worst engineering company I have worked with, and I worked with many in the past. They were referred to me by a person who I trusted.
Before starting work, they asked for 50% of the fees, upfront, I should've known something was wrong, no contractor, engineering company, or architects asks for 50% of the payment upfront.
Engineering plans that should not take more than seven days to prepare, they've been working on it for six weeks.
Each time we contact them we get the same answer ""You are next on our priority list, the plan should be ready by the end of the week"" we've been hearing this now for the last six weeks.

david k.

my designer hired them to do title 24. after getting the results back, I noticed they made many mistakes such as getting the correct sq ft for sky light or taking the data from drawing and implementing it into their title 24 report. When tried to tell them their mistakes, Peter said he has no time and has to go. I fired them and hired another company that turned it around in 24 hrs where it took them 1.5 weeks to turn around and them using incorrect data. I would never use them again. their price was less than competition. what you pay for is what you get. you save $50 now to spend $8,000 later due to their inaccuracy of calculation and suggestions.

Rick M.

First of all I give these guys and gals an ""A"" for effort. The industry is booming; most customers think that the only project PDE is working on is there's and don't forget the virus, I've received nothing but great service because I'm rational and understand the value of service I'm receiving. PDE has a great communication system with fast results (both email and phones) For the specific services I request I'm more than satisfied. Thank you PDE.

Bettina G.

Perfect Design did our Title 24 analysis in a quick and through manner. 3 weeks after picking up my documents, I had a bunch of questions about types of water heaters and CalGreen regulations. I had no idea who to ask. I emailed Perfect Design and they were so kind to answer all my questions again quickly and throughly! Love this place.