Bernhardt Restoration

We've used this company twice for water damage in our home. One in our kitchen when an ice maker had been leaking for months. This lead to a massive water damage project that necessitated a total removal of our kitchen down to the studs. They were excellent and even allowed us to remain in the house while the summer long project was completed. Job was for with care and expertise.

Next was just recently when a water heater exploded and water flooded our basement about an inch high. All the drywall, carpets, painting, and cleanup happened quick and within a budget. They took care to work around our possessions and made the repair look perfect.

The owner, Atillio, even came out on a Sunday evening to drop off big fans and dehumidifiers to try and save our things. That's service!

It is America after all and Arianna is certainly entitled to her opinion and perspective, needless to say, I have better things to do than try to rip off restoration companies. How dare you. The valuables were present less than 24 hours before they disappeared. The only folks who had access to the property during that time were the Bernhardt workers and the family that lives there. Working in a basement unsupervised is all the opportunity some folks need. Proof is relative and hard to come by as anyone that has experience can attest to. I sincerely hope your innocence is legitimate for you and your company's sake, because there is no loyalty among thieves.

My husband Michael W. already left a review for this company. As he mentioned irreplaceable rings were missing after they left, and we have no proof the employees took them. The police had full cooperation from Bernhardt. Bernhardt's response:

"We at Bernhardt Restoration would like to say that, and as the customer even states, "there is no proof" of these slanderous allegations. We have cooperated fully with the police department and checks have been performed on all involved employees. No wrongdoing, past or present, has been found. Our employees have been working with us for several years and despite of being in and out of multi-million dollar homes there has never been a complaint of ANYTHING missing. What we find curious is our employees had been in and out of the house for about 2 weeks. During that entire time there was no issue. Within 5 minutes of our employees leaving on the last day of work we received a call saying that there were several rings missing. Now, we have not seen any proof what so ever that these rings even existed in the first place. No pictures, no value, no description, etc..... So, to us it seems as these renters were looking to get some money back, either from us of the landlord. It is because of customers like this that there should be a better customer bureau. It is unfortunate that small family owned business has no defence or protection from people such as this."

And how are your comments not slanderous?
Bernhardt had been in and out of the house, but the owners had always been present too. This day three workers showed up. Later some other employees, and I believe one of the owners, showed up and one of the first three left with them. The two other workers worked on my basement the rest of the day, leaving for lunch, leaving for good, but then coming back to do one last thing...they also removed my basement window several times during the day to move items in and out of the basement They were not supervised at all because I didn't stay in the basement with them. I discovered the rings were missing "five minutes" after they left because I was getting ready for a charity dinner that I was working at and went down to the basement to put my jewelry on. You can verify this with your employees because I asked them what time they would be leaving because I needed to leave at 5pm myself and I was getting ready when they were there. I didn't notice the rings were missing right away because the rings were the only thing in the large jewelry box that were missing...all the rest of the jewelry seemed to be untouched, and I did find that odd. I went to put on a topaz ring that matches a pendant I was wearing and that is when I realized all the rings were gone. I called my husband to make sure that he didn't move them since I stupidly left an entire jewelry box out. Every ring in the center compartment of the jewelry box was missing except for an antique costume ring from my great-grandmother. There was a pearl and diamond ring on a ring stand that was left, and my husband's class ring that was too large for the ring compartment was not taken. A large portion of these rings were given to me from my mother before she died of Cancer 1.5 years ago, some were gifts from throughout my life, and some were gifts from my husband. One was my mother's class ring from 1972. I rarely wear them, and I sadly never took pictures of my jewelry for insurance purposes though I always meant to. I won't make that mistake again. I can't find any pictures with my mom or I wearing the jewelry, but that does not mean that I'm lying, or that I'm trying to get money from anyone (especially my landlord), or tarnish anyone's image. I don't want money. I want these irreplaceable items back. I don't even care about pressing charges. The officers told me to check EBAY, craigslist and area pawnshops. Do you know how difficult that is? I have no idea what pawn shops to even check. Do you realize how many pawnshops are in the Chicago area? I don't want to falsely blame anyone, but I had just worn two of the rings the Saturday before then put a necklace away the Tuesday before they were in my basement on Wednesday. So when I went down to the basement five minutes after the workers left and discovered my rings were missing they were the first suspects. I'm sorry you feel that we are being unjust in mentioning that my rings disappeared in our review, and that you feel the need to lump us into the "customers like this" category, but your were not in my house when I realized my rings were gone, you were not there to see the panic, to see my children helping me search through the box to make sure I was mistaken, to see me destroying evidence so that when the police officers went to look for finger prints there was no hope. I feel violated. I just told my dad last night. I know the rings are gone for good - they won't be given back. Please put yourself in my shoes and feel a little compassion.

We were very happy with the work done by Bernhardt Restoration.

Our crawl space was flooding due to our neighbor directing water from their sump pump in to our yard and ultimately in to our crawl space. Bernhardt took care of the problem right away. Fairly priced, trustworthy and very clean.

I would use them again if needed

2015 EDIT Of Original 2011 Review:

In 2011 I wrote a VERY positive review of BERNHARDT RESTORATION. At that time we were extremely satisfied with the work they had done and their customer service and could neither praise them nor recommend them highly enough.

But in four short years something has drastically changed with this company and, unfortunately, it's been a change for the worse. Their current state of customer service has deteriorated so badly as to be non-existent. Important inquiries regarding appointments, work, billing, are all ignored. They are eager to make grandiose promises, but just as quickly leave you in the lurch and not respond to significant questions about their business. Particularly insulting was how much bragging the owner did to us about all the million dollar homes he has worked on in Florida. I wonder if he offers those wealthy homeowners the same sorry lack of professionalism he obviously displays for the rest of us.

I was tempted to leave my previous glowing review here from 2011 in order to exhibit the immense contrast between then and now, but I couldn't, in good conscience, give any impression whatsoever that I recommend this company in any way, shape or form.

Very happy with the work they did. They came out quickly when we got water in the basement, found the problem and quoted me on the repairs. They left the basement cleaner than it was before the leak and every thing was completed on time.

What can I say about Bernhardt Restoration! They're the absolute BEST!!!

They were so good, that I opened a Yelp account just to make sure I could give them the review that they deserved!

On 1/13/14 a pipe burst in my condo, and Bernhardt came at the drop of a hat to get to work at 5am. From the Moment they walked in the door to the moment I moved back into my unit, Bernhardt treated me like a partner and worked with me every step of the way. Their entire team was nothing but professional, courteous, and extremely nice.

Bernhardt worked with me, and my insurance company to make sure everything was being repaired and restored correctly. They did a wonderful job keeping me updated on progress of my condo's repair and replacement of items. Furthermore, they worked with me on the budget to make sure I was getting the best deal on the new materials I needed t purchase.

From start to finish, Bernhardt was a pleasure to work with, and during a life changing disaster like the one I experienced, that was quite the breath of fresh air.

To finish off my post here with some perspective, from the moment they walked in my door to the moment I moved back in, it was less than a month. That was the fastest complete restoration of a flooded/damaged unit I have ever experienced, and I HIGHLY recommend using them for ANY of your repair, or restoration needs.

This is a terrific family owned business! I have been using them for well over ten years at my home on the northshore and NEVER had a problem ..They go out of their way to get to you as soon as they can in the worse possible circumstances of continuous rain and flooding. They stand behind all that they do until you are completely satisfied ... their prices are very reasonable...but its their SERVICE where they really EXCEL!!

Watch your back. They skipped Air Ducts/Vents, completed 1/2 of the shampooing contracted. Left rat poison in one portion of basement and left a foreign white powder dust substance in another part of basement. They did work NOT authorize to do (they claim) and give you a bill more than agreed to. Then they argue with any credit amount and threaten homeowner with lien.

Bernhardt did a fantastic job cleaning up the water damage in my basement! Very timely and their employees were so friendly- especially when my 4 year old nephew wanted to "help" them clean up. They also did a fantastic job repairing the damage as well and the basement looks better than it did before. I'd definitely recommend Bernhardt to anyone else and use them again in the future. Nice job!