Chicago painting contractor committed to quality

Tony Mack has been in the painting business since 1982. What started as a home-based business now encompasses an office and two warehouses.

Tony Mack, president of Changing Colors Inc., says he tries to treat every home as if he's working in his own.

"When someone's in your home, you'd like the tradesmen to take caution and leave the place as clean as they found it," he says.

Mack, who holds a Chicago home repair license, has come a long way since a friend invited him to help out with a painting job in 1982. He currently employs about 15 full-time painters and wallpaper hangers. Mack credits much of his company's success to his dedicated crew. He says he has very low turnover, and as a result, has an experienced staff who knows what he wants.

"When somebody comes to work here, they generally stay," Mack says. "I've been in business since 1982, and I have one guy who's been with me since 1983."

The industry has changed a lot as well, and Mack says he works diligently to keep informed of the latest developments. Most recently, he and several of his employees received certification to perform lead-safe paint practices in accordance with new EPA guidelines.

Angie's List member Suzanne Devane says Mack's staff certainly delivered when she hired Changing Colors to plaster and repaint her living room, dining room and front entry hall.

"I thought to myself, 'This house is 100 years old, so what can I expect when it comes to perfection?'" she says. "But these guys really delivered. The walls and ceilings look like brand-new, high-end construction!"

She says they also fulfilled their dedication to cleanliness. "With that amount of plaster sanding, I was dreading the cleanup phase, but they left the place in great shape," she says.

Although Changing Colors has won eight consecutive Super Service Awards, Mack says he doesn't take it for granted: "Every time we receive the award, I tell my workers right away, 'Now that we've earned this by hard work, in order to keep it, we have to keep doing things the same way.'