There are many situations when you need help right away, i.e. when your garage door breaks. Many homeowners hire the first garage door company that appears on their Google search results. If you hire a company without researching them, you risk being charged too much and having poor work done on your garage door. We have seen many situations where a homeowner was quoted $600 to fix a garage door when it should have cost $200 to repair. And after a few months, the garage door broke again due to the poor work that was done.
There are many garage door companies in the Denver Metro area, some of them excellent local companies and others out-of-state companies with local phone numbers and addresses in your area. In this blog post we will go through some of the ways to determine if a garage door company is a good one to hire for your garage door repairs.
Check Reviews — But Read Them Carefully
The number of Google reviews a company has matters. While a company with 500 reviews can’t fake their track record, a company with 12 reviews has just had a good month or asked their friends and family to leave a 5-star review or two.
Even the number of reviews is not enough to determine a quality Garage Door Company in Denver by itself. Read the reviews – really read them. Find out the technician’s name, read about the specific problems they were able to repair, and read about the price and if the customer felt it to be fair. Five star reviews with no details are worthless.
Also read the 1 and 2 star reviews. Every business has the occasional unhappy customer. The key is how the business responds to negative feedback. If a customer has a poor experience and the business responds professionally, takes responsibility and makes amends then that is a business that cares about their customers and their reputation. On the other hand if the business argues with customers and ignores their complaints then that is a business you should avoid at all costs.
Verify They Are Licensed and Insured in Colorado
By law in Colorado, garage door contractors must have general liability insurance. Any qualified garage door repair company will happily provide you with proof of their current insurance policy before they begin work on your garage door. If the company is unwilling to provide proof of insurance, do not hire them for repairs. You will be responsible for any damages or injuries that occur during the repairs.
An A+ rating from the BBB also indicates that the company takes its business seriously and adheres to a set of standards with regards to the way they treat their customers and respond to complaints. The BBB is not a government organization, but a non-profit, so it’s important to note that.
Ask About Pricing Before Anyone Shows Up
A reputable garage door contractor will give you a flat rate or a quote for a service call prior to them arriving at your home. Be wary of any contractor that charges a very low service call fee, ie. $29, $39, $49, to come to your home. Their intention is to come to your home to make a service call, then charge you exorbitant fees for parts and labor to fix whatever problem they claim your garage door has. A reputable contractor will provide you with a written quote prior to commencing work on your garage door. Ask the contractor if they provide a written quote prior to commencing work.
Ask directly: do you provide a written quote before starting work? A reputable company will say yes without hesitation.
Find out whether parts and labor are included in the quote or if they are being billed separately. Some companies might give you a low labor rate, but then charge you for parts in a big markup.
Look for Local Ownership
A garage door service company that is locally owned has a huge incentive to do a great job at servicing garage doors. National companies have no such incentive. They can easily refer a customer to another company. When you call a locally owned company, you are more likely to talk to the owner or decision maker. The owner’s reputation in the local community is on the line. This is a huge differentiator for local companies as opposed to national chains with local phone numbers.
Even before calling a contractor to schedule a service call, it is possible to determine whether or not the company is a local, family-owned business or not. This can be determined by checking out a company’s website for real photos of technicians and their marked company vehicles as opposed to a company using stock photography of vehicles, buildings, etc. Also, does the company list a physical street address as opposed to a virtual address at a UPS Store or other mailing location? Are the owners listed on the company’s website with their backgrounds and photos?
Ask How Long They Have Been in Business
In terms of longevity, a garage door company’s ability to remain in operation in the garage door business is a quality indicator. If a company is conducting poor work, it is only a matter of time before word gets out. In Denver, this news will travel fast. People in the area will discuss this with their neighbors and leave reviews on platforms online. In short, it is very hard for a subpar company to sustain a positive reputation in a metropolitan area over time. For this reason, it is a good idea to look for companies that have been operating in the Denver Metro area for 5+ years with a positive track record of reviews and service.
Be skeptical of companies who cannot give you a straight answer as to how long they have been in business. If a company cannot even give you an honest answer to a simple question then it is likely they are trying to hide something.
Same-Day Service — What It Actually Means
Most garage door companies claim same day repair. However, this can mean anything. Some companies may call you within the day and arrive the technician can arrive the following day. Smart Garage Door Service gives customers a specific time frame within which the technician will arrive. If you book an appointment in the morning for example, the technician will arrive between 1-3 PM for example. This is honest and respects the customer’s time.
Ask for the arrival time if you call the same day for service in the morning. For example, “If I call in the morning for service, when can I expect the technician to arrive?” Ask if they book out in 2 hour time frames. For example, “Do you book out same day service in 2 hour time frames, such as 2pm-4pm?” If they say yes to this type of question, they respect your time.
Red Flags to Watch For
A garage door company that right off the bat tells you that you need a complete replacement of your garage doors is a potential scammer. Most garage doors need repairs not replacement. In most cases, a repair can fix the problem instead of having to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a complete replacement of garage doors.
Be wary of a garage door company that puts you under pressure to make a decision immediately. They may have an ulterior motive for wanting to make the repair right away. A garage door company should be happy to provide you with a quote for the repairs needed, and then you can decide whether or not you want to go ahead with the work. If a technician tells you that your garage door is “in danger of falling” and that they can be there right away to fix it for you, this may be a ploy to get you to spend money for repairs that are not really needed.
We ask you to pay attention to unmarked, unbranded vehicles as well. Just because a garage door company is made up of a lone or small band of technicians does not mean that you should immediately disregard their services. Many honest, high-quality companies consist of solo operators. However, taken in the context of other red flags or warning signs that we list above, it is something that you should make a mental note of.
Why We Are Telling You This
Smart Garage Door Service has been servicing the Denver Metro area since 2017. We are a family owned business and are BBB A+ accredited. We have over 700 verified 5 star reviews on Google, Yelp, and Angi. We want you to use the same criteria when searching for a garage door company that we do.
Smart Garage Door Service operates in the Denver Metro area. We are family owned, BBB A+ accredited, and have over 700 verified five-star reviews on Google, Yelp, and Angi. As we outline the problems to watch out for when hiring a garage door repair company, keep in mind the same criteria that you should use when hiring any garage door repair company — including us.
