Actually, I am not at all an advocate of state regulations of professions unless it is a profession that involves human health. I believe it should be up to the individual and the general public to promote the accuracy and legitimacy of companies that provide services to the public.
How can this be done? I will list the biggest ways:
1. Word of mouth or by referrals from friends and family. This is the most trusted way that companies can be screened for reputation, appearance, dependability, and value.
2. Internet or Google Searches Very reliable as Google recently but into place changes in their search results to screen out companies that were taking advantage of larger companies that had figured out how to beat “the system” by running multiple web sites with different names and phone numbers but are the same company. This is still being done so prudence on the part of the customer must be used. Key to this is to include your city in your Google search word. Example, Garage door repair Marietta, will tell Google to be specific with its results to you. You should avoid the top three results at the top of the page in the highlighted area as these often times companies that employ deceptive tactics and can be more costly. Concentrate in the results that show up in the right-hand side of the page as well as the center of the page. You need to spend time and try and focus on that companies that are locally owned. When you choose a company, you can easily verify that it is a legitimate locally owned company going the Secretary of State’s website located here and do a search for the company name. Remember, you want to deal directly with the companies themselves. Stay away from web sites that are referral sites some of these are: Garage Doors of America, Service Magic or any web site that predominately features “Free Estimates” in their title listings. Again, deal directly with the companies.
3. Web sites that rate companies from customers based on customer experience. These companies have measures in place to eliminate or minimize fraudulent or incorrect ratings and comments.
These are just three of the biggest. The most important thing I want to stress is that you must be careful when choosing a garage door company and then inviting them to come into your home.
Covenant Garage Doors is a locally owned and operated small garage door company that is big on service. For garage door repairs or service or new garage door installations, give us a call at 770-720-7828 or visit us online.