How To Know You're Choosing The Right Door Company

Sadly, there are countless scammers and fraudulent companies out there using the disguise of various home services businesses, including garage door repair and installation. This article will help ease your mind and ensure that you’ve chosen a reputable garage door company for your service, repair, replacement, or garage door installation needs.

Every legitimate company in the home services industry will have a physical address, and it should be very easy to find online. If you can’t find a company website, or at the very least on social media, that should be an orange flag. Most experienced garage door companies have a website that clearly lays out the services they offer and how to contact them. The reason we say orange instead of red flag is that some small, local companies may not have the staff to allow for much of an online presence. Some really wonderful neighborhood repair companies may even only have a Google My Business profile or Yelp profile set up, but may not even have a website. 

If you come across a garage door company without a website or big online presence, then refer to the customer reviews. But enter with caution, as reviews are easily written fraudulently. We recommend checking for a verified review account for the companies you are considering, so you know that the reviews were collected via a third party source and are legitimate from customers who have used the companies and their services. 

There should also be several different ways to contact a garage door repair and installation business. For instance, on the Door Gators contact page, you’ll notice you can easily get in touch with us by calling us, emailing us, or by showing up at our physical address. Some other companies will only be available by email or live chat. A big red flag is when a company does not have a phone number where you can call and speak to a live representative of the business or a business address that you can visit.

It’s also a good idea to check the variation of services a company offers,which can give you insights into their specialties and experience. Where some companies may only specialize in one area of garage doors –such as repair, for example– Door Gators specializes in everything garage doors, from repair of the smallest parts to complete replacement and new garage door installation. Some of the most common options our customers opt for include: Garage Door Repair, New Garage Doors, Garage Door Openers, and Commercial Garage Doors.

Any legitimate garage door repair and installation company should offer you a free consultation and pricing estimate on the work that you need to be completed. Any company that charges for a consultation or visit should be approached with caution. Some companies may charge for going out to a location to asses the situation, however, may apply that charge to the repair quote if you choose to move forward. But because a garage door is such a crucial part of any home or business, it is rare for a legitimate company to charge for something like this. So consider choosing a garage door company that offers free phone and in-person assessments and consultations. In many cases, Door Gators can get you a price on the work you need to be completed within minutes and without going to your home. 

While prices differ from company to company and from job to job, most reputable companies will be able to give you more than one option to help you find the right solution to fit your budget. Depending on the issue you are encountering, there may be a full-service repair or replacement option available, as well as a more affordable alternative that could keep you going for a while. Depending on your budget constraints, the garage door technician that goes to your home or office to evaluate the equipment should be able to offer you several choices.

Pricing is a sensitive thing for consumers. We all want to pay as little as we can, but basing your decision on a garage door company based solely on the price quote is not advised and could lead to further complications down the road. Choosing the lowest priced option may sound good to your wallet today, but quickly lead to costing you more as the service may have been low quality or installed incorrectly or haphazardly. In general, we recommend never going with the cheapest option and, instead, choosing a company that offers the most value for the price. Someone with a lot of expertise in a particular type of garage door repair may cost more than someone who has never done it before, but you get the peace of mind knowing you’re working with an experienced technician.

This might seem obvious, but never trust a garage door company that wants to be paid in cash. Most experienced garage door companies will give you several accepted payment options, including a check, credit card, or debit card. Cash providers may be running their business illegitimately and without proper licensing and insurance. 

Your new garage doors or your garage door repair project is an investment of your hard-earned money and deserves to be protected. When choosing a garage door company, start by ensuring the company you’re hiring offers warranties for the product or repair services you purchase. Door Gators is happy to lay out specific warranty details on our repair work and the products that we install. Plus, many of the new products we install have a manufacturer’s warranty that will offer you even more protection. Any garage door installation and repair service should also offer you ongoing service plans to take care of routine maintenance, which will protect and prolong the life of your garage door products.

Every garage door repair and installation company should know that issues regarding garage doors can often be urgent and require immediate attention. Like Door Gators, the company you choose will be able to respond to an emergency as quickly as possible, which includes evenings and weekends. Companies that deal with garage doors will have a firm understanding that safety can be at risk in some cases. For instance, if your garage door gets stuck open late at night and won’t close, it will require immediate attention. Leaving a garage door open all night can leave you vulnerable to thieves and other types of criminals.

You’ll be able to easily get a sense of how a garage door repair and installation company does business by reading the review that will likely be posted front and center on their website and social media pages. Reviews offer firsthand perspectives from past customers. If you see a lot of positive reviews, like you will on the Door Gators homepage, you will know that the company will back up its promise of great service. Beware of companies that don’t display their reviews because it often means that they are inexperienced or that they have several negative reviews.

The way a garage door repair and installation company represents itself through its employees and work vehicles will speak volumes about its professionalism and its commitment to serving customers. From your initial phone call through a technician or salesperson arriving at your home, make sure you are evaluating each interaction and noting the appearance and attitudes of the employees you see. Ask yourself things like, did they show up wearing a clean company uniform? Did they drive up in a clean car or truck that clearly displays the logo of the company? Door Gators takes pride in how we look for our customers because we know these small things matter a lot when it comes to the delivery of our services. If a company doesn’t put the effort into maintaining its own personnel and assets, it could be a reflection of how much effort it’ll put into your garage door repair project.

Collecting and gathering all this information will take time, but doing so will help ensure you choose the right garage door company for your project. By selecting a reputable garage door installation and repair provider, you will save yourself time and some major headaches while improving the safety and security of your home for you and your family.