How do you know the “fair” rate for garage door services in Atlanta, GA? How do you avoid companies scamming you for money? The average home owner doesn’t know the “fair” prices in the garage doors industry and this is an incentive for many companies to trick you into paying more. As our CEO, Dan Watkins, puts it “they will take as much money out of you, as you allow them to take.” Owner of All 4 Seasons Garage Doors, Dan Watkins has been in the garage doors business for over 13 years. He knows very well all the tricks companies play on customers to get more money out of them and he can’t stand it. All 4 Seasons Garage Doors is a trusted and honest company serving the metro Atlanta area and over 27 cities in North Atlanta. In this article, Dan tells us how companies suck out money from home owners’ pockets and the things we can do to avoid being scammed.
Please share in the comments below if you had any experiences with a garage door company trying to scam you and tell us how you had to deal with the situation. Questions are welcome too.
Don’t Get Scammed!
“When shopping around for garage door service or a new garage door, it’s important that you understand the garage door “culture” in metro Atlanta, GA. Many of the companies are flat out predators. They are just looking to get out to your house and see how much money they can suck out of the home owners’ pockets. They will try to get as much money out of you, as you allow them to take. If you say no to them, they will drop the price until you say yes.
This is how they do it. They usually charge you a service call fee just for showing up. They tell you they will put that money towards the repair / new door if you have them do the work. They do this knowing that you don’t want to pay them $50 – $70 for nothing and then end up paying the same amount to another company, AND pay that company for just showing up. The average home owner doesn’t know what the “fair” rate is for garage door work. So the home owner just pays the first company to do the work. They may pay 3-5 times the fair rate because of this trick. Keep in mind these companies pay their service technicians 8-15% of whatever money they steal from the home owner. This encourages them to take you to the bank.
There are a couple of ways to beat them at this game. First, tell them how you’re not going to pay them just for showing up. It’s reasonable for a company to tell you what they minimum fee is before they come out. There is no reason for them to come out to your home if you don’t want to pay that minimum fee. But, this should be understood by both parties over the phone. Secondly, inspect the “damaged” parts they want to replace. If it doesn’t look bad, it most likely isn’t. They love to sell you things you don’t need. You also can tell them to hold on a minute so you can call the other decision maker. Go inside the house and call another garage door company. Tell them what the technicians said and see if it’s a reasonable price. Paying an extra $20 – $40 isn’t a big deal (if it’s a trusted and honest company), but paying an extra $100 – $800 is a very big deal. These small steps can help you avoid bring scammed! I have owned a garage door company for 13 years. I know all these shady business practices as a result of my experience in this industry. I can’t stand these companies and I don’t know how they live with themselves. Hopefully, this information will help you next time you’re in need of garage door services.”
Sincerely,
Dan Watkins