Companies with large ads does not mean that they are the best companies to deal with.

What is included in this blog is a letter I wrote to a firm that did me wrong. Their ad in the phone directory was a full-page ad so I insinctively called them first.

When I later realized I made a terrible mistake, I called another firm whose ad is only two lines in the phone directory. They did a fantastic job. Read my letter and the recommendations I have included so that you won't be stung like I was. The letter was mailed today to Precision Overhead Door Service, a firm that is in Toronto, Ontario.


Dear Sir:

I contacted your firm in the early evening of July 23, 2007 and I told the woman who answered the phone that my garage door was giving us problems.

She said that your firm charges $65.00 to come out and if repairs are needed, we will have to pay for the parts. That sounded OK with me and she said someone would be at our home within an hour.

About an hour later, a young man showed up. I presumed at that time that he was with your firm. It turns out that he was a subcontractor and that your firm was acting as his firm’s broker. Your subcontractor was Pro-Master Garage Doors Service. I didn’t know until today that (according to the Better Business Bureau) that firm has had ten complaints filed against it in the past 36 months.

In any case, the young man said that the door opener was an old unit and that it had to be changed. He said that he didn’t have a new one in his truck and that someone could come the next day and replace the old one.

Then he handed me the bill for his visit. I was shocked. It was $174.90 including taxes. I told him that I clearly heard the woman at your firm say that the visit was $65.00.

I am convinced that your people will say on the phone that the visit is $65.00 so that the customers will be willing to have someone from your firm come to their homes and it is only when they get the bill, that the customers learn that they have been had.

I contacted another firm listed in the phone book and asked them what their evening visit would cost me. I was told that they only charge $129.60 including taxes and not $174.90 that Pro-Master charged. They also know about Pro-Masters’ reputation.

In your full-page ad, you state that $10.00 is deducted from the bill if we state that we got your number from the ad. It also states that there is a senior citizens discount. I later learned that your discount is only 2%. If I bought a unit for $379.00, my discount would be only
$7.58. The discount for the visit I got on the 23rd, would have only been $3.30. When you become a senior citizen, you will realize how little that discount is. None of this had an effect on the young man from Pro-Master. He said I should discuss my complaint with you.

I left messages for you three times yesterday. The first time, you weren’t in your office, the second time you were at a meeting in your office and the third time, you were on the phone. You didn’t bother to return my calls. That doesn’t surprise me.

When I called phone number 416-296-1901, the man who answered didn’t know who the number 905-803-9632 belonged to notwithstanding the fact the he previously answered that phone also.

This has been a learning experience for me. It cost me money to learn the lesson but it was worth it. The lessons learned are as follows:

1. Just because a firm has the biggest ad in the phone directory does not automatically mean that it is the best firm to deal with. The firm that I called yesterday to come to my home today and replace the unit has a very small ad and yet that firm kept its word with respect to its price and when we decide to replace the doors to our double garage, it is that firm that will get the job, not yours.

2. Repeat the rate that is given to you over the phone by the firm you are dealing with to make sure that you fully understand what it will cost for the visit.

3. Don’t deal with a firm that subcontracts the job to a third company unless you are familiar with the third company. Had I know what I later learned from the Better Business Bureau about Pro-Master, I would never have agreed to have your firm or Pro-Master go anywhere near my garage.

4. Never, ever deal with a company whose manager doesn’t bother to return your phone messages. The indifference of that manager is indicative of what you can expect from his firm with respect to its services. When you didn’t to return my calls, I realized that it would be foolhardy on my part to do any further business with your firm and that is why I chose another firm to install the garage door opener and why that firm will also be replacing our garage doors.

5. Be wary of any company that keeps its address secret. Bell Reverse shows nothing about your business address with respect to the phone numbers of your company.

I will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, the first in 36 months, I have been told. I will also be including this letter in my blog so that those people who read my blog will appreciate how important it is to investigate the companies they are going to do business with and more importantly, ask pertinent questions before they agree to have them come to their home.

There is no need to reply to this letter, as I have no desire to have anything else to do with your firm or Pro-Master.

I remain,
Yours truly