Hiring a good roofer is a daunting task for many, but it doesn’t have to be. Roofing reviews are everywhere these days, from social media, to search engines, to our various in person social channels. It may seem difficult to weed through everything you read and hear to find a quality roofer for your upcoming roofing job. Experts have weighed in on how best to approach your search utilizing roofing reviews from all aspects of your day to day lives.
Hiring a Good Roofer Doesn’t Have to be Difficult
Tips for hiring a good roofer often come from those who have extensive experience in doing so. Roofing companies can tell you what you want to hear in terms of how you should searching, but it is often the consumer that has the greatest eye for what to look for. Reuban Yonatan from GetVoIP has hired good roofing contractors in the past and has two convincing suggestions to aid in your search:
“Make sure they have experience with what you need. Do not pick a contractor who specializes in clay and concrete tiles when you have metal roofing. Also, avoid contractors who say they can do it all. That might mean they have little experience with your type of roof.
Do a lot of research. Before picking a contractor, compare as many companies as possible and ask for reviews from friends and family. It will help you make the best decision.”
– Reuban Yonatan, GetVoIP
Your Family and Friends are your Biggest Supporters
Kershan Bulsara of Roofmaster Ottawa echoes the sentiment of checking reviews before hiring a good roofing contractor:
One of the first things to consider when finding quality contractors is getting referrals from your community familiar with experienced contractors who are reliable and have a reasonable price range. It will give you a chance to verify their work and observe whether they can exceed your expectations. One other thing to consider is ensuring that they have insurance and licensing to avoid any litigation when an employee has an injury doing the job.
– Kershan Bulsara, RoofMaster
Simply reading reviews is not enough to determine the quality of an organization. It is very easy for contractors to influence their own reviews. Joe from ContractorCalls has created a fantastic list on how to not only find reviews but how to properly read them to ensure you are making a the right hiring decision:
“One of the best ways to shop around for a good GC or roofer is to learn how to read their reviews.
Many homeowners just look at the overall roofing review averages while shopping around, and that’s a huge mistake.. Here’s why:
- If every other review mentions a person’s name, that’s a sign that they’re being incentivized to leave a review. Many companies reward their employees that bring in the best reviews, and they count them based on who gets mentioned in the reviews. Therefore, their review counts could be inflated, or even unfairly incentivized.
- If several reviewers are from outside the service area, that could be a sign that the reviews are fake. Be sure to check what other businesses they have reviewed.
- Review averages can trend. Be sure to check their most recent reviews, as well as their averages, to make sure that their track record is staying strong.
- Pay attention to 2 and 4 star reviews in particular. Those reviews tend to be more nuanced, and can talk about the specific issues that can make or break the experience of working with them.
- Pay attention to topical trends in their reviews. If even some of their 5-star reviews mention some of the same complaints, like poor phone communication, chances are good that they’re right.
Any roofer or GC can collect their own referrals and testimonials, but they just don’t have as much control over their reviews, which makes them a better source of information. Just be sure to recognize and account for the ways that contractors can manipulate their reviews for their benefit.”
– Joe, ContractorCalls
Organizations will always show the glowing reviews and not provide the negatives. This is just business, but by doing a little digging you can find relevant reviews:
“… always choose a contractor who has plenty of reviews and testimonials from other customers. If they don’t explicitly advertise what other people’s experience has been with them, I wouldn’t even consider it as an option. This demonstrates both experience and a commitment to customer support. A good website with reviews is a recommended way to check for this.”
– Christine Wang, The Ski Girl
It is obvious that reviews are key when it comes to hiring a quality contractor for any job. Ajmal Dar of the Moccasin Guru echoes these statements:
“My best tip is to ask friends or family who recently had their roofing done – as they may have the best recommendations. One thing I also usually do before hiring a contractor is to visit the company website or social media pages and go over the reviews section.”
– Ajmal Dar, https://moccasinguru.com
A Good Roofer Will Have Good Images
Images are beneficial in your search for reviews. Being able to look at before and after images of a particular project will allow you to physically see the quality of work that a contractor can provide you. Bryan Pattman of First House Coach has created a great list of suggestions regarding how to best leverage reviews from both in person and online:
“The first thing that anyone should do when finding a quality roofing contractor is search for the roofers that are closest to your house and see the Google reviews that past clients have left and also look at the images that have been attributed to the roofing company. You are going to want to look for multiple 5-star reviews and high quality images. This shows that the company cares about their results and takes the time to make sure that their customers are happy.”
“You can also take a look at their website where you can usually find a gallery of the jobs that they have completed along with all of the services that they provide. If the company does not have a website or has not updated it recently, it puts some doubt in my mind and forces me to look for other companies that care about their appearance and online reviews.
You can also use Facebook groups that are specific to the town/county that you live in and ask for recommendations and photos of the completed work. This will allow you to private message the people that post good reviews and you can get first-hand information about the company.”
– Bryan Pattman, firsthousecoach.com
Roofing Reviews Are the First Step
In all, there are many ways you can go about finding a good roofing contractor for your next job. Using reviews are just the tip of the iceberg. There is a myriad of information out there regarding just about every good roofing contractor you will look into. Using these review processing tips will allow you to whittle down who will be a strong choice for your job. Just because a roof is expensive does not mean you have to feel bad or nervous about your decision. Make sure you always check reviews of the contractor that you are looking into hiring. This can be from referrals from your friends and family, google, or even local Facebook pages. More often than not consumers are more outspoken about issues they have had with products or services over good, quality experiences. By examining reviews and referrals you can rest assured that that you are hiring a good, quality roofing contractor for your next project.