How to Choose a Garage Door Dealer
Your garage door not only enhances your home's curb appeal, but it also improves your safety, security and home’s comfort. Plus, you do not purchase as garage door often and you want to ensure your investment is in good hands. For these reasons, you want to trust your new door, and electric opener, to the best professional.
Reliable manufacturers play a role in your door's design, durability, energy efficiency and longevity, but so does the professional installing dealer you chose to install and service this important home investment. You need a dealer who has experienced sales reps to help you select the right door, installers that will leave your door operating safe and seamlessly and customer service who will contact you before and after the installation. When it comes to how to choose a garage door dealer, there are several factors to consider.
What to Look for
While you can search the web for a dealer in your area, there are important criteria to consider when selecting a professional garage door dealer. To start, consider how many years the dealer has been in business and their online ratings. Look into the level of experience a dealer has. If they've been in business for many years, with high ratings, that points to expertise in the field and customer satisfaction. Look for dealers who have a showroom where you can look at door options. Talk to a door consultant about design options and see the actual product.
Accreditations, certifications and awards are all strong signs that a dealer is committed to continuous improvement, job excellence and reliable work. At Clopay®, we have two different distinctions for dealers in our network — Authorized Dealer™ and Master Authorized Dealers®. We use these distinctions for dealers who have showcased a high level of product and installation knowledge, responsiveness, warranty coverage and overall garage door expertise.
Our personal distinctions are helpful for choosing a garage door company, but you can also look for other associations. For example, membership in the International Door Association (IDA), and IDEA Accreditation helps provide the knowledge and expertise of a given dealer. You can also look for accolades like the Super Service Award from Angi and the Best of Houzz awards from Houzz.
Questions to Ask Before Selecting a Dealer
Looking at experience, memberships and accolades can all point to a garage door dealer worth working with, but there's more to consider. When you're looking at multiple dealers, ask yourself the following questions.
What Is the Online Reputation of the Dealer?
One of the many benefits of technology as a consumer is the ability to research products and services before you buy. Many garage door services will have a Better Business Bureau listing that shows how long they have been in business as well as consumer reviews.
Not every business will have a Better Business Bureau profile, so if that is the case for a dealer you are researching, check home improvement websites like Angi or Houzz, or look for reviews submitted directly in a Google search for the business name. Some dealers may have reviews or testimonials listed on their site, but be sure to look for photos and names of the reviewers, as they can help verify that the reviews are authentic.
If they have a showroom, visit the showroom to see the actual product quality and get to know the company.
Does the Dealer Offer Products That Match Your Home's Needs?
You can learn a lot about a business from the products they recommend. When viewing a dealer’s website, is it focused on offering the lowest prices possible, or offering reliable and high-quality doors and openers? As with any product, there is a spectrum of quality and affordability, so be sure to work with a dealer who understands the criteria important to you and can recommend the highest quality door within your budget.
If you prefer to support American manufacturing, ask the repair service where their doors are manufactured. Clopay doors are manufactured in the US and distributed to our network of independent dealers through over 50 distribution centers across North America.
If you live in a high-wind/hurricane region, your local building code authority may specify a reinforced garage door for your home. If this is the case, ask the dealer if they carry WindCode and impact-rated doors. Garage door dealers in high-wind regions should be well-versed in code requirements for your area.
Is the Dealer Insured?
As with any contractor working on your property, it is important to ensure the dealer has insurance on both the business itself and the employees. A reputable garage door dealer should be able to provide assurance in these areas without any hassle or concern. If a garage door dealer is not insured, it is best to move on.
What to Watch Out For
Looking at the positives of garage door companies can usually point you in the right direction, but it's valuable to keep your eye out for suspicious factors that could point to a scam. Scammers will often overcharge you for services and may even fail to fix your garage door problems. These companies are hoping your lack of expertise will allow them to get away with their scams.
The good news is that there are a few strong signs that point to a scam over a legitimate company, such as a generic name or different fees and charges. Learn more about how to avoid garage door scams.
Find a Garage Door Dealer With Clopay
At Clopay, we have an expansive network of dealers to connect you with experts who install our products. We're proud of the doors we create for homeowners and businesses, but a trusted installation team is a must for getting the most out of your new garage door. With our dealer's reliable technicians, you can enjoy a beautiful new Clopay door and the one-year limited warranty that comes with it.
To find a dealer near you, use our Where to Buy locator. Look for the Authorized Dealer™ and Master Authorized Dealer® seals to find the dealers with the highest acclaim from our team.