Most Popular Posts

Thursday, February 11, 2010

False Internet and Website Adverising by Roofers

My nostrils are flaring again. Is there no control to false Internet advertising. I typed "Irving Metal Roofer" into the search bar and Google found a new company that said it was a member of the BBB, NRCA, MRA and "The Race for the Cure." Wasn't a member of squat. I looked at the grouping of referrals and realized all was false. All four of their locations were postal only and I traced down the owner, a manager for Bradco Supply, one of many wholesalers where roofing contractors entrust potential job data for frozen price quotes. The roofer tells the wholesaler where, who, and how much the potential job is. The wholesaler gives a quote and if he is a contractor too he knows too much. He has the skinny on the job. Plus the manager is diverting business from his employer if he gets the job. He wouldn't dare buy from his boss. The boss would know what his employee had been doing with his time.
This roofer posted false reviews from mythical clients who said they used Vertical Roofing because they gave to the Race for the Cure but no money had been credited to the account at the charity. One said Vertical put a Gerard Roof on his home but they hadn't done one roof yet, much less a Gerard.
Vertical is rapidly joining those organizations they said they were members of. If the pseudo company doesn't take down its remaining false comments from mythical clients I will put my postings back up exposing the company.
Today I looked at "Dallas Roof" in Googleland and one guy popped up. His referrals were obviously bogus. You can click on each contributor and see it is impossible to live everywhere these people claim to live and buy all the services they claim to have bought. It is physically impossible. Here is their names: Randy, Flaca, Gustavo, Ramon, Norma, Jessica, Elaine, Pepper
Debbie, Ramon again, and Arron.

Randy has posted 37 reviews, Flaca 81, Norma 155, and Pepper 88. It seems they own homes all over the USA because they compliment so many landscaping and tree companies that it is unbelievable. Out of Debbie's 34 postings she covers eight states.
These persons posting compliments, because they are never negative, have names like showcaselis (Randy), showcaselisting01 (Norma), showcaselisting10 (jessica), showcaselisting08 (Elaine), debbieshowcaselisting (Pepper) and normatopranklisting (Flaca).
Pepper and Norma also had roofs done by Mav Roofing in Tucson, Arizona.
Judith, showcaselisting05 had roofs done by Lang Roofing in Huntington and San Diego, California, Mav Roofing in Anaheim California, and T Stevens Roofing in Covina California. She has 103 postings.
I pasted Show Case Listing in the search bar and found Complaints Board. Now I see the difference. Some roofers hire out for compliments, others pen their own, while legitimate companies do their best to be professional and earn referrals.
Here's a quote from Vertical Roofing website:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the roofing industry, there are good guys and bad guys. Vertical Roofing prides itself on being one of the few good roofing contractors out there by conducting business honestly and putting on a quality roof without cutting corners to save a penny. That’s why we believe in hiring only the best people with the biggest hearts.

Vertical Roofing has made fundraising and philanthropy part of our basic foundation. We are good honest people that truly enjoy giving back to the communities that we service. Vertical Roofing is pleased to donate a portion of the proceeds from each roof project that we complete to the Susan G. Komen Foundation® in an effort to eradicate breast cancer forever. To find out more and see what charity events Team Vertical will attend next, please visit our GO “PINK” page.

Between Vertical Roofing and our employees, we donate $25 per roof project that we complete to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"...attend next..." implicates there was a first. They have done nothing. At least they didn't pay someone to write referrals for them, I think.

Now that I got that off my chest I'll give a little advice to any consumer who wants it. Check for insurance and ask to be put on the policy as a rider if you contract with a roofer. Don't just ask for referrals but ask your particular salesman for referrals. Check them. Go by and look. If he is new and comes clean about it ask that someone in the company oversee him and the job. If he lies, throw out the proposal. Do not give a deposit until the materials have arrived and work has begun. If the materials are special order, which means they can't be returned, pay the deposit to the wholesaler. Accreditation from some manufacturer or roofing organization also carry weight.

This is your home we're talking about. Don't be a guinea pig. Be a professional buyer. Use professionals and not fast talking pushy salesmen with bogus propaganda.

Lastly, use Google or Yahoo. Google your potential roofers name, your salesman's name, and add words the second time around like "complaint." Scroll through the pages. Look hard. Crumbs remain from previous sins. We're all sinners just some regret it. Lastly, Christians don't tell you they are Christians and don't trade on the Cross. You can sense whether or not they use religion as a sales tool. Besides, Jesus was the son of a carpenter, not a roofer, and He was a Jew. He endorses no roofer.

Update on Vertical roofing misrepresentations:

I have a Feb. 9, 2010 cache of their website as provided by Google. It has since been updated and is gone. But I have it. It claims membership with the BBB with an A rating. The BBB had not even heard of them in Austin until February 2010 and as of Feb. @@, 2010, they still are not members and have no rating. In Fort Worth they opened a listing with the BBB on February 9 but claimed they opened in 2004. A man named Kyle called me from Austin claiming he was the owner so his co-conspirator would not be fired from Bradco Roofing supply in Irving. Kyle told Gerard in the summer of 2009 that they wold be opening a business soon. So how did 2004 become a start date. More of the same BS. Their lies never quit.

In fact, a cursory look around at Dallas Fort Worth roofing companies shows that about 1/4th cheap on their Google referral comments. In the Metroplex I know of about 25 legitimate roofers, so they're out there. I sure there's more than that. The Dallas Fort Worth area is heavily populated so there's a lot of roofers out there.


Jon Wright

www.jonwrightroofing.com





No comments: