Review from Mike E.
Published:almost 7 years ago
I just had the most negative customer service experience I've ever had with a contractor. I know that my wife and I tested Dave's patience, but he responded by accusing me of lying, wouldn't let me finish a sentence, and hung up in my face today. I was pretty angry at first, but his response was so far out of line with the situation, I am concerned about his well-being. Here's what happened, from our perspective. I will not be surprised if Dave posts a hostile response to this review, although I hope he has calmed down by now. We hired Ace when we needed a new garage door 2 years ago. Dave did a good job - I can see why he got "A" reviews. A few weeks ago, our 2-year-old door buckled in the middle - probably because of cold weather and us accidentally bringing it down on a car bumper, even though the sensor pulls up the door when it senses an obstacle. It buckled so easily, we thought the door might be defective. Our old door lasted 20 years. My wife called Dave at Ace Garage Doors again. He was very gracious and came out to look at our problem, and he didn't even charge us for the visit, since he was in the area. He described several problems, but could not actually repair them (we are not sure why - seems like minor renovation/adjusting tracking would be something he did regularly). We could not be home when he came by, but he described the issues to my wife on the phone. She did ask if the door was under warranty, but he explained that our negligence likely caused the damage, so, no. She took notes about what was wrong and planned to call him after Christmas to order a new door. The conversation was polite and gracious on both sides. One of us should have been home to talk to Dave, see exactly what he was describing, and then follow up with how he could fix the issues. I called Dave today to ask more questions about the door quality and to clarify that we did not re-program the tracking, as my wife speculated we might have done. We also needed to order a new door - we were planning to use Ace again. This was our third conversation with Dave in about a month - we have not been harassing him or calling with demands. Another lesson for my wife and I is to have one of us follow a project through, so that communications are consistent and clear from start to finish. I will admit that I was a little irritated when I spoke to Dave today - the door we purchased two years ago was subpar, and I felt he should have been able to fix the tracking problems, instead of just describe them. I also asked about a warranty on the door, and that's when he snapped. He got defensive, started interrupting me, accused me of lying to him ("your wife said...!"), and then hung up the phone. We have years-long relationships with local contractors who can vouch for us as good customers, just as Dave has a pretty good track record with customers. His two worst reviews are related to subpar materials two years after a job (our issue with the door we bought), and to poor communication (yep). Based on our experience (and other reviews), if you are going to use Ace Garage Doors, select a sturdy, high-quality door to be installed. It appears that Dave is more likely to get angry if you have to call him back after initial installation. One test of a person's character is to see if he can take responsibility for his actions. We take full responsibility for testing Dave's patience for the reasons listed above, but I am floored at how rude he was on the phone today. We hope Dave finds some peace in the New Year. Mike and Myra Elder
Services Rendered: Garage Door Repair After Intstallation Two Years Ago