You bought the house. You pursued the American dream with an eye towards the lovely picket fence thing. And for a while, things were working out. But now, after however much time, the “fence” part of your “home with a fence” is in desperate need of repairs.
Maybe the neighbor’s kid accidentally backed into it. Or maybe there was an especially bad storm the other day that left your entire yard in shambles. But whatever the reason, you need to find a reliable fence repair service and you need to book them ASAP.
What should you be looking for in a fence repair company? Is there any advice out there that you can use to make sure you’re making the right hire?
Keep reading for our top tips on finding a top-notch fence repair company.
1. Find Someone Who Understands the Different Types of Fences
Most fence repair contractors will be able to tell you that they’re good at fixing fences for homes. But when you’re in a position to hire someone, fence repair experience only tells half the story. Or put another way, you need to find someone who has relevant fence repair experience.
Why? Because different fences have different maintenance and repair needs. If you’ve got a wooden fence, for instance, you’ll want to fight against mold or rot. But if you’ve purchased a chain-link fence, however, you’re not worried about mold as much as you are about rust.
And depending on your fence, the products, techniques, and equipment needed for repairs can change dramatically. So if you have a choice between an experienced fence repair company that hasn’t really done much with your type of fence and one that practically specializes in dealing with your type of fence, you want to go with the expert 10 times out of 10.
2. Get Multiple Quotes
According to Marketwatch, Americans could save as much as $2.2 billion in 2017 simply by doing more of their shopping online. Not because company executives were sitting around, rubbing their hands together, and saying, “Why don’t we make online-exclusive deals?” but in part because being online makes it easier to comparison shop. Or put another way, pausing to take a look around at what different companies are offering can lead to mega savings.
Even if you’re beyond convinced that you’ve found the right person for your particular repair job, it pays to take your time and do a bit of shopping around. Not only does this let you get a solid sense of the overall market, but it also allows you to figure out if you’re about to pay a premium for a service that could be done by someone else.
Pick up the phone, go through Google listings, and request three or four quotes. Your fence repair budget will thank you and you won’t be paying up while secretly wondering if you couldn’t have booked someone else at a cheaper rate.
3. Do Some Googling
Whether you’re buying shoes or fence repair services, companies are always going to paint themselves in the best light possible. But no matter how polished their marketing is or how slick the salesperson can talk, there’s no substitute for having a bonafide customer experience.
The reviews you see on a company’s website are often curated. And sometimes the brochures will give you an incomplete picture of how the business operates. Thanks to sites like Yelp, Google, and the Better Business Bureau, however, reading online reviews can give you an inside look at what it’s like to work with a specific fence repair company.
Of course, you’ll want to take these with a grain of salt. Sometimes unreasonable people can take to the web for petty reasons. But do you see multiple reviews claiming that the workers were late or were not doing a good job of cleaning up after themselves? Has customer after customer talked about struggling to reach the company over the phone or are people raving about the company’s responsiveness and attention to detail?
These sorts of consistent themes and general trends can give you a sneak preview of what hiring a particular company might look like. And if you don’t like what you see, reviews make it easy to move on to the next.
4. Look For a Warranty
Fence-related problems can persist even after you’ve had repairs done. Maybe the company underestimated the effect of the soil on your fence. Perhaps there was a mishap or a forgotten step in the installation process. Or maybe the issue is that your fence repair service’s supplier was looking to cut costs on its own sourcing.
Regardless, there’s nothing worse than forking out money to get your fence repaired or re-installed only to be back in the same place less than three or four months later. So you’ll want to make sure that your fence repair company has a warranty or some sort of customer satisfaction guarantee that will cover you in situations like this.
That way, a problem with the fence won’t have to involve sending frantic emails or running late-night Google searches along the lines of, “The Ultimate Guide to Fence Repair Near Me.”. If you’re still within the warranty or satisfaction guarantee period, getting follow-up repairs will be as simple as picking up the phone and making a quick call.
Finding a Fence Repair Service Company Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
When you’ve got a problematic fence and you’re in desperate need of a fence repair service, it’s not always easy to think clearly about who you’re hiring. But the truth is that the wrong repair company has the potential to cost you money, time, privacy, and security.
If you keep our tips in mind, however, narrowing down your list and finding a top-notch fence repair company can be done in significantly less time than you think.
Looking for home and lifestyle tips and advice? Check out the rest of our site to read more piping hot content.
Leave a Reply