FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions |
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What is Home Reports? Home Reports is an independent research firm that conducts consumer research to evaluate and document the performance of home service providers, such as heating and air conditioning contractors, roofers, and painters. Through thousands of interviews with homeowners who have direct experience with providers, we produce unbiased, third-party ratings to help consumers select quality contractors in more than two dozen categories. Why should I trust Home Reports? We track and rate thousands of businesses and showcase Best Pick Companies in our annual report, which is posted online and mailed to homes in many Atlanta communities. Companies cannot buy a good rating; the only way contractors can obtain a good rating is to earn it by having many satisfied customers and good reviews. How is Home Reports funded? Once research is complete, contractors excelling in each category have the option of participating in the Best Pick program. Those who choose to participate receive the designation and authorize Home Reports to include their names in its annual publication. Best Pick Companies, which are contractors that excel in our consumer satisfaction research and authorize their inclusion in our annual report, pay us to publicize their ratings. Participation in the Best Pick program is completely voluntary. Good companies that decide not to participate can promote their business through their own marketing efforts. Are Home Reports ratings based on limited reviews? We have more than 100 reviews on each of the Best Pick Companies. To help our readers understand the statistical validity of the rating, we note the number of reviews upon which each rating is based behind each entry in the table. Do you just check company references? No. We never accept reference lists from companies. In certain circumstances, when our primary research reveals that a company has a high percentage of satisfied customers yet a limited number of reviews, we sometimes conduct secondary research, sampling from the business's entire database and randomly calling customers. How can I contact Home Reports? Phone: 404-365-9777 Fax: 404-355-7896 Mail: 1750 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309 E-mail: Research@HomeReports.com If I participate in a Home Reports interview, will my name be released? No. If you participate in our research, your comments and opinions will not be publicly attributed to you. (Click here for our confidentiality policy.) How can I contribute to Home Reports? If you wish to share your experiences with us, please complete and submit a feedback form. If one of our researchers contacts you, we would appreciate any feedback you can share about your experiences. How many interviews have you conducted? In the past three years, the Home Reports Research Staff has conducted 17,563 phone interviews with metro-Atlanta homeowners who had firsthand experience with home service providers. Those interviews resulted in 107,672 company reviews. Our research process is ongoing. Each year, we conduct more than 4,500 new interviews as part of our primary research. Why don't you name the bad companies? We do not name companies that receive less-than-superior ratings due to legal implications. Homeowners' quotes about the companies that received less-than-superior ratings help our readers become better educated about important issues and questions to ask as they consider potential contractors. We hope our readers learn from the disappointing experiences of their neighbors and thus avoid making similar mistakes. As a business owner, how can I get my company listed in Home Reports? Consistently do good work. Each year our researchers complete more than 4,500 new interviews, and many of the people we interview may be your customers. If our consumer satisfaction data warrants it, we will contact you. |
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