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Precision Door Service

Precision Door Service review: Terrible experience 33

K
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6:34 am EDT
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Consumers please be aware of Precision Overhead Garage Door Service in NJ. I was fortunate to have noted the other complaints against this company in other states & was able to avert having to pay over double for a simple job replacing springs & pulleys on my garage door. He wanted to charge me $476.00 which included $70 off for the service call. It sounded very high to me & I did a google search on the company & sure enough, it had numerous complaints against it in other locations. Upon finding these other reports - I immediately told the service man to stop what he was doing & told him to leave.

I called a few other places & found a guy in our area, Princeton Overhead Garage Door Co. who did the job for $180. He has been in business for 38 years & told me I was one of many people he had heard of that were being scammed by this company. He said they will try to overcharge unsuspecting homeowners & was incensed that they get away with it, namely because they advertise so heavily in the the Yellow Pages & look legit.

Precision claims they use parts that are superior to their competition's which is bogus (springs are springs & pulleys are pulleys, wire cable is wire cable). & that they offer a higher level of service! DON'T fall for this spiel - I am planning to report them to the better business bureau as well - they should be investigated & charged for thievery! Be warned.

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

33 comments
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Maureen Taylor
Sarasota, US
Feb 28, 2024 7:08 am EST
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An outstanding company. They went above and beyond, and we love our garage door. We highly recommend Precision Door. Excellence Service from start to finish!

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Jhog
, US
Jun 19, 2017 10:40 pm EDT

I have used Precision Door Service three times, in the past. Each of these experiences have been good, but each time they have told me that my garage door system (door, opener, tracks, etc.) were WAY past their usable lifetime, and that they all need to be replaced asap.

Three days ago, it gave up the ghost, and I have been trying DESPERATELY go get PDS out here to give me an estimate for the replacement -- all to no avail. I have had them send emails to my local rep (Ben), they have transferred me to Ben's vmail system (to which I left message), but STILL nobody has called me back to setup a visit. I have now called 9 times, and have YET to hear back from anyone.

Each time I call, the first-line person puts me through this big/long list of canned responses, "Oh, we can fix your garage door. Our trained professionals can make your garage door as good as new"...

They've been telling me for two years that the whole system needs to be replaced, and now that I want to do so, I can't get a response from anyone.

I'm tired of trying to chase them down, just so that they can do what they'be been telling me I need to do.

I'll find another company that actually WANTS my business. In my opinion, Precision Door Service is a total waste of time !

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JFlippo
, US
Jun 08, 2015 3:59 pm EDT

For me Precision Door is simply a rip-off. They do not mention on the phone that they do not carry or go get the Wayne Dalton parts that I needed to repair my door. They charged me a service call fee and left after 5 minutes of advice. They wanted about $600 to repair my door with all of their own parts. I had to actually call a Wayne Dalton local dealer and they quickly responded and fixed my door completely for $250. Live and learn I guess. Just do not use Precision Door for anything.

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Wallet flushed
Bricktown, US
Mar 15, 2015 5:12 pm EDT
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I only wish I'd had time to surf this before I called. I have an opener from them. It is 5 yrs and 28 days past warranty. After two years a cable self destructed. They replaced both because they knew they had faulty cables. This time I'm thinking the same will be done. Being Sunday it was $189 service call. What do I do miss work and wait fore some 4-5 hr window? Oh no it's not the cables fault. Their product the pulleys were made with rivets holding 2 pieces together that eventually separate over time then the pulleys eat the cables. The bill came to $511.46 which is a quarter of what the door, opener & installation cost. For over 30 yrs I've had garage door openers. On occasion I've had to do adjustments due to weather changes but never 2 repairs in 5 years. I have sent the owners an email. He's virtually around the corner from my home in Brick, NJ. A good company refunds some of my costs and accepts it toward warranty. Especially since they admit both times it was poor quality parts in their product. I will post the response. Thank you. Think I've been wallet flushed. It won't happen again.

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only 2 types of republicans
Buffalo, US
Mar 02, 2015 11:41 am EST

The mere fact that some people on here claim that charging higher prices is a rip off is un- American. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. As an engineer I can see most people on here who claim to be "Owners" of a garage door company or "Technicians" really don't even know what they are talking about. In fact, I would assume they have little real "Business" experience. The only reason there are so many of these response is that there is no real licensing required for these types of companies and there should be considering there are more emergency room visits every year from garage doors than any other household appliance. I don't here of people complaining that the plumber came and charged them $8000 to change a forced air heater that cost him $1500 and a days work. Look at that he just quintupled the price! That's cause he has a real business and isn't some fly by night, unskilled laborer working out of his own truck that won't have enough money to retire and probably won't realize it until he can't work anymore. Sad.
Business's can charge whatever they want, as a consumer it is your responsibility to research price. Unfortunately, for most of you consumers, you will get what you pay for and will never understand price vs. cost.

I have used Precision and they put 40, 000 cycle springs on my door with stainless steel cables. I paid a premium for this and they lifetime warrantied it. The alternative was to call American Garage Door, a family owned company who prides themselves in doing things cheap and would be back at my house every 4 years to charge me $150 - $300 acting like they are doing me a favor because they don't have the where with all to sell a better product. NO THANKS!

I read peoples responses and am just in awe. It's like walking into a car dealer buying a luxury sedan because it stylish, is roomy, loaded with features. Then getting angry at the dealer since you could have bought a compact for less. I am losing my faith in America as the general public becomes less educated and more entitled.

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33km
, US
Nov 12, 2011 9:21 pm EST

Quote one price and then charge another. Charge very inflated prices.

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richie janza
Tinton Falls, US
Dec 29, 2014 12:24 am EST

I actually worked for Precision Door of South NJ and it was horrible actually knowing what all the parts cost and what we were expected to charge, , The owner was such a greedy man and actually expected employees to keep up with a call average which as an employee you have no control of what is actually broken...the worst part was the office personal would tell you on return calls that if there was a warranty to charge the customer anyway if they have no proof of it... the whole company was a scam ran bye a man named Steve Skaflestad who may be the biggest thief in NJ...BOTTOM LINE IS STAY AWAY FROM PRECISION OVERHEAD GARAGE DOOR SERVICE!

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CD in NJ
, US
Mar 28, 2014 9:25 am EDT
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I agree with Kevin from NJ. I live in NJ and had a similar experience. I called because the opener stopped working on one side and they had replaced the one on the other side when the same thing happened 6 yrs prior (sure I was ripped off then and didn't realize it till now). Precision said the gears were stripped and the parts were shot and I would need a whole new opener and offered a full rebuild promo (cables, pulleys, springs, rollers) with upgraded parts that came with a lifetime warranty for $730 plus the new belt drive opener would be $550. They did replace pulleys on the other side under warranty but new cables and springs needed to be repaired for $300, not under warranty. So, nearly $1600 and was told if I was thinking about getting new doors I should think about spending the money on that instead of these repairs. Good point right? So, I got quotes for that too. Thank goodness we asked around and got a recommendation for another local company for a 2nd opinion. They said the opener could be fixed with a shaft kit and the other parts for both doors could all be replaced for under $300! So, easy decision...they fix it for $300 now and we buy new doors from this local company when we are ready. Precision just lost us...they are way over priced and try to entice you with the "promos", "upgrades" and "lifetime warranties". Lesson learned, always ask around for recommendations and get a 2nd opinion, especially when something doesn't feel fair or reasonable.

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Karen G 123
Melbourne Beach, US
Mar 10, 2014 1:23 pm EDT

I called Precision Garage Door of Brevard to come fix my garage door. John B came out and told me i needed a new spring and 12 new rollers and gave me a quote of $450. The quote seemed high so i called my husband who told me to tell him not to do the job. John left but not before cutting my garage door cable. I then called Howard and they came out the next day which was a Sunday. He told me i needed a new spring but told me my rollers were fine they just needed lube. The total cost of the job ended up being $265. This company has been featured on dateline and i would strongly recommend you stay far away from this company and their deceptive practices.

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Ed Gajate
Bridgeton, US
Jul 27, 2012 11:42 am EDT

All I can say is that by the way the first couple of Precision Door Techs responded to this thread has immediately ensured that I would never use them. To respond in such a condescending, rude and insulting manner is unacceptable. I would suggest that you guys get a little bit more experience on Customer Service and Satisfaction before you open up for business.

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Door Tech
Austin, US
Jul 11, 2012 5:53 am EDT
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No, you are not wrong! this is as you have read in previous post is the standard for there franchise/s. It is a common practice often and i'm very sorry that your mother has been added to the statistics of the Precision victim list. For 1400.00 she could have gotten a complete new door and operator installed. The question you need to ask your mom is how she found Precision in the first place? Was it because of a commercial? or maybe a big add in the phone book? Or via the Webb? These Franchises are back monetarily and spend not thousands but tens of thousands of dollars on advertising, Who do you think is going to pay for that? That's correct! the consumer!
The next time your mom has an issue do a little research for here Via the Webb, do not look at reviews that the company provides on there own web site as these can be edited or tailored to benefit them, but look at reviews provided by Google, Yelp, Bing, Etc., and then call at least three companies that have good reviews, any good company will be able to ask you a few questions and give you an accurate estimate over the phone on what the cost will be. I'll bet they sold you Mom the" life time spring' change as well?
If so, she will have to pay them every year to service her door to maintain that warranty and that will be an additional 80 - 120 dollars depending on the franchises charges for that area. which based on the average life of the torsion springs used being Ten years will be another 800 to 1200 dollars! So unless you find her another company to use they will keep taking her money.

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ZenobiaTN
Ooltewah, US
Jul 08, 2012 10:55 pm EDT

My elderly mother in East Tennessee called them out to her house when the spring broke on her garage door. They talked her into new rollers, keypad, two remotes, and installed a "new" remote sensor. They charged her $900! And it wasn't even for a new opener. Two months later, her garage door goes up but won't even budge to come back down. I tried to tell her, over the phone, that the sensors might be out of adjustment but she had already called Precision back to her house. The tech then tells her that the motor is burned out on her Marantec Mac-Lift Deluxe 2005 and charges her $449 to replace it plus a $69 service call. That is a total of $1418 dollars that they get out of her in two months. I told her that it was just too much. Am I wrong?

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Door Tech
Austin, US
Feb 16, 2012 2:16 pm EST
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I completely Agree with the last comment, I have also bee involved in the Garage door business since 1994 and have never seen such over charged pricing and blatant abuse of the customers lack of knowledge about there property. And to further talk about the Training they receive... Precision has TWO official training facilities for all of there Tech that they are required to attend to work for them so the excuse that the corporate office uses that it was a "rouge franchise" and not the normal practice is tossed out the door because the techs are indeed all trained the same this is evident when you research complaints for the precision franchises in any state they are located in and the data always comes up with the same complaints.
Another complaint i hear allot lately is when a customer calls and asks if the estimate is free? they say yes every time, what they don't tell you on the phone is it's only free if you actually have work done. If the customer decides to wait or get a second opinion then they charge them a 60.00 fee just for giving an estimate, absolutely ridiculous and underhanded.
That is defiantly NOT Great customer service!

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thedoorfixer
Mission Hills, US
Feb 08, 2012 4:12 am EST

Sensable Shopper:... You ask how many of us garage repair guys give same day service, work weekends, come to your house at 3am? All of us... if we would charge $700-$800 dollars for the repair. They are in a hurry to get to the house to secure the job before they have a chance to call someone else or figure out what is about to happen.
I've been in the trade since 1988 and have done thousands of repairs and spring changes. Maybe 1 in a 250 jobs needs end bearing plates or cables replaced. I have never had had one that needed a center bearing and spring pad replaced and probably 1 in 1000 that actually need drums replaced. It is so seldom in fact, that I replace that stuff for free on a spring change if it should need it. I can purchase high quality drums, bearing plates and cables for less than 20 dollars total, not each.
Let's talk about the "high quality" cables you are using. Industry average is 3/32" @ 7 strand wire as you stated and you use 7 x 19 strand wire. Yes, the 7 x 19 is stronger, but the 7 x 7 has a tensile strength of 920 lbs (per cable). That's a total tensile strength over 1800 lbs and the average non insulated doors weigh about 170lbs. The 7 x 7 is more than enough and the 7 x 19 is complete overkill, unnecessary and cost about. For that matter, I can increase the cable size to 1/8" @ 7 strand and have tensile strength at 1700 lbs per cable. These cables can be found online everyday for less than 10$ per pair.
In an article in Door and Operator magazine, as a direct response from the Dateline NBC sting that found Precision Door overcharging and attempting to charge for parts that were not needed, one of the founders of the Precision Door Franchise responded. In his interview, he defended his franchisee's service charges by stating that collectively and nationwide, his franchises average repair ticket was only $ 455. To me that is astounding. An average repair at $455 means that some are higher. Quite honestly, even as I work in an affluent Southern California town, I am not sure I even have a repair that would total $ 455, let alone it be an average. High quality, Amarr non insulated doors are about $750 installed (with new bearing plates, spring pad, center bearing, 1/8" cables, nylon ball bearing rollers) why would someone spend $ 500 to fix an old one?
Do we carry enough stuff on the truck to fix almost any problem same day? I don't. There are dozens and dozens of different makes and models of automatic openers where most parts are not interchangeable. Dozens of different door Manufacturers with dozens of makes and models of each. There are multiple sizes and varying heights of doors. One cannot possible carry parts for all these combinations and maintain a new inventory. Some parts you may not use for months, lets say a remote for a stanley opener. How many of those do you sell? Or what if you need a circuit board for a Marantec model 3700? You carry that on your truck? If I don't have the part on my truck...I will just drive to my shop...local in town and go get it, or I can order what I need from a local parts supplier and return the next day. It's a garage door not the fridge, the hot water heater or the electricity. The homeowner can be without it for a day or two. No need to pay $500 for someone to come at 3:00 am.
Then again, perhaps if you come across a Stanley opener in need of a remote, you might just fix it by selling new bearing plates, rollers, center spring pad, 7 x 7 cables and a new opener?
A customer has a 15 x 7 Foamcore II and needs springs. You carry 64, 000 thousand cycle springs for that door on your truck?
Finally, you employees of Precision Door are PDS certified correct? Do you or do you not receive sales training as part of your certification?

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OCNative56
, US
Feb 07, 2018 11:18 am EST

Where in So Cal are you? Precision came to my dads house and he told my dad that he had the wrong springs, so my dad had to use Precision's springs. He was pretty ticked off. The guy called himself a "professional". UGH

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Mattiejane
, US
May 20, 2011 7:13 pm EDT

My house has an oversized garage door to accomodate a 45 foot RV. It broke. We called what LOOKED like a wonderful company due to the impressive large- spread advertisement they had in the Yellow Pages.( Discounts for the elderly, discounts if "you mention the ad".) It looked good.
A serviceman came out and said it our garage door was dangerous.-That the original company installed a small residential door opener instead of an industrial grade opener. He further stated that it needed new springs, rollers, weather stripping and so forth. He also said our small car garage needed to be repaired. Of course, we wanted it done asap and agreed to doing it because we were told it could drop and kill somebody. We were horrified. He quoted statistics on how many die from these accidents each year and such.
We gave a $250.00 deposit. Then, I found out the original installer of the garage doors was still in business. I called and he told me that Precision was a terrible company- a rip off company and what we were told, just wasn't true.( I was wondering if all of them were scam artists.)
I attempted to cancel Precision. When I asked for my $250.00 back- thay said that parts had to be ordered ( special ones ) and they said to wait to speak to a higher-up in a few days. The estimate came to $2, 000. for the larger door and who knows what for the smaller one.
I was told by a neighbor to Google" Dateline NBC" and look under garage doors to learn about Precision Overhead Door Service.
I am so happy that they delayed in doing this project or we might have been out alot of money. Now, to get our $250.00 back. Have to stop payment on the check now. It's always something. Lesson learned : Do more homework first on a company.

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Sensable Shopper
Tampa, US
May 16, 2011 3:02 am EDT

By the way...here is a youtube clip that doesn't show the whole scene, but you get the gist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2puJnYvmr8&NR=1

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Sensable Shopper
Tampa, US
May 16, 2011 2:55 am EDT

Just watched a Dateline NBC special "Hansen Files" in which a Precision tech told a lady she needed to spend close to $600 to replace a garage door opener. The catch is that the opener has just been installed a month earlier and only needed to have the safety optical sensors adjusted (the problem created by Dateline.) The Precision tech actually started cussing Chris Hansen out when he realized his attempt to completely screw this customer had been caught on camera for the whole nation to see.

The problem was an obvious fix but the need to meet his greedy quota took over. Precision is the biggest scam in the Garage door industry and if you actually call this company to your house you had better be prepared to be taken.

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Joe Snuffy
Albuquerque, US
Apr 21, 2011 8:14 pm EDT

Again, another idiot in the biz commenting on springs. My springs last up to 55000 cycles which is almost 5 times as long as your 12000 cycle duds. I have a 5 year warranty that you won't need, while yours is 1 year. And if you add rollers to the repair, you get a full lifetime warranty that includes labor. If you call a precision Tech out to your house and follow the recommended repair, you may never have to pay for repairs on your door again, for as long as you live (and in my market the warranty is transferrable!).
Nobody's perfect. If you felt like you aren't getting a good deal, you should call that company and give them an opportunity to prove their warranty. If you don't get satisfaction from the first tech, ask for another. Precision techs are held to the fire for any sub-standard work they perform. It's simple: do it right or you'll go back and fix it without pay.
Now, a couple of questions: How many of you "other guys" reading this give same day service to over 90% of your customers? How many of you work weekends? How many of you would get outta bed @ 3 am on Christmas eve to help get someone's car out of the garage so they can go to Grandma's house for the holiday (this really happens!)? Do any of you have parts on your truck to repair virtually any problem, on the spot? Guess what? I DO! Don't you think that warrants a higher price? If you don't respect your profession and craft, neither will customers. Cheapskates don't call us. People who want the best, right now, do. And they get is from Precision.
Sorry to sound arrogant, however, it's high time the record was set straight.

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Robin millersmith
Boston, US
Mar 24, 2011 3:25 am EDT

I had 1 garage door that needed repair. Prevision Door Service from Hudston, MA came to the house, andchanged me $59 for an estimate. During the estimate the technician and anassociate continually pulled and yanked on all of the bearings and chains, sowhen they left the garage door no longer closed. They gave me an estimate of $600to repair the door, and then an estimate of $500 to repair the other door(which was not even broken). I then called a second local repair shop, and for$125 they not only repaired the broken door, but "greased andtightened" the non-broken door. So ... Precision Door Services tried to OVER BILL ME BY $1000 for repair work, some of which they actually caused bypulling on the bearings and chains while they were here.

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Robin millersmith
Boston, US
Mar 24, 2011 3:24 am EDT

I had 1 garage door that needed repair. Prevision Door Service from Hudston, MA came to the house, and changed me $59 for an estimate. During the estimate the technician and anassociate continually pulled and yanked on all of the bearings and chains, sowhen they left the garage door no longer closed. They gave me an estimate of $600to repair the door, and then an estimate of $500 to repair the other door(which was not even broken). I then called a second local repair shop, and for$125 they not only repaired the broken door, but "greased and tightened" the non-broken door. So ... Precision Door Services tried to OVER BILL ME BY $1000 for repair work, some of which they actually caused bypulling on the bearings and chains while they were here.

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Bigsammich
Pt. Pleasant, US
Mar 11, 2011 10:40 pm EST
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Here is the fact, they do use higher cycle parts. But as mentioned throughout this thread those parts are NOT Precision Exclusive Product, and those part DO NOT justify the nearly 3 to 4 times higher in price that Precision would like to charge. For example:

Precision Tech "Rebuild" List Price $771 this includes
Precision Springs, Precision Cables Lift and Saftey, Precision Pulleys, Precision Rollers

These parts would cost the average person on the street about $40-$50 if bought in case quantity and they would be the EXACT SAME PARTS that precision uses!

All the stuff about the warranty is TRUE, so if you do not mind allowing them to make $720 on you to rebuild your door plus $89 per year for an inspection and a $3 can of lube, for a total profit of nearly $1300 for five years of service go ahead, though you might be better off buying a new door every five years!

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Door Tech
Austin, US
Nov 23, 2010 11:25 pm EST
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As I stated in my first response,
"The Spring" and its life span is based on Cycles (how many times the door is open and closed) that is how it is tested and compared.
I have personaly called many Precision door franchises and they have all said they use a 10, 000 cycle spring.
So lets do the math again,
Average door cycled per day 4 cycles, x 360 days = 1440cycles a year.
So take the 10, 000 cycle spring and divided by 1440 yearly cycles = about Seven years under perfect conditions.
I usually see them break between the Five to Seven year mark. That is not a superior LIFE TIME spring.
we only use 15, 000 cycle springs or better depending on the customers needs for seven to ten years of life or better on average."
And as for the LIFE TIME warranty,
you only get the Warranty if you purchase the most expensive repairs with it, yeah he is not telling you that part is he...If you call for a Spring change, you can only purchase the warranty if you replace every thing in the torsion system. that is how they get you. You could have a door that was installed by them for a previous owner that has everything on it for there warranty and they will still pull the same sell, Because it is not about the product it is always, always about the Profit.

If dare to read the fine print the warranty is only good if:
1. You the original owner and purchaser of the part in question have your part serviced every year by said date and by Percision only, and of course not counting the huge ticket you paid for the LIFETIME warranty up front they will charge you the full amount for each and every one of those yearly service calls. or the warranty is void.
2. If you sell the home the warranty is void, Because they bank on you the purchaser to forget or move thus voiding the warranty and counting on the next owner (Sucker)to see the nice stickers they leave behind to call and repeat the cycle.

It is amazing how much your previous customers complain about your company after trying to call on a warranty. And it is always the same complaints, I left several messages and nobody calls back, I got the run around, people were rude. Hmm why is that always the same theme?
I'll tell you... it is because they have such a high turn around with Technicians that they cannot usually send the Tech that may have made the mistake, and the Manager is never willing to pay somebody else to fix the problem so they ignor you and hope you go away.
And eventually kicking and screaming you give up write a complaint about the company and go away.

This complaint thread has gone on too long here is the nuts and bolts of Precisions insider thinking:
Profit, Profit, Profit,
If something is going to take away from that cut it off, never give refunds, if there is a complaint we do not want that customer anymore, if he/she files a complaint who cares really, they will get tired and it will eventually go away and we just keep on advertising to the next customer who will pay and the cycle repeats.
If you think they really care about the customers you are going to be seriously disapointed time and again.
They know what they are doing and they will keep on doing it as long as there are uneducated consumers out there willing to believe the deception.

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Proud Precison Employee
, US
Oct 02, 2010 7:46 am EDT

Say what you want about Precision Door, but know what you are talking about first. The spring IS based on cycles. Cycles which are rated by spring wire size, spring diameter, and length. These other people don't tell you that though do they. So while Precision springs are rated at 64, 000 cycles, your average competitor's spring is rated at 18, 000 cycles. And lets be real about this, of course anything with bearings is better than something without. Oh, and all of our bearings are sealed. And cables, lets talk about cables. You have something called a 7x7 cable. Meaning 7 strands making a wire, 7 wires making the cable. Precision uses a 7x19 cable. Meaning 19 strands making a wire, 7 wires making the cable. By using slightly smaller strands but more of them the cable is not only stronger but more flexible. This keeps the cable from fraying, kinking, etc. as easily as the more commonly used 7x7 cables. And for those of you trying to still my business, let it be known that in the market that I am employed by Precision, we give a real lifetime warranty. PARTS, LABOR and SERVICE CALL is COVERED by the warranty. So basically you other companies can continue to put up your doors with cheap hardware and I will continue to repair them right and make them last.

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Ray Krueger
Colton, US
Aug 04, 2010 9:56 pm EDT
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I, have been in the garage door service in the Portland< Or/Vancouver, WA area for 25 years.
I agree mostly with the above opinion.
Fact, there are only so many manufacturers of garage door parts. Most will have a range of quality. The most commonly used ARE the least quality and cost.
Now that being said, I have also had opportunities to follow a Precision Door Service repair job.
I have carefully inspected their work. Most times, I can say they use the better roller and may have used the higher wire count on cables. Reality is quality products are not a whole bunch more costly than the cheap products.Precision just charges an extreme amount and they seem good at fooling the customer into misbelieving believing they just got something special more than the bill.
We do see a lot of poor workmanship and the poorest quality parts used in our trade. We don't follow suit and shop for the highest quality.. When I have inspected their work and products, I have found springs to be the exact product commonly used on most OEM products. I even have measured and spected the performance and found is a normal origional door quality with a huge cost and a misleading lifetime warranty.
Their "LIFETIME WARRANTY" IS ONLY DECEPTION. As said above, the warranty is only on parts< though I have never found a customer yet who realized this when purchasing. Also, they charge so much for the labor, it would be cheaper to hire an honest company and pay for parts and labor and usually would have a more experienced serviceman and similar or possibly better parts and a whole lost less of a bill. If they do a warranty repair, it would be more profitable and costly than most reputable companies would charge for an orgional service. Their doors have this special warranty, too. You will pay at least hundreds, several) more for the door and usually have one of the lower to mid level quality products. But don't forget the special usless lifetime warranty and oh, yes their techs get special training.
I have had two techs work for me after working for a Precision Door Service franchise. Both have the opinion that the training is on how to get a whole lot of money and a little bit door service training.

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Mr Door Tech
Austin, US
Aug 02, 2010 11:38 am EDT

It always baffles me how rudely offensive Precision Techs get and other Companies that charge those inflated prices when somebody complains about it or the service they receive.
As a Garage Door Tech my self of 16 plus years I can say that Precision and other large companies in many cases that I have been involved in with customers that were upset and called me to come inspect what was done and for a second opinion, have indeed been in my opinion "scammed".

In Precision Techs words,
"We're not the most expensive (or the least) but I believe we are the best. Look at it this way: if the "other guys" parts were of such high quality, why are we out in the first place? True: everything breaks. But I can't tell you how many garage doors I've fixed that were merely 5 or 10 years old. On the other hand, I've seen some doors that were 25 to 30 years old that were in fantastic shape. Few and far between, but dimes to dollars the customers that owned those doors know quality when they see it and gladly pay a fair price for a premium product that lasts. That's a Precision customer."

Really?
Of course you were out every five to ten years cause the "spring broke", nothing else. And this is to be expected due to the cycles of the springs, and as for the doors that were 20 to 30 yrs old most doors would last that long if the customers were educated about how to service their door and had them serviced by a professional every couple of years to maintain proper balance and to enshure the door was installed properly in the first pllace. This is the number one cause for failure of the doors, even the cheapest door if properly maintained will last.

And lets not forget about the "Life Time Warranty" and the no fault paper they make you sign prior to doing the work, or how about the sticker they may put on your door or wall, The Techs never mention the small print that says if you do not have your door serviced every year by them that the warranty will be void. yes that is another $80 to $120 every year, Yep that's right not only do you pay out the kazoo for the work initially done then they want you to continue to pay over time and guess what here is the other kick in the pants...lets say you stuck to it and did get serviced every year and your spring breaks in five years they will be glad to come out and fix it but they are going to hand you another bill for about four to five hundred dollars...Why? its supposed to be a lifetime warranty! they do not and will not tell you it only covers the cost of the part not the service and labor.
So explain to me how $1500 to $1800 in five years on average compared to say the company I work for that charges $198.00 for a spring chang gives a three year warranty against defect on a 15, 00 cycle spring and no annual service stipulations that even if it broke in five years still only cost them a third of you initial cost is not a rip off.

As for the superiority of the materials they use and the parts in question.

"The Spring" and its life span is based on Cycles (how many times the door is open and closed) that is how it is tested and compared I have called many Precision door franchises and they have all said they use a 10, 000 cycle spring so lets do the math,
Average door cycled per day 4, x 360 days = 1440 times a year. 10, 000 divided by 1440 yearly cycles = about seven years under perfect conditions. I usually see them break between the Five to Seven year mark. That is not a superior spring we only use 15, 000 cycle springs for seven to ten years of life on average.

"The Drums" on doors produced today are not inferior and are designed to last the life of the door, the drums that precision uses are designed for eight to ten foot doors and are complete overkill for a standard door.

"the Cables" can and do wear out over time there are various sizes used depending on the Manufacture and the size of the door the issue is why they wore out, most of the time it is because of improper installation not inferiority, even the bigger cables will fail if the original problem of improper installation is not addressed.

"the Torsion tube" rarely needs to be replaced unless there was a problem with springs or drums seized to it due to improper installation or obvious damage to the shaft.

" End Bearing Plates and Spring Mount Plate" the bearings on these can indeed wear out without proper lubrication and maintenance but cannot be determined to be bad under normal conditions until taken apart. They should be lubricated along with the other moving parts by the customer at least every three to six months or as necessary. and as for superiority the bearings in their plates which are overkill for heavy doors are the same ones in our standard plates.

" The Rollers" Can and will wear out over time and quickly if the door was not properly installed. there are several types ranging from the plastic wheel on a metal shaft to the capped 13 ball roller, which is the better product to have and precision is defiantly not the only company to have these as I have heard them claim.

Here are a few of the Scams or bad service that I have recalled,

Example #1. When a customer called to have an estimate for a spring change the tech "supposedly" did a full inspection of the door in accordance with the check off sheet incorporated with their invoice and was without taking anything apart on this three year old door able to determine that the entire torsion system was bad and needed to be replaced this included the drums, cables, End bearing plates, Spring anchor plates, Spring, and torsion tube (standard practice for this company).
After all was replaced and a single spring was installed the customer was handed a bill for just under Seven hundred dollars, this also included the "lifetime warranty".
Here is where the problems really started for the customer, the Tech was starting to pull away and the customer attempted to close the door via the Garage door opener and it would not close...
( yes the tech left without ever testing the door, remember the check off list) they have one for after the door is done that they are supposed to follow as well.
The Customer flagged the Tech down and he told her that it is a different problem and she would have to make another appointment for that and pay again.
This is where I was called the next day to repair the opener I asked who did the work before me and he brought me the invoice I asked if he would go through the invoice like the tech was supposed to for the inspection and check off so we did.
we found three blatantly cracked and broken hinges, we found that the wire had been cut to the sensor for the operator by the Precision Tech so that he could remove the End bearing Plate. (hence the reason the operator would not work), we found two obvious bad rollers as well and the door was never serviced no lube on anything. according to their invoice this should have all bee addressed.
So what happened? you guessed it the Techs are programmed to do one thing get the money maker every time (spring change) and not every Tech is bad like this but I have not been proven wrong yet on the spring change.

Example 2. Customer calls Precision for a garage door opener issue the opener will only move a few inches at a time forwards or backwards. Precision Tech goes into the standard practice of its your spring and you need this all replaced and every thing should be fine (not once actually operating the operator by the customers count) convinces the customer on the lifetime warranty and then has the customer sign a form that would not hold Precision responsible if something else was wrong after the repair. Hmm can you feel the scam?!
so obviously after the tech was done and ready to leave after collecting the $600 plus check the customer tried to close the door and the exact same symptom occurs and guess what the tech pulls his ace in the hole out and says not my fault it will cost $400.00 more to repair the operator. nice! real nice! that's what I would call customer service.
I was called the next day and after inspecting it was determined that the circuit board needed to be replaced for $80.00 and that the spring that was used by Precision was the wrong one for the door it was hot on top and weak on the bottom.

Here is what it boils down to always investigate before you make a decision, ALWAYS ask for an estimate first, if they want to charge you for it go on to the next company. When it comes to a big ticket price you do not have to accept it do not be afraid to tell the Tech no and that you would like to get a second opinion, investigate the company and see if there is a lot of complaints. The Internet is a wonderful tool use it to your advantage. it has been my experience that if you find a reputable local company with good reviews on the Internet that you will not be disappointed by the service or price. Also remember as he stated in his own paragraph up there advertising is expensive! if you see allot of it in big print then you should be aware that you are going to pay for it no doubt about it that is what they count on.
And watch out for the pressure salesman or Tech do not let them say you have to do anything with out a second opinion.
These Techs are trained to sell and they are good at it.

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Garage Door company owner 100
, US
Jul 05, 2010 1:16 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

The tech from Precision is right. A spring is not just a spring, pulleys are not just pulleys. Springs are rated in various cycles, which will determine how long you get out of them. The quality parts do cost more, but the cost is still negligible. Telling a company they are a rip-off because they charge twice as much as another company does not make them a rip-off. There are many factors that goes into pricing: Advertising expense (which is how you probably found them), labor expenses, trucks, insurance, etc. Now Precision Garage Door is known to be a scammer in the garage door industry. However, there are some franchises that do provide good customer service. yes, you will pay more when calling a company such as theirs, but you usually will get higher quality parts, a warranty backed by a national company, and they drive nice trucks that don't leak oil in your driveway. I own a garage door company that services 14 counties in Florida, and we charge the same prices as Precision does, because we are worth it! There's a reason why Chevy sells the Aveo and the Corvette. There's a reason why you can buy tires for $20 each or tires for $600 each. There are other factors than just how much it cost to make that part. Happy Precision Tech, thank you for telling it like it is. You are preaching our sermon about people not wanting to spend money for the largest and weakest opening in their home.

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Mikkens
, US
Aug 02, 2018 3:49 pm EDT

I am a garage door company as well and agree 100%.

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Happy Precision Garage Door Tech
Albuquerque, US
Jun 27, 2010 11:45 pm EDT

the parts used for my location in Albuquerque are truly superior. Springs are springs, huh. Do you know about tempering? cold, water, heat, etc.? Of course not. We do. We know because we are trained, qualified professionals. There is a huge difference between the standard "made to break" replacement parts and the premium "built to last, made in the USA" parts I use. If you look side by side at my cables or springs, and the ones that were on your door (which broke) I guarantee that you would see the difference. You are just another cheap, Mcdonalds fed American who contributes to the down turn in our manufuacturing sector. Keep buying that Walmart mentality.
Many business models are by design, cheap and inexpensive up front. What they want is to be back over and over to keep taking small chunks outta your wallet. Doesn't it make sense to spend a little more to fix it permanently the first time? Does to me. How about piece of mind? Bet you never thought even once about your garage door until it broke on you at 6 am when you needed to get to work by 7 am. It baffles me when people get cranky about service costs for their garage door when it's the largest, most used opening in your home, yet you have no problem spending $500 to re-sand and finish your veneered, press wood front door. You know, the one that you open only to slam shut in the face of a jahovah's witness once a week.
It's a fact: there are many cons out there and it can be difficult to sift through all the bogus info and make an informed decision. The precision I know and work gleefully for, is not one of those cons.
We're not the most expensive (or the least) but I believe we are the best. Look at it this way: if the "other guys" parts were of such high quality, why are we out in the first place? True: everything breaks. But I can't tell you how many garage doors I've fixed that were merely 5 or 10 years old. On the other hand, I've seen some doors that were 25 to 30 years old that were in fantastic shape. Few and far between, but dimes to dollars the customers that owned those doors know quality when they see it and gladly pay a fair price for a premium product that lasts. That's a Precision customer.
Bottom line: be cheep up front and spend more in the long haul.
I could go on for ever but you get the picture. Or not. Anyway, I just couldn't sit here and read another dope's (or disgruntled ex employee's) lousy, uneducated opinion on how springs are springs and cables are cables and they were ripped off by Precision. Next time go to home depot and do it yourself. Just be sure not to be one of the 20, 000+ americans a year that injure themselves while trying to "save a buck".

Out.

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Mohauke13
, US
Feb 02, 2017 7:18 pm EST

I was with precision 12+ years you must be at the only franchise that uses "custom" parts. Precisions' parts are made by the same manufacturer to the same specs of 90% of other suppliers. You must skip McDonald's and go straight to huffing gold paint. You are a very small gear in their business.

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ella phant
Mississippi State, US
Jun 23, 2010 6:06 pm EDT

if springs are springs and pulleys are pulleys, i guess women are women and there are no discernible differences. cars are cars... need i go on? you get what you pay for.

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Mohauke13
, US
Feb 02, 2017 7:11 pm EST
Replying to comment of ella phant

As an employee for precision I can say with the utmost confidence you are very incorrect. They get the parts the use from the same supplier as all other companies. Yes they do have a line of "precsion" parts, the difference is in the paint and tags. They do not manufacture or have some extra special Springs, pulleys, torsion bars, cables or openers made just for them. The only difference is a part job in very rare cases or a box and some plastic housing. The training they advertise is also a joke. I ran my own company for 10 years and had to close it and relocate. I am only putting this out here because I have now got myself back to a position to re open my own business. Now when I go do a job a can charge a fair price and be in fear of losing my job for not overcharging, lying to up sell unneeded parts and actually feel like I'm being a good person again.

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S Bowman
Palm Bay, US
Apr 13, 2009 9:44 pm EDT

So very true. Do not use them in the Palm Bay/Melbourne, Fl area. Huge Rip-off Company.
Several complaints sent to company headquarters with no resolution. Stay away!