Pro-Master Garage Doors Service

My mother (who is 80 years old) contacted this company to replace the weatherstripping along the bottom of her garage door. They sent someone out, and she was told that the springs needed to be replaced, and also the rollers. (The door was installed four years ago.) She reluctantly agreed to have the springs replaced, but opted not to go for the rollers; she was informed that by not doing so, they couldn't provide a warranty. The man was extremely rude - she told him so, and he apologized. He had problems replacing the springs, and when he had done so the door would not stay closed (it would reach the bottom, then apparently trigger the safety mechanism, then go back up). He did something to the door opener mechanism so it would close. He had to return a few days later, as he didn't have the weatherstripping in his truck. On the second visit he installed the weatherstripping on top of the old one. He again tried to get her to replace the rollers. She declined.

So where are we? My mother is $330 poorer; the door's safety mechanism no longer works; the door doesn't line up properly on the tracks, leaving gaps and making for a very noisy open/close; and part of the old weatherstripping is protruding out from under the new one.

I called the company and they said that they had "faith in their repair people" and that he couldn't justify paying someone to go out and investigate the complaint (since they'd already sent someone out twice - which was NOT our fault); he felt that since I'd called back to modify the details of the complaint (to indicate the gaps which my mother had just noticed) that "nothing will make her happy". They want me to have them come out again at a cost of at least $75 for the call, and up to $200 to replace the rollers... so that we would end up spending $500-$600 for what was originally supposed to be a routine replacement of weatherstripping.

My mother paid $600 four years ago for the new door... installed!!

Judging by the other complaints I see here, I'm not alone. Stay away.

I have to agree with the other posters. This is a company that does not have any scruples. I had someone come out in April 2006 to fix my garage door. I just wanted one of the door panels replaced. In the end, this very rude technician named Jay had me changing the springs, rollers and hinges. Since I’m not an expert, I assumed that Jay would be honest in telling me what I needed fixed. I was told by friends that none of the items needed to be changed and not only did I pay for things that didn’t need to be changed, he also overcharged me. For example, one roller cost me $24 and I found out that I can get one from Home Depot for about $2. Two years later, the opening and closing of the garage door is worse than before he fixed it. It is rough and the door does not align with the door opening. Also, the tech guy was very rude and dishonest. He told me that if I did not change the springs and it somehow hurt him while he was installing the new panel, I would be liable. Do not deal with this company if you don’t want to be a victim.

I hired this company because quoted price was reasonable.

1. The guy who installed it did not clean up after he was done.
2. It gets worse, one of the garage door openers (the actual machine that opens the garage door) fell off the ceiling after 2 years!
3. I called Pro-Master to complain, manager says they can't do anything about it because it's past the 1 year warranty - I told him I think I have grounds to sue them because their defective work endangered life and property. Basically told me to buzz off.
4. Tried to call another company to "fix" their defective work - I found out they are related to, or own other companies listed in the yellow pages (got their name off yellow pages, did not know about homestars yet!). So I decided I to fix the problem myself.
5. After investigating what caused the opener to fall off the ceiling - I found out the installer actually just fastened one of the lag screws onto the drywall and not to the stud! (my garage has a finished ceiling). I reattached the opener, and got it working again, saving myself at least a hundred bucks and also with peace of mind to boot.
6. Again, beware of this company and it's affilliated companies.

They showed up an hour and a half late for the appointment window they gave me. When the guy finally showed up, he was very rude and convinced me to buy parts I don't think were necessary.

To update this story, the new parts failed after 3 months and I had to higher a different company to do the repairs again.

Phoned and asked for a new opener to be installed as per their sale flyer. Guy shows up and says that I need new wheels and springs, so a new opener will be useless. Paid $300. Then 8 months later, same problems. I call for warranty. They say, its not the wheels and springs this time.it the gears and I need a special surge protector. They still don't want to replace 15 year old opener! PAid $250. Then 5 months later they qute $250 for a new chain and cable! I got a company to replace cable and fix chain for $100. The new company was shocked I kept fixing such an old system. Am I a sucker? Yes. Are they scammers for taking advantage of client's trust. Definitely. The repairmen probably get a cut of what hardware they sell. Some firms pay their repairman strictly by the hour. Go to an hourly firm rather than Pro-Master

A friend recommended this company to me. A young gentleman who first came was actually very helpful and knowledgeable. He knew that the shelfing unit about the garage was going to be a problem, yet tried to install the horizontal bar anyway. He never charged any money for coming out since we were purchasing the garage door openers at the same time. However, we did have to put down a deposit for them. Once we got the shelfing unit removed, we called Pro-Masters again to have them install it. Unfortunately, the 2nd guy tried to overcharge us for everything. We actually had to call the HQ to verify the REAL price. We then asked HQ to call him to tell him what he SHOULD be charging us. He didn't like being told this and mentioned several times that he was in the industry for over 20 years. I might have believed it if I didn't notice later that he install the opener remotes (for the walls) backwards.

First off the lady who answered the phone told me I could get a free quote. She also told me the service guys can simply re-torsion garage door springs if they are not broken. When the service guy showed up, he tells me there is a $65 fee for just showing up. He also tells me they never re-torsion springs, they only torsion NEW ones that they are installing. I hire him to do the work because I didn't have the time or patience to argue. He proceeds to use my ladder instead of his own and covers it in grease, grim, dirt and rust and did not clean it when he was done. He also coated both of my motorcycles in grease and oil after he told me they were not in the way. And now the new springs he installed, now 2 years old, already need to be re-tensioned. I call them back to have my garage door serviced again and they put me on hold and leave me there. I will NEVER call this company again.

Postscript:
Update: A friend of mine recommended another Garage door company and they came by to take a look at my garage door springs. And he confirmed what a contractor friend of mine was telling me, that Pro-Master had installed springs that were too small relative to the weight of my garage door. They sold me springs that were too small for the job. Then I told Ernie how much I had paid Pro-Master (I still have the original receipt) and he tells me that not only did I get inappropriate springs, I was over charged. When I unhooked the garage door from the garage door opener, the door came down like a freight-train. It felt like 300lbs when I tried to open the garage door by hand. Needless to say, I had to buy another set of garage door springs, but this time I have the right size springs and now I can open the door with ease.