The innovative online rating system grades home renovation contractors against 14 stringent criteria
TORONTO, June 10, 2015 /CNW/ - TrustedPros Inc has introduced a new algorithm-based rating standard for renovation contractors. "TrustScore®" gives Canadian homeowners a more reliable way to verify contractor credentials before hiring.
TrustScore® is a stringent five-point rating system that grades contractors' performance along 14 verticals before assigning them an aggregate score. The rating criteria include authenticity of reviews; supplier, creditor, and employee complaints; transparency of business practices; endorsement by peers; time in business, etc. Customers can already view the TrustScore® for thousands of contractors listed on TrustedPros' website.
Home renovation problems are one of the most common consumer complaints in Canada. Most involve work-quality, unfinished projects, and warranty issues. The Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) cautions homeowners to work only with a professional renovator to protect themselves from scams and bad work quality.
In a recent interview with the Reader's Digest, celebrity home improvement contractor Mike Holmes was asked what percentage of contractors were doing good, honest work. "I call it the good, the bad and the ugly," he replied, "20, 70 and ten percent, respectively". If his judgment is to be trusted, there's a 70 percent chance a customer will end up with the wrong contractor, and a badly done job.
Most of homeowners use personal referrals, contractors' websites, and online reviews to evaluate and select their renovators. However, the frequency of renovation complaints reflects these methods have their flaws. TrustScore® provides the much-needed protection against suspicious reviews, misleading information, unethical business practices, and many other renovation risks.
"We've put our 11-year expertise into TrustScore®," says TustedPros' CEO Max Sheppard. "Customers are going to invest a lot of money and energy in their home improvements. They deserve to work with the best contractors. That's why we've designed TrustScore® to be the gold standard for contractor evaluation."
While TrustedPros already uses the most rigorous methods to validate reviews, their exclusive TrustScore® system now offers consumers a broader perspective about contractors. Whether the new system will really become the gold standard for contractor selection remains to be seen, but it is surely the most trustworthy contractor score system to date.
TrustedPros.ca (previously HandyCanadian.com) is an online platform connecting homeowners with trusted renovation contractors since 2004. Nearly 2 million consumers use the website each year to search across Canada among thousands of contractors in more than 100 categories and make informed decisions based on credible ratings and reviews.
SOURCE TrustedPros Inc.
Image with caption: "Homeowner evaluates a contractor using the TrustScore® system (CNW Group/TrustedPros Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150610_C1830_PHOTO_EN_17796.jpg
Max Sheppard, Founder and CEO, TrustedPros Inc., 1 Dundas Street West, Suite 2500, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z3, 1-855-890-7767, Extension 301, [email protected], www.trustedpros.ca
Share this article