Ice Dam Removal Prices Aren’t All That Matters

How will your ice dam removal company treat you?  That’s the first question to look into before you hire one. Not how much they cost. Not even how long they’ve been in business.

Companies that care are rare.

Do you know of many companies who care about each customer?  You’ve probably heard more horror stories than heartwarming stories.  Stories about ice dam companies that:

• Don’t show up for an appointment while ice water continues to pour through a customer’s ceiling.
• Never return a customer’s call.
• Are rude in-person or over the phone (or both).
• Send a technician who’s as sharp-dressed as a medieval beggar.
• Bill for work the customer didn’t want or need.
• Skimp or wing it on work the customer needs.
• Break stuff or damage property and refuse to compensate the customer.

The list goes on and on.

Companies run by problem-solvers are rare.

If only you could be a fly on the wall at the meetings we have about the homes we don’t just want to walk away from.  Often, rather than turning down a challenging job we spend hours trying to find a way to help the person

For instance, one time we had to rent a 50-foot ladder. We had it dropped off at the home of one Duluth woman who had a historic home whose ice dam problem seemed all but impossible. We sent 3 guys out and they made it happen. Most people get the willies on a 12-foot ladder.  Our guys climbed a 50-foot ladder in the dead of the winter while lugging heavy equipment over their shoulders, to get onto a slippery roof.

Our super-kind and generous customer tipped each guy $200. That was a great feeling, but unexpected. Because for us it’s not all about the money, and our reviews demonstrate that.

We gather 100 voicemails that need answering during these marathon ice dam removal sessions. In theory we could ditch them and do only the easier jobs. But we simply don’t like to abandon a customer who has asked for our help.

Companies that listen are rare. 

Once we got a call from a woman who, in the beginning of the conversation, mentioned her husband had recently passed. She had a lot on her plate, trying to learn how to do everything her husband had always done for her.

She needed our help. We took the time to listen to her entire story.

Then we told her our price. Though she lived several large states away, we gave her the same price we give homeowners right here in Minnesota. We’d lose money, but we’d be doing the right thing.

As our phones rang off the hook with jobs we needed to assign to our guys, she went off on a long screaming and crying rant. “Rot in hell! You’re taking advantage of me!”  She said every swear word and horrible thing you could imagine, and she never took a breath. She was out of control. And then she hung up.

We almost called 911 because we were afraid she was going to hurt herself. It was that bad. She sounded that hysterical. But we remembered what she’d had to say at the start of the call. She was grieving.

So we Googled her phone number, found her address, and sent her flowers with some encouraging sympathetic words.

We never did hear from her, but that’s okay.  Doing the right thing is sometimes all the reward one needs.

You get what you pay for.

Yes, there are people who will charge half what we charge, but will they treat you well, or as a number (or a dupe)?

The math doesn’t add up. With us the “catch” is clear: we aren’t cheap. But what about the companies that charge less for ice dam removal than we’re paying our guys? When that happens, something is off.

I don’t know if they’re living in mom’s basement, using a pressure washer, beating at the ice dam with a hammer, or hiding from the law, or what. But something’s not right. You can’t buy proper insurance for what they’re charging, and you really want an ice dam guy to be insured correctly.

Someone willing to charge those prices certainly doesn’t have the right equipment and probably doesn’t have the skill. It’s just not possible. If they knew what they were doing they’d be charging about what we charge.

If it sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.

Do your research. Sometimes a quick Google search is all you need to figure out whether you’re about to get ripped off.