The Home Pro website is a bit misleading. On the roof inspection page, there is a list of roof sizes and corresponding prices. I used this list to figure out that it would cost $59.95 to inspect my small to medium sized roof and then I booked an appointment. Days later, though, the Home Pro technician who came said the inspection would cost $169.00. According to the technician, it was not that I had miscalculated the size of my roof, it was that the prices on the roof inspection page were for cleaning the eavestrough...<br /><br />
First, I ended up agreeing to the higher price because I wanted it done already. (Prior to the technician's arrival, the dispatcher said that it could be some time before another spot was available. I had already been cancelled earlier in the day.) Next, I checked the website again and saw that the prices on the eavestrough cleaning page differed from the prices listed on the roof inspection page. (There was nothing to suggest any relationship between the two lists.) Lastly, I called Home Pro to complain about the price discrepancy. The dispatcher who answered said that a technician would call to address my concerns.
When the inspection was complete, I was told that I needed some roof maintenance, eavestrough cleaning, etc. The technician explained that I could extend the life of my roof (up to 10 years but this timeframe was not documented) by addressing the problem areas listed on the report. I was told that tile matching would not be a problem and when I asked for confirmation that the roof did not need to be redone, I was given it.
On the day of the actual work, a different Home Pro technician showed up. As soon as he got on the roof, he called down that he could see a lot of problems with my roof. (I figured that he was up there to fix them.) At the end of the job, he told me that all of the tiles on at least one face of my roof were badly wheathered and in need of replacement to stop leaking. Ultimately, he gave me a full area roofing quote. Discount included (money spent thus far), the full area price was greater than a competitor's quote.
In summation, I see that I have been caught up in sales techniques:
1. I gave the inspection a greater value because of its temporary unavailability. (Check Google for "scarcity tactic.")
2. I agreed to a low price for my inspection on the Web page and then a higher price in person. (Check Wikipedia for the definition of "low-ball.")
3. I agreed to a small amount of repairs and then I was confronted with an even greater amount of repairs when the first repairs were complete. (Check Wikipedia for the definition of "foot-in-the-door technique.")
I did not bother mentioning the smaller items. Suffice it to say that I am down about $800.00 and I still need to have my roof done.
