These guys should change their name to "TWIN PEAKS Roofing", after the old ABC show where viewers never knew what was happening, and wound up feeling they'd wasted their time.
Who killed Laura Palmer? I never figured that out. I do know who didn't install my roof: Jeff and Angela Heitzenrater.
The Morning of Tuesday, October 18th, I called Twin Peaks, hoping they could end over six months of disappointment. My ranch-style home has a flat roof with a rubber surface. There a lot of benefits to this surface, including (1) lasting from 20 to as long as 50 years, (2) short installation time, (3) energy savings and (4) easy cleaning. This is why you see flat roofs on businesses.
What I didn't know when I bought my home-- what I only learned after it started to leak in March-- is that a surface that takes little time to install-- and lasts a long time (mine was installed in the late 90's)-- isn't very profitable , Home roofing companies prefer asphalt shingles-- which need regular follow-up visits. Commercial roofers are thrilled to pour and squeegee goo on a building that holds an entire strip mall... but tell them you have a 3,00-square foot home in a suburb, and they pass.
Businesses short-staffed due to Covid are even less interested.
"Tell you what," one commercial guy told me. "We're usually not busy during the holidays, and we could do you in two days. Call back before the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas-- we never have jobs that week. if the weather is OK, we'll help you."
So I bought eight 23-gallon PVC storage bins at Big Lots (to catch the water in the kitchen when it rains) and waited. You think watching the clock isn't fun-- try watching the calendar.
But every time I heard about a roofing company that didn't seem janky,, I'd call. Usually I'd on the phone only as long as it took to explain the details. Then I'd hear "Sorry, can't help you." That's disheartening, but at least honest-- I turn down jobs where someone wants to hire my network consulting service to install more memory in their home PC.
Twin Peaks was different. When, I called, Brandie (the sister-in law who answers the phone; they're a family-owned business) told me Jeff was fully booked the week of the 17th, if I needed something immediate. but they could fit me in the next week.
I explained the details, and the chirp went out of Brandie's voice. "Where are you located?"
Three miles away from you. Mapquest says it's an 8-minute drive.
"Oh, I guess we could try to get out to at least look at you. "
I told them I'd be happy to have them install gutter shields, too if they wanted. (I can clean them in two hours, but anything to sweeten the deal.)
Gave them my home phone and my cell and waited.
And waited. It was frustrating, because the last two weeks have been warm and dry (for October in Cleveland).
The evening of the 25th (after they were closed, so I didn't intrude)-- a full seven days later-- I left a 45-second message: "Hey I called before, know you were busy last week, hope you can come out this week, here's my two numbers twice."
It's the afternoon of Saturday the 29th-- two days before Halloween-- and I'm done with Twin Peaks. Mavbe Jeff got struck down by a crippling attack of "pruritus ani"and has been hospitalized. Maybe Angie got carjacked. Maybe his baby got a bad case of colic. I can't be sympathetic, because nobody called me.
(And notice that I haven't left one-star reviews of the vendors who were honest with me-- that they didn't want my job.)
It is very, very easy to write things like (from their web site): "Triple Peaks Roofing was formed in March of 2008 when owners/operators Jeff and Angela Heitzenrater saw an opportunity for a roofing company based on honesty and integrity. Jeff and Angela noticed that the roofing industry was gaining a negative reputation due to "storm chasers", scammers, and contractors with low standards, so they set out to change that with Triple Peaks Roofing."
Yeah, well, you failed hard in this instance, Bunky. To be fair, It is very, very hard for most Mom and Pop (or two brothers or dad and some grandsons) businesses to keep that promiser. They don't have the resources required to maintain a schedule if someone quits or gets sick. They don't keep good records (for all I know, my call went onto a card on a bulletin board-- and my thumbtack fell off). They sometimes can't afford the resources to perform a one-time specialty job.
They mean well-- and if they're selling custom-woven baby bonnets on Etsy, it's not a big deal if they fall short.
When your roof is leaking, IT IS A BIG FREAKING DEAL. A big, impersonal firm that answers phones, schedules and keeps appointments and calls the customer-- even to deliver bad news which might make him cranky-- is preferable to "family-owned small businesses" read more