Dan's Garage Door Blog

As links to our door prices appear on the first page of a Google search of “garage door prices” we tend to catch the first assaults of scam artists. Last year it was phone calls for an order from someone who was hearing impaired and had to type messages through a special service provided by the phone company. This was reported in the DASMA trade journal Door & Access Systems in the Fall, 2006 issue at http://www.dasma.com/articles/feature/feature231.asp.

An earlier story by MSNBC detailing the schemes of these con artists can be viewed at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4781806.

It looks like they are at it again this year. Following is an e-mail exchange from the last few days. I may have called his bluff in the last transmission, but I’m not holding my breath.

If you have come to this site by googling phrases from his e-mails, beware!

The subject line read: “Order.” James Amoroso 8/20/2007 6:55 AM

Good day,

My name is James and I want to know if you carry or can order a Non-Insulated Garage Door with size 16′ x 7′ to be picked up from your store.

Please let me know the unit price plus the terms of payment you accept.

Hope to read from you son as it is possible.

James.

My Response: On 8/22/07, DDM Garage Doors wrote:

James,

A CHI 2250 25 ga. non-insulated garage door would be $450.00 plus tax.
This includes door, hardware, torsion springs and perimeter weather seal.

Dan

To which the scam artist replied: 8/23/07 12:33 AM Re: Order.

Please update total quantity to 20 units and let me know the total cost so I can email you with my credit card info for full payment processing prior to pick-up.

James.

At this point we smelled a rat. To which we replied on 8/23/07:

James,

Doors are not in stock. They would take about two weeks to get. Where are these doors going to be installed? Also please provide a phone number so we can discuss details.

Thanks.
Dan

To which “James” replied on 8/23/07:

Dan I am hearing impaired so everything will have to be done via email.
Also the doors are to be shipped outside the Country to a Church in West-Africa.

James.

To which I replied on 8/23/07:

James,

I have contacts with missionaries in West Africa. Which church needs the doors, and what will they do with all the doors?

Dan

(If you are a door dealer and you’re getting similar e-mails, send us your story of this scam and we may post or quote from it.)

I am not a lawyer, but I do share my opinion at times. This is a response to Karen’s question on a guestbook entry dated June 12, 2007.

Karen,

I am sorry you have had the problems with your door. Whenever I replace springs, I try to avoid some of the difficulties you have had, but it is not always easy.

First, I normally recommend replacing both springs. If the customer is not home, however, and no one is there to authorize replacing both springs, I only replace one. Otherwise, the customer is under no obligation to pay for the other spring. The company did the right thing.

Second, I always check to make sure the spring anchor bracket is secure. Yesterday, however, I replaced springs on a door where the base of the bracket had been covered with drywall and painted. What should I have done? I bet that it will last. If it doesn’t last beyond the warranty period, I would not charge to repair it. Otherwise, I would charge to repair it. Who would pay for the drywall repair if I had ripped it off to check the anchor bracket? I would be more likely to end up in court if I had checked the bracket.

Third, when the company gave you the wrong springs, it would have been better to have returned both sets of springs to the company and let them give you the correct springs. I would have appreciated the same courtesy. A judge might still ask the first company to give you the correct springs.

Fourth, you wrote that the second company said the spring that broke looked used. Did they put that in writing? Would the service man who was there be willing to state that in court? A judge needs hard evidence. To be perfectly frank with you, I’m not sure I can recognize a used spring, especially if it has been up over a year. I recently ran into a conflict with a customer because I recommended replacing only one spring because the other looked new. A few months later the “new” spring broke. I did the right thing for the right reason, but I was wrong.

Fifth, it is common for doors to have different size torsion springs. Many manufacturers, installing door companies and service companies do this for a variety of reasons. Whenever I do it, I wind the springs so they have the same cycle life. Having different springs would not cause the spring bracket to come loose and bend the shaft.

I wish you well in your efforts to resolve this.

Thank you for your kind comments about our instructions.

Dan

Congratulations, Erich Musick!

Your Mother and I are real proud of you as we celebrate your graduation with high honors and second in your class from Milwaukee School of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science degree in Software Engineering.

We wish you the fullest of God’s blessing as you begin your career at Metavante.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,and do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6 ESV)

We love you!

Jill Musick, Erich’s sister and upcoming junior at Wheaton College, offers this variation of “Pomp and Circumstance” which she finished writing while waiting for the graduation to begin. pomp-circumstances.mid

Erich has been instrumental in propelling DDM Garage Doors into the internet sales of residential and commercial garage door parts, especially the sales of garage door springs. He has achieved this with a comprehensive web page that includes special instructions for replacing torsion springs.

We are happy to announce the addition of wood carriage house doors to our product line.

These are manufactured by a new startup company near Rochester, NY. Andy Hodenius, founder and owner of On Track Garage Door Services, has recently applied his training and experience in tool and die-making to manufacturing these high-end wooden doors under the banner of On Track Custom Garage Doors. Their pages should be up in the coming months.

Customers will be happy with the superb quality built into every door. If you have any questions about the doors, you can call Andy at 585-352-5125.

The Resurrection

Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he [1] lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (From the Holy Bible, ESV)

In our attempts to help customers order the correct springs we often suggest they e-mail us photographs of their doors and spring assemblies.

The picture below sent by Dave Schmid impressed me enough to post it here. A collage like this has to be worth many thousands of words. Thank you, Dave, for this creative contribution!

This blog has been moved to the tutorial page.

On a recent guestbook entry Dan Heckle commented regarding our URL extension. Thank you, Dan, for your comment. Here is an answer for you and others who have wondered about it as well.

In April of 1997 when I was evaluating domain names, I considered garagedoor.com but that had already been taken. My web host suggested several alternatives, including garagedoor.org. I told the representative that I thought the .org was just for non-profit organizations. He assured me that many businesses used .org and that it would be fine. I liked the simplicity of www.garagedoor.org and chose that.

In the early years on the web the .org was never an issue. That was before the .com bust of the early 2000’s. URL extensions were in a state of flux. I could truthfully say then, as I say jokingly now, “We don’t make enough enough money to be a .com.” In those days we didn’t earn enough to justify the expense of posting our web page.

As an organization we have always given away many times the value for which we are compensated, possibly more than most of the other .org’s in the garage door industry. For example, I chose not to charge for the torsion spring replacement instructions, in part, because we are a .org. But my motive was still as a business – to pursue making a profit on the web. To that end I have hired a lawyer to protect our copyrighted materials. We exist to make a profit and we protect our interests.

In the last year we have also begun converting the site over to www.ddmgaragedoors.com to more accurately reflect the nature of the organization. We are a business, but also more than a business. Eventually I expect to have the garagedoor.org and extensions automatically redirected to the new URL.

The Internet has taken on a personality of its own. URL’s are peripheral; we stand upon a well-established reputation of quality, service and trust. And upon this we continue building the business for our higher purpose of glorifying God.