Local Garage Door Company Warns Against Online Shopping Traps

WAITE PARK (WJON News) -- A local business is warning consumers to be sure they are shopping local when looking for goods and services online. American Door Works (ADW) in Waite Park says they have received numerous calls over the past several weeks from people who thought they had called the company based on web ads and potentially misleading Google listings, but were instead calling a different garage door company. ADW Sales and Operations Vice President Randy Utecht says typically the customer is talking to a call center that then just schedules with the most local person they have, usually from the Metro Area, and charges three to four times the amount of what a local company would charge. Utecht says the terminology can be misleading:

"What we're seeing is people are clicking on those sponsored ads, and everything appears as though there will be terminology that says servicing St. Cloud and surrounding areas, local family-owned business, and they've got the terminology in there, but if you really dive into it they don't have physical locations here, they might not even have physical locations in Minnesota."

Utecht says people can verify they are using someone local by checking the address and phone number, and by looking at reviews.

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Does the Waite Park Police Department know about this matter?

Waite Park Police Department's Community Outreach Specialist Alica Mages says the Waite Park PD is not aware of any complaints in regards to the matter, and businesses are able to set their own prices for services. Mages says when looking online, a business may appear to be local, and people should look at the physical address and call a local number to confirm their location. She also says when working with a new company, it is best to call other companies and get additional quotes for any work being done, and states that bad business practices or poor quality work do not mean it is criminal.

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