Customer ReviewsforElite Hail Systems

Hi there, as always, we appreciate the opportunity to assist our customers through a difficult process. We are happy to address the concerns the Drakes seem to have. I can't speak to the "no soliciting sign", but I do know one of our independent reps noticed the ******* 2013 **** Explorer had received hail damage and let them know we were available to help, and with no cost out of their pocket. There was no discomfort expressed about any part of the process. We cover our customer's deductible up to $1,000 and pay for a rental car while the work is taken care of so life can go on.

The Drakes were happy to work with us and get it taken care of. In normal years, a 2-3 week turn around is pretty typical. This year was unprecedented as our area received non-stop hail storms through the 4 month season and created approximately 6 to 7 years worth of damage. Half the state needed help. Unfortunately, the insurance companies were entirely unprepared and overwhelmed. Ordinarily, when a customer drops a vehicle with us for repairs, we have approval from the insurance company to proceed with the work in a few days or a week. Unfortunately that was not the case this year, and we actually had some cars over a month and a half before we were even given the ok to begin. We still maintained our promise to our customers... paying for a rental car for the duration so their lives can go on while we take care of things. In this case, the ******* insurance company took over 3 weeks before providing approval so we could get started.

Our customers are encouraged to call in anytime they would like an update on how things are proceeding. We do not provide "excuses", rather we inform our customers exactly what is happening. In this case, nothing was happening for over 3 weeks, which had everything to do with their insurance company rather than Elite Hail Systems. We were happy to pay the almost $1,000 in additional rental fees in order to insulate our customer from the delay caused by insurance... or ultimately, the non-stop hail this year. In total we paid close to $3,000 in rental fees that are normally the responsibility of the Drakes, in addition to paying their deductible for them. We do this to go over and above anything anyone could expect to help them through the situation. Explaining to a customer that their insurance company is overwhelmed and has not yet completed their responsibilities so we can start... is not an excuse... it is an explanation of facts.

Naturally, we tell our customers that we will restore absolutely anything that was damaged in any way from the hail. In this scenario, their vehicle had a rock chip on the windshield that had nothing to do with the hail damage. The insurance company makes this call, although it is completely obvious to any trained eye. We simply can't fix absolutely everything on a 10+ year old car for free. We do flawless restoration of the hail damage, and that is what the insurance company pays for. They do not throw an extra $500 in for a windshield just because a customer wants it. If that had been the case, we'd have been happy to install it.

As for the trim pieces, here again the customer was told we would take care of every perceivable hint of hail damage... but the trim in question was cracked in the same place, on both sides of the vehicle, and it was obviously from age and exposure, having nothing to do with the hail. When the customer noticed the trim, we informed them we'd be happy to submit to insurance, see if we could get a supplement, and put some new trim on for them. The customers declined, saying they could hardly see it, it wasn't a big deal, and not to worry about it. Frankly they seemed pretty happy overall when they picked up their vehicle on 9/15 of this year. They initially dropped it off with us on July 5th, so this was 2 months and 10 days... way longer than it should take, and the frustrations are completely understandable. Just not sure why they resurfaced a month later, and not with us, but with the BBB. As one might imagine, we absolutely "took a bath" on this deal financially speaking... but we do it happily, because when we take great care of people, cover all their costs, and provide flawless work... everyone has a neighbor, friend or coworker who needs help too. It (almost) always comes back to us. Frankly, we're not understanding how we somehow became the bad guys a month later. 

Oh yes, the one other item that created a delay for the Drakes is that their nozzles were damaged and had to be replaced. (on the hood for windshield fluid) Unfortunately, it was one of those times when the parts were not available anywhere due to national backorder. It took 30 days to obtain them, and unfortunately we can not release the car without them and simply put them on later, as this is considered a safety issue. Between the backordered part and the long initial delay from the insurance company... yes, the wait was frustratingly long. Some other folks went through similar situations as again, insurance companies were having a lot of problems this year.

The interesting thing is, we've received exhaustive thanks and positive reviews from our customers, who know we insulated them from all this brain damage, took care of sometimes thousands of dollars worth of costs on their behalf, and ultimately provided them with beautiful results... all while they were free to pay nothing, worry about nothing, and go about their lives as usual... except in a brand new Enterprise "crappy rental car", and knowing all along that there is no guaranteed "time frame" written in stone, and that the process and speed is not entirely in our hands. We don't run the insurance companies, and we don't manufacture parts ourselves. 

While I'm not sure if it's possible to spend as much as $200 on a battery for a '13 Explorer, I do know that we do not "hook up" to a battery for any purpose in the restoration process. I'm not sure what they could possibly be referring to, but I am 100% sure that the battery was noticeably very old and absolutely covered with corrosion, somewhat echoing the overall condition of the vehicle. Perhaps the battery finally gave up the ghost a month later, and that's why we received this review a month after they picked up their vehicle (at which point they seemed pretty happy.)

At any rate, did it take too long? Yes. Did we ever lie or make an excuse? Absolutely not. This is not how we do business. There is a reason cities all over ******** consistently vote us "Best of the Best" in the Industry... last 5 years running. We love our customers, we love seeing jaws hit the ground when people see their completed vehicle, and we love the fact that we help so many people get their vehicles taken care of without taking a ***** out of their pocket. Our mission is to create raving fans... and we're usually pretty good at it. Many folks wouldn't be able to get their cars fixed at all if they had to come up with a couple thousand dollars themselves to cover their deductible and a way to get around during the repair.

I'm not sure if the Drakes are sent a copy of our comments on this review. I'm simply trying to share exactly what happened in this scenario. I'm not sure what we could do differently to make these folks happy. Last we knew... they were happy.

At any rate, I wanted to be complete in our response and our commitment to our customer's happiness, as I assume there will be good people in need of trustworthy help that will come across the review and have questions. I hope I've provided a reasonable look so people can look it over and make their own conclusions.

I'd feel even better about it if I knew what happened with all of our positive BBB reviews. They all just magically disappeared recently... so this one review is all you get at the moment lol! For more, please feel free to visit: ******************************************