Today is the final Best of 2011 announcement. The best contractors of 2011 according to homeowner’s reviews has been posted for Hamilton, Eastern Ontario, and for the first time, the South Western Ontario region. A big congratulations to all the winners! Your hard work and customer service has paid off and we are happy to give you the recognition you deserve!
The annual Best Of Awards are determined based on the HomeStars ‘Best Of’ match algorithm, which uses both the quality and quantity of reviews from 2011; qualifying companies must have at least five reviews in the year and companies are only able to win in one category.
Across Canada home improvement reviews are growing steadily. Ontario’s regional reviews are no exception. Eastern Ontario had 9 more winners than last year and there were 11 more categories awarded in Hamilton compared to 2010.
Our compliments to all of the companies who qualified for this years awards; you’ve all had a fantastic year. Keep up the good work! 2012 awards will be here before you know it!
Best Of Awards Nights
HomeStars will host Best Of Awards nights in each city to celebrate the success and hard work of contractors in the area. Stay tuned to your newsletters for the details. Not receiving our company newsletters? Please let us know by email to newsletters@homestars.com.
The best contractors of 2011 according to customer reviews has been posted for both Calgary and Edmonton. Congratulations to all the winners! Your hard work and customer service has paid off and we are happy to give you the recognition you deserve!
Our Best Of Awards are determined based on the HomeStars ‘Best Of’ match algorithm, which uses both the quality and quantity of reviews from 2011; qualifying companies must have at least five reviews in the year and companies are only able to win in one category.
Alberta Homeowner Are Growing!
HomeStars reviewers in Alberta have continued to grow in numbers over 2011. In 2010 we had 13 winners in Calgary and only 7 in Edmonton. Both cities are now benefiting from the increase in homeowner reviews with 34 winners in Calgary and 22 winners in Edmonton. Nice work Alberta! Thanks for sharing your stories and helping others in your community find the right trade for the job!
Our compliments to all of the companies who qualified for this years awards; you’ve all had a fantastic year. Keep up the good work! 2012 awards will be here before you know it!
Best Of Awards Nights
HomeStars will host Best Of Awards nights in each city to celebrate the success and hard work of contractors in the area. Stay tuned to your newsletters for the details. Not receiving our company newsletters? Please let us know by email to newsletters@homestars.com.
Stay tuned for The Best Of Ottawa, Hamilton, and for the first time, South Western Ontario being announced Tomorrow!
The best contractors of 2011 according to homeowner’s reviews has been posted for both Toronto and Vancouver. A big congratulations to all the winners! Your hard work and customer service has paid off and we are happy to give you the recognition you deserve!
The annual Best Of Awards are determined based on the HomeStars ‘Best Of’ match algorithm, which uses both the quality and quantity of reviews from 2011; qualifying companies must have at least five reviews in the year and companies are only able to win in one category.
Our compliments to all of the companies who qualified for this years awards; you’ve all had a fantastic year. Keep up the good work! 2012 awards will be here before you know it!
Best Of Awards Nights
HomeStars will host Best Of Awards nights in each city to celebrate the success and hard work of contractors in the area. Stay tuned to your newsletters for the details. Not receiving our company newsletters? Please let us know by email to newsletters@homestars.com.
Stay tuned this week for more Best Of ’11 announcements. Calgary and Edmonton will be posted Tomorrow.
Ottawa, Hamilton, and for the first time, South Western Ontario will be announced on Friday!
2011 is now complete and the reviews are in. Who will win our prestigious Best of ’11 awards in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and 4 other regions?
Will some of our champions from last year repeat?
Our team will be compiling the results over the next week and announcing the week following.
As a reminder, the “Best Of” lists will be awarded companies in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and, for the first time, in the South Western Ontario region. We take pride in making sure that each winner is well deserved and we have a selection criteria to help us figure that out.
Only 2011 Reviews count – All reviews must be received before midnight of December 31st EST.
Companies must have a minimum of 5 reviews in 2011 to qualify for the award.
Awards are determined based on the HomeStars ‘Best Of’ match algorithm, which uses both the quality and quantity of reviews.
Companies can only win in one category.
Companies must be in the category they wish to be considered for before midnight on December 31st.
Companies listed in multiple categories will be considered in all of their categories for a best fit win. Reviews and ratings will be the deciding factor.
Companies who have multiple service areas attached to their listing, can only be considered in their primary address that appears on their listing’s account. Companies are welcome to change their office address temporarily between December 31st and the announcement date if they wish to compete in a different service area they have purchased.
Here are our announcement dates:
Jan 25 – Toronto & Vancouver
Jan 26th Edmonton & Calgary
Jan 27th Ottawa, Hamilton, SW Ontario
We don’t reveal any information prior to the announcement so keep an eye out for new blog posts announcing winners and new crowns going on our winner’s listing pages on those days.
Our official ceremonies and prize awards will be announced over the next couple weeks as soon as we lock down locations and dates. Keep your eye out here and in our newsletters.
Before the holidays we had an open house at our office. During the event we invited our attendees to tell us how HomeStars has helped and changed their businesses, as well as how they deal with bad reviews, when they happen. From landscapers and electricians to appliance repair and self storage, here’s what they had to say:
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring………
Well………
For a while, until a bathroom pipe burst and started raining Christmas agony and frustration on our previously confident and content family’s kitchen, that is. Sound familiar? For the lucky majority of us, it does not, but what happens when and if disaster strikes us at home during the holiday season?
Fear not, fair homeowner, for herein lie stories of renovators, retailers and repairmen for whom “holiday spirit” & “goodwill toward men mean more than just the simple exchange of cards and gifts.
“I had a flood from the upstairs bathroom that caused extensive damage to my ceiling and walls. Thanks again to Kris and his crew for saving my Christmas!”
“My furnace stopped working on Christmas Eve day. I have a service plan with Direct Energy and this is the first time I needed to use it. I am very impressed with the service. My whole family was celebrating the holiday season at my house and never experienced any inconvenience.”
“We had a leak in our roof as evidenced by water coming into the house, but the roof was hidden under a roof-top deck. Elvis showed up within 24 hours of being called, provided an on the spot estimate and then showed up the next day to fix the roof (on Christmas eve!)”
“Our very expensive oven suddenly stopped working and powered off… As I was expecting a lot of family to come over for Christmas dinner, this had to get fixed and fast.”
Yet, just as often it doesn’t take disaster or even holiday urgency to bring out the best in our fine servicemen and women. Sometimes it is, indeed, the little things in life and the small comforts that can make all the difference in the world during the holiday season.
“Once Imran serviced the fireplace, he was able to prove that there was no longer any carbon monoxide present. Thanks gentlemen! This Christmas will be celebrated with warmth and light.”
“Piero and Anthony designed and installed the perfect kitchen while matching the bar beautifully and managed to do so in time for our big Christmas get together.”
“I was particularly impressed with the way they’d cover our Christmas tree with plastic sheets every day while they worked and then uncover it before leaving so that we could enjoy it every night!”
“We were happy with the pricing Ken gave us and we just had the shutters installed yesterday. Itis perfect timing for our upcoming Christmas dinner with our friends and relatives.”
“We have been using Christmas Decor for 8 years to hang our exterior Christmas lights each holiday season. They frequently monitor their clients’ houses to make sure there are no bulb outages and even work on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day so that if a bulb goes out or there is a problem, they can be there to fix it.”
Have a tale of Christmas heroism or a home improvement specialist going above and beyond the call of duty? Share it with us at http://homestars.com. Happy Holidays!
The HomeStars office will be closed for the holidays on Saturday, December 24th and will re-open again on Tuesday, January 3rd. During this time, please expect delays in review approval, email and phone call returns.
Where can you get unique holiday decor locally? Every city has a special shops that really shine this time of year, and offer an exceptional selection of Christmas and holiday decorations!
We would like to help you out as you strive to shop locally while creating a gorgeous home this holiday season. We have researched and listed some of the top places in a few select cities nationwide!
If you have shopped at any of these places, please write a review! Been to a couple of different shops? Write two reviews and receive a $10 Chapters Gift Card or a $10 ITunes Gift Card as our Thank You!
If you know of a place that we haven’t listed, then by all means Add a Company and Write A Review. Let everyone know how great they are…and please, let us know if they are not so great too!
Once again this year HomeStars is throwing our support behind HoHoTo, Canada’s premier social media event in raising money for The Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto.
Founded by some friends on Twitter in 2008, HoHoTo is an annual a fundraising party in and for the Toronto technology and social media community to help out Toronto’s hungry. The event and surrounding activities have raised more than $165,000 and over four tons of food over the past three years and they look to add much more to that total this year.
The event itself is still looking for sponsors, so if you want to help about and join us (and our friends at Freshbooks,WineAlign, HomeZilla, WaveAccounting and many more), in becoming a sponsor, click here to get all the info. In addition to supporting a great cause, come join our team for a great party at the Mod Club in Toronto on December 15th.
In addition to being a sponsor to the event, we are helping out a number of other ways:
Later this week we are having a holiday open house at our new offices on Spadina to thank our friends and supporters for a great year. During that event, we are asking everyone to bring non-perishable food to bring over to the event. (Right now there are over 150 RSVPed, so hopefully we’ll have so much we might need to borrow a truck to get it over to the food bank)
If you can’t make it to the event, and want to help support this great cause, HomeStars is also throwing in $20 for each two reviews submitted through our current charity promotion. Think of two recent home services – a mover, plumber, locksmith, or anything that comes to mind (no big-box stores please), and write a couple reviews on how good (or bad they were) and we’ll throw in another $20 into the HoHoTo pot.
Click on the link above to enter the promotion, and let’s all make sure that no one goes hungry in Toronto this Christmas and for the rest of 2012.
We have had an overwhelming response to both our Chapters $10 review promotion and our One of a Kind Toronto ticket promotion. Typically we have a 24 hour turn around on reviews and promotions but with this heavy response it may take a little longer. Please keep this in mind especially for the One of a Kind Toronto Ticket; best to submit your reviews well before you plan to go.
Sadly there are many review writers who are awaiting their Chapters $10 Gift Card; we wanted to make an announcement to let you know you have not been forgotten. There is an issue with the online Chapters codes that have been provided to us. Some homeowners may have already received codes that are affected. We are waiting for Chapters to resolve the issue before sending out any more codes so please hang in there! We promise we will send them out as soon as we have them!
If you have received a Chapters code from us and the PIN number provided is less than six digits long, please try adding either one or two zeros to the beginning or end of the PIN number to make it six digits long.
Today is the final Best of 2011 announcement. The best contractors of 2011 according to homeowner’s reviews has been posted for Hamilton, Eastern Ontario, and for the first time, the South Western Ontario region. A big congratulations to all the winners! Your hard work and customer service has paid off and we are happy to give you the recognition you deserve!
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring………
