TLDR: Roofing companies receive some of the most emotionally charged negative reviews of any service industry — not because roofers do worse work, but because roofing has a unique combination of factors that amplify customer anxiety: sky-high costs, invisible work, weather-dependent results, and the longest gap between job completion and “proof it worked” of any trade. This article breaks down why and identifies the three things that actually fix it.
Open Google and search ”[your city] roofing company reviews.” Scroll through the 1- and 2-star reviews. You’ll notice something: the language is different from bad reviews in other trades.
Plumbing reviews say: “They didn’t fix the leak.” Direct. Factual.
HVAC reviews say: “System still isn’t cooling.” Measurable. Specific.
Roofing reviews say:
“I paid $12,000 and now I’m TERRIFIED every time it rains.” “They said it was done. First storm — water in my bedroom. These people are CRIMINALS.” “Absolute scam artists. Took my money and the roof still leaks. DO NOT USE.”
The language is more extreme. More emotional. More personal. Words like “scam,” “criminal,” “fraud,” and “nightmare” show up in roofing reviews at rates far higher than other trades.
Why? Because roofing isn’t just a service — it’s a promise about the future. And the customer has almost no way to verify that promise until the weather tests it.
Most roofing jobs cost between $5,000 and $25,000+. That’s more than most plumbing repairs, HVAC installs, or electrical work. When someone spends that kind of money, their expectations aren’t just high — they’re absolute.
The psychology: At $200, a customer can accept imperfection. At $15,000, perfection is the minimum. Any deviation — a stain on the driveway, a piece of flashing that looks off, a nail in the yard — feels like a betrayal proportional to the price.
How this affects reviews: A customer who finds one shingle out of alignment after a $15,000 job doesn’t think “minor cosmetic issue.” They think “I got ripped off.” The review reflects the price, not the problem.
The customer can’t see their roof. Not meaningfully. They can look up from the yard, but they can’t evaluate flashing details, underlayment quality, ventilation changes, or nail patterns. They’re taking your word for it.
The psychology: When you can’t verify quality, you rely on proxy signals — communication, professionalism, responsiveness, cleanliness. If those signals are weak, the customer fills the gap with doubt.
How this affects reviews: Bad roofing reviews often contain the phrase “I can’t even tell what they did” or “it looks the same as before.” The customer paid a premium for invisible work and has no way to feel confident about it.
This is the factor unique to roofing. In plumbing, the customer can test the repair immediately (run the water). In HVAC, they know within hours (is it cool?). In electrical, they flip the switch.
In roofing, the “test” is the next heavy rainstorm — which might be days, weeks, or even months away.
The psychology: During that gap, the customer sits with uncertainty. Every small rain, they check the ceiling. Every wind gust, they wonder about the shingles. The longer the gap, the more anxiety accumulates. And if a leak does appear during the first big storm — regardless of whether it’s related to the new work — the emotional response is volcanic.
How this affects reviews: The worst roofing reviews are written immediately after the first storm post-installation. The customer has been holding anxiety for weeks, and now they have “proof” (even if the leak is from a different area or a pre-existing issue). The review is written with weeks of pent-up emotion, not just the current frustration.
Roofing is one of the few trades where the customer sometimes genuinely can’t tell if the work was done. A re-roofing job on a large home might be completed while the homeowner is at work. They come home, look up, and see… a roof. It looks like a roof. Was it always that color? Did they really replace everything?
The psychology: This creates a trust vulnerability that doesn’t exist in other trades. The customer has no visual evidence of value. No before-and-after that’s visible from their daily perspective.
How this affects reviews: Reviews that say “I’m not even sure they did the work” or “it looks exactly the same” reflect this problem. The customer isn’t lying — they genuinely can’t tell, and that feels wrong when they’re holding a $15,000 receipt.
Roofing has a storm chaser problem (we’ll cover this in depth in our piece on how legitimate roofers win trust in a skeptical market). Homeowners have heard horror stories. They’ve seen news coverage. Some have been burned before.
The psychology: Many roofing customers start skeptical. They’re watching for signs of a scam. Any misstep — late communication, debris in the yard, an unclear invoice — confirms their suspicion.
How this affects reviews: The skepticism bias means your margin for error is thinner than other trades. A plumber who forgets to follow up gets a neutral reaction. A roofer who forgets to follow up triggers “I knew it — another shady roofer.”
After analyzing hundreds of 1- and 2-star roofing reviews, clear patterns emerge:
| Review theme | % of bad reviews | Example language |
|---|---|---|
| Leak after job | ~35% | “First rain and it’s leaking worse than before” |
| Communication breakdown | ~25% | “Couldn’t get anyone on the phone,” “No one followed up” |
| Debris/cleanup issues | ~15% | “Nails all over my yard,” “Left a mess” |
| Price/value mismatch | ~12% | “Can’t believe I paid that much for this” |
| Quality doubts | ~8% | “Doesn’t look right,” “I hired someone else to check” |
| Scheduling/timeline | ~5% | “Said 2 days, took 2 weeks” |
Notice: 60% of bad roofing reviews are about communication and perception — not the roof itself. The leak reviews (35%) are the only ones about actual workmanship, and many of those are pre-existing issues or unrelated areas that the customer attributes to the new work.
You can’t change the price of roofing. You can’t make the work visible from inside the house. You can’t control the weather. But you can control the three things that prevent the majority of bad reviews:
Before your crew packs up, someone needs to walk the customer through three things:
What was done:
“We replaced [X square feet / entire roof], including new underlayment, flashing around [vents/chimneys/valleys], and [shingle type]. Everything is sealed and up to code.”
What to expect:
“New shingles may look slightly uneven for the first few weeks — they settle and seal down with heat. You might notice a few granules in the gutters; that’s normal shedding from new material. The color may look slightly different in certain light than the sample — that’s also normal.”
What to watch for (and what to do):
“If you see any water stains on your ceiling after a heavy rain, or if any shingles look lifted after a windstorm, let us know right away. We’ll check it out — that’s what the warranty is for.”
Why this works: You’ve just told the customer what “normal” looks like, what “problem” looks like, and what to do about it. You’ve eliminated the guessing that turns normal settling into a panicked review.
The gap between job completion and the first storm is the danger zone. You need to fill it with communication.
Day 1 — Completion confirmation:
“Your roof is complete! Everything is sealed and inspected. If you have any questions about what was done, reply here. You’ll hear from us again in a few days to make sure everything looks good.”
Day 3-5 — Visual check-in:
“Quick check-in — have you noticed anything that doesn’t look right from the ground? Any debris we missed? Let us know and we’ll take care of it.”
After first significant rain:
“We noticed [city] got some rain this week. How’s everything looking inside? Any signs of moisture on ceilings or walls? Yes, all clear / No, I see something”
Why this works: You’re staying present during the anxiety window. The customer doesn’t have to hold their worry alone for weeks. And if a problem does appear, you hear about it through a text reply — not through a Google review.
This is the same follow-up principle that prevents callback horror stories in plumbing — catch it early, fix it fast, keep the conversation private.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: some customers will have concerns even with perfect expectation-setting and follow-up. Maybe the color isn’t what they imagined. Maybe there’s a cosmetic detail that bothers them. Maybe they just have buyer’s remorse on a big expense.
The key is giving them a private channel to express that concern before they express it publicly.
When your follow-up check-in asks “how’s everything looking?” and the customer replies with a concern, that response comes to your office — not to Google. You now have the opportunity to:
A customer who has been heard and helped rarely leaves a bad review. Many leave a positive one: “Had a small issue after install, they came back and fixed it immediately. Great service.”
That’s the feedback loop that separates 4.9-star companies from 3.8-star companies.
Without follow-up: Customer finds a roofing nail near their kid’s play area. They’re furious. They write:
“Found NAILS all over my yard after they left. My kid could have stepped on one. Unprofessional and dangerous.” ⭐
With Fix #1 + Fix #2: Your crew mentioned during the walkthrough: “We do a magnetic sweep of the yard, but if you find any stray nails, just let us know and we’ll come grab them.” Three days later, your follow-up asks: “Any debris we missed?” Customer replies: “Found one nail by the driveway.” You send someone with a magnet the next morning. No review. Or:
“They were thorough — even came back to double-check the yard when I found one stray nail. Great attention to detail.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Without follow-up: Water stain appears in spare bedroom. Customer assumes it’s from the new roof. Writes:
“Spent $18,000 on a new roof. First rain — water stain on the ceiling. Called and left a voicemail. No one called back for 3 days. Absolute joke.” ⭐
With all 3 fixes: Your post-rain check-in catches it: “We got rain — how’s everything looking? Any moisture?” Customer replies: “There’s a stain in the spare bedroom.” You schedule an inspection the next day. Tech identifies the stain is from a plumbing vent flashing that wasn’t part of the re-roofing scope (different area of the house). You explain it, offer to fix it at cost, and the customer understands.
“Great crew. Even caught a leak that wasn’t related to their work and offered to fix it. Trust these guys.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Without follow-up: Customer stares at their bank statement for two weeks. The roof looks fine but they feel sick about the price. Their spouse mentions “I heard [other company] would have done it for $15,000.” Doubt creeps in. They write:
“Overpriced. Got quotes afterward and realized I overpaid by thousands. Won’t make that mistake again.” ⭐⭐
With Fix #2: Your Day 1 completion message includes: “Your roof is complete — here’s a summary of everything that was done: [detailed line items]. Everything is covered under [warranty details].” This reminds the customer what they paid for. Your Day 3-5 check-in reinforces engagement. The customer feels the ongoing relationship, not just the transaction. They may still think it was expensive — but they don’t feel abandoned. And people who feel taken care of don’t write spite reviews.
Because roofing has the longest verification gap, the follow-up calendar is slightly different from other trades:
| Timing | Message | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 (job complete) | Completion summary + what’s normal + what to watch for | Expectation-setting |
| Day 1 | “How’s everything looking from the ground?” | Catch debris/cosmetic issues |
| Day 3-5 | “Any questions about the work? Anything look off?” | Address doubts early |
| After first rain | “Got some rain — how’s everything inside?” | The critical “test” moment |
| Day 14 | “Two-week check — everything still looking good?” | Catch slow-developing concerns |
| Day 30 | “One-month check-in — happy with the roof?” + review request | Close the loop |
For more on follow-up timing and templates, see our roofing follow-up guide.
The three fixes above work. But they require someone in your office to remember, send, track, and follow through — for every job, including during your busiest storm season when you’re running 3-4 crews simultaneously.
VisibleFeedback automates the communication layer:
The result: fewer brutal reviews, faster issue resolution, and a reputation that reflects the quality of your work — even when the customer can’t see it.
Roofing reviews are brutal because roofing is expensive, invisible, and weather-dependent. You can’t change those facts. But you can change what happens between the job and the first storm.
Three things fix the majority of bad roofing reviews:
The roofers who do these three things don’t have brutal reviews. They have loyal customers who tell their neighbors.
If you want this running automatically for every job — especially during storm season when your office can barely keep up — try VisibleFeedback free and see what happens when every homeowner hears from you after every roof.
Text or email clients after every job. Catch issues early, recover unhappy clients fast, and drive repeat work with smart reminders.
Austin Spaeth is the founder of VisibleFeedback, a tool that helps service companies automate post-job follow-ups, catch issues early, and drive repeat work with smart reminders. With a background in software development and a focus on practical customer retention systems, Austin built VisibleFeedback to make it easy to text or email customers after every job, route problems to the right person, and keep relationships strong without awkward outreach. When he’s not building new features or writing playbooks for service businesses, he’s wrangling his six kids or sneaking in a beach day.
Whether you’re dealing with callbacks, unhappy customers, or low repeat work, we’ll help you tighten the follow up loop.
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