Around our service area in central and southwestern Virginia, we’ve talked to dozens of homeowners who were frustrated trying to get quotes from solar installation companies.
Some people tried two or three solar companies and got no response.
They called. They emailed. They filled out contact forms on the company’s website. They registered with online solar marketplaces like EnergySage or PickMySolar. They did everything they could to tell the world that they wanted to get solar on their rooftop and they wanted to know how much it would cost.
And they heard nothing back. Crickets.
Or they heard back two or three weeks later.
Seriously?
Solar Companies that Drop the Ball
These days, when you’re trying to give some company your business, and that company doesn’t respond, you have to wonder if they really want your business.
Are they too busy? Do they not serve your area? Or are they just having a bad week (or two or three)?
Whatever the reason, solar installation companies failing to respond to requests for free quotes is more common than you might think. And it happens not just in Virginia, but around the country.
[See if your home qualifies for solar — contact us for a free quote]
For proof, just take this study of solar installers done in 2015 by a market research company.
A secret shopper study conducted by Velocify, a sales acceleration platform, found that nearly 40 percent of prospective solar customers waited weeks for a quote response, and many never received a response at all.
In this study, where the study leaders filled out online forms of solar companies requesting free quotes, plenty of companies responded late. And yes, about one in five totally blew off potential customers altogether.
Despite the fact that every [online] form required the potential buyer’s phone number and email address, 19 percent of online requests never received a response of any kind. A full 30 percent never received a phone call, and more than 43 percent did not receive an email response. Only 46 percent of inquiries received at least one phone call and one email from the seller.
Why, oh why, you might ask, would solar installers seem to refuse new business? The company conducting the study thought that the companies had grown too fast:
“The rapid rise in demand for solar power has come with growing pains for some solar installers, many of whom have become overwhelmed by the number of new leads they must manage or complacent in serving the same level of customers while hungrier new competitors take a larger slice of the market,” said Velocify CEO and President Nick Hedges.
Insist on A Responsive Solar Company
It’s good news for America that more people want solar. And getting too much interest might sound like a great problem for solar companies to have.
[See if your home qualifies for solar — contact us for a free quote]
But it’s not so great for homeowners who are trying to get solar on their homes.
Especially in rural parts of Virginia, there may be only two or three solar installers that serve those areas. Unfortunately, that means that if you can’t get a response from any of those companies, you may be out of luck.
But even if they do get back to you eventually, it’s a red flag if a solar installer keeps you waiting too long. It’s a sign that their installation time might be long and that their service might not be the best.
For our part, no matter how busy we are, Main Street Solar always responds to free quote requests within a couple days, Monday through Friday. If you’re in our service area in central and southwestern Virginia, we can usually arrange to come by your place for an assessment within a week. And if you’re not in our area, we’ll do our best to refer you to a company that covers your part of the state.
Don’t wait weeks to hear back from a solar installer about whether you home qualifies for solar and how much you can save. Contact us now for a free quote. We promise, we’ll get back to you soon.
— Andrew Brenner, Main Street Solar
