Automatic Gate Co

I had an exemplary experience with Automatic Gate Co. When requested, the quote came quickly and I received very detailed answers to all of my questions about the installation. Upon an agreement and down payment per the contract over the phone, the work was scheduled quickly after the new year's holiday. There was a 2 man crew (including the owner) who installed everything in 2 days without issue. They even made some adjustments to one of the metal posts (by heating and slightly bending it) to ensure proper installation as well as painted the electronics box and some of the welded gate opening hardware to match the stain on my gate (without my prompting, but with my consent) and the result is really great. I've been an Angie's list member for a while and ratings generally don't lie when it comes to workmanship and professionalism. I can say that I feel I absolutely got what I paid for and felt that the owner went out of his way to make sure the job was done right. I would use these guys or recommend them in a heartbeat. Absolutely a happy customer.

Others had said my circuit board was defective and estimated charges at $450.

I shopped around for iron gates for a few months and received quotes from three companies. We chose Automatic Gate Company because Jack has a lot of experience with iron gates and because he has a really nice show room where you can physically inspect the types of gates and opener arms that you will receive. Jack has a lot of expertise on iron gates, openers, and circuit boards, and he was able to answer all of our questions with thoughtful and intelligent responses. There was an extensive waiting period between the down payment and the actual installation of the gate; however, Jack was very straightforward about this time frame before we chose to use his company. The onsite welding work looks very nice. Overall, I am very satisfied with the product and service that I received from this company.

It is not often that you write a recommendation for someone who turned you down when you asked them to do work at your home, but that is exactly what I'm going to do. My wife and I have the gross misfortune of having a BFT gate opener system at our house. A company that seems to no longer be in business installed it. Before I start my recommendation let me first say that the BFT gate opener systems should be avoided at all cost. It was expensive to install and has needed almost constant repair. After looking on Angie's list in an effort to find somebody who could once again repair our BFT gate opener, I came across Automatic Gate Company and its owner Jack Raiffaisen. I contacted Jack to see if he could help us with our problem. He responded to my inquiry via email in less than an hour. To my disappointment he told me that he did not work on the BFT systems. I wrote him back to say thanks for the quick response and to explain that I had contacted him because I had read on Angie's list that he did work on gate opener systems in general. I presumed that I would not hear from Jack again. Now here comes the amazing part. At about 7:30 in the evening, when I would've expected him to be eating dinner or sitting with his family, he called me. He didn't call me to sell me anything or to tell me what a bad gate system I had. No, he called to give me advice. He said that while he did not know anyone who worked on the BFT systems (at least not any one that he could recommend) he could tell me a few things about gate systems in general, how I could find the names of people worked on the BFT system, and what to ask those people so that I could tell which ones were working at a fair price and which were not. He gave me the names of several local wholesale distributors and suggested that I call them for recommendations on repair people. I don't know about you, but I find this amazing. Kudos to Jack for being a genuinely nice person who is interested in helping people who are ignorant about his area of expertise. As a result of his help I got the names of several people, and ultimately got my gate fixed by someone who seems to know what they're doing and did the work at a considerably lower price than my original gate people. Because Jack didn't do any work for me I can't really say much about the quality of his work, but I can say that if he is willing to do this for someone who is not paying him, you can be sure that he would do a lot more for someone who is. Thanks Jack. When our current gate system gives up the ghost, I will be calling you for a better system.

Jack installed a driveway gate at my new home. I'd spoken with him on the phone and went to his shop to see available gate choices. What I like is he kept his commitments his time commitments (appts, scheduled installation, followup) and did whatever he could to make me a happy customer. I was a bit frustrated initially because I didn't think he would meet the deadline and there were a few kinks post installation but Jack fixed everything promptly and now the gate runs like a charm. Thanks again and I would definitely recommend if you need a driveway good. Excellent product.

I sent Jack a message through his website and he responded promptly. He explained that they specialize in automated gates but when I let him know I wanted him to do one automatic and one manual, he agreed to do both. He explained the job in detail and let me know the timeframe. I really liked his quote because it had all options and variations priced. This gave me the ability to compare the cost for each to determine exactly what I was willing to get for the money I wanted to spend. He added a few thing at my request that weren't on the pricelist and didn't charge extra for them. He explained pros and cons of various configurations I was considering and let me decide what I wanted. He arrived when he said he would and the work was completed in the timeframe he said it would be. He pays close attention to detail and takes great pride in his workmanship.

Jack is a nice guy and good at selling his service. He does not however like to deal with coming back to repair work that didn't last. After he installed our gate in 2003, it was like pulling teeth to get him back out to tweak it or fix minor problems we were having. Even after offering to pay a service call, he couldn't be bothered. Then the whole motor broke after 3 years of using it fairly lightly (we don't park inside the gate.) He kept saying that this never happens and that he couldn't understand why we were having problems. Finally he begrudgingly came out to look. Yep, the whole motor was fried. We didn't know who else to call so we figured it was a fluke like Jack described and paid about $700 to replace most of the motor. Two years later it crapped out again. Why bother calling him again. He's all about selling systems, then you're on your own. This is a racquet. The only reason I didn't give it an and quot;Fand quot; is that I had a few years of (costly) gate operation. To clarify given Jack's response below... he did not read my review clearly. I did not have a 10 year run. My original install in 2003 lasted for 3 years. The motor died and required almost complete replacement, much to his surprise. The $700 replacment lasted 2 years tops. I paid Automatic Gate Co for 2 gate motors which lasted a combined total of 5 years.

Our gate and fence look beautiful. The owner is meticulous about his work. While this is a huge expense, the quality of workmanship makes it worth it. In addition, when we had some transmission problems, Jack was prompt in calling back and helping me to correct the issue. If I could give and quot;+and quot; or and quot;-and quot; scores, I may give them a B+ or A- for puncutality because there was a little delay beyond what we were originally told the gate would be installed of about 1 week. I think this had to do with Jack having so many people who wanted their gates installed before Christmas. I would give him an A+ though because they did get it installed before Christmas (we were going out of town etc...). Great job Jack. Update - we had a minor weld crack in our gate and the remote keypad was not working. Jack sent me a new keypad and came to fix the crack promptly.

It didn't and quot;goand quot;. Our calls were not returned.

Last week, my driveway gate stopped working, so I joined Angie's List to find someone to fix it. I called a few companies, but some seemed to only be interested in selling me a new gate, not Automatic Gate Company. Jack, (from AGC) spent some time with me on the phone, trying to get as much info as possible, so he could best assess my problem. He was very knowledgeable and friendly, and we set up a time for him to come by the house. On the day of the appointment, he called to confirm and actually showed up a little early, which is refreshing, 'cause I can't tell you how much time I've wasted waiting on a late repairman. Nonetheless, Jack inspected my system, educated me on what was wrong, and gave me my options. He was very professional and accommodating, doing everything he could to see that I was going to be able to get my gate fixed and be pleased with the result as well. In about an hour, he and his helper were finished, and my gate was working better than new! Seriously, before, my gate didn't open all the way (probably a sign that something was going wrong), but now, I have plenty of room to drive my SUV in and out of. Plus! He saved me about $800 from what some of the others were trying to sell me. In conclusion, working with Jack from Automatic Gate Company was ideal! He made a bad situation (really, Who wants to worry about their driveway gate going out?) much more palatable with his extensive knowledge and professionalism. It was clear to see that Jack enjoys what he does and puts forth his best effort when it comes to satisfying the customer. I wish more companies worked like that. Thanks!

Not good since I did not get a return call. Everyone else I called at least returned my call.

Jack has a great knowledge of his craft. His material and installation is of the highest quality. Once I decicded on him, I was very pleased with every aspect of the job he did. I did have one issue in that I wanted a smaller, double gate for my driveway. His work has focused on a single gate across a driveway unless it is a ranch gate or something similar. He seemed unwilling to work with me on what I wanted. I eventually changed my mind and used a single gate, although this was not due to his persuasion

The installation took only two days to complete. On the first day the owner of Automatic Gate Co., Jack, and his son arrived to install our posts. They were very professional and Jack took the time to answer all of my questions. About a week later they returned to install the actual gate. We could not be happier with the finished product. The gate looks like it has always been a part of our home. Jack explained each and every component of our gate before he left. We have already recommended Automatic Gate Co. to several of our neighbors.

We had recently purchased a house that had a driveway gate already installed. Knowing the hassle of getting out of our vehicles in bad weather to open/close the manual gate we contacted several gate companies about an electric gate opener. After our calls and correspondence with the various companies we selected Automatic Gate Co. One of the reasons is not only did Jack respond quickly by email with a quote and full description (with pictures) of the work he would perform but when I submitted a follow up ermail question he personally called to answer all of my questions. His quote was very reasonable and was either comparable to or below his competitors. After signing the agreed upon contract Jack scheduled the work within 3 days and performed the work on a weekend since my wife and I both work during the day. AGC arrived promptly at the designated time and their work was exceptional. They were very professional and fully explained how they intended to perform the installation and why. Because of a unique positioning of my house they did extra work to assure the solar panel was high enough to get adequate sunlight as well as extra work for the battery installtion box due to tight property line issues. Since my opener had to be installed outside my gate instead of inside due to space issues he also added a gate pin for added security. His extra charge for these upgrades was neglible at $30 and probably worth 3 to 4 times that amount. I highly recommend AGC for your gate and fence needs. I have no complaints and the experience could not have been more pleasant or the job and results performed any better. I am in no way related to AGC or Jack and never met or spoke to Jack until I was doing my due diligence work to find a contractor

When I contacted the company to ask them to come out and give me an estimate, I was told that these gates could not be relocated because they would have to cut the iron posts at the bottom where they were cemented into the ground, and they would not be able to re-use them for relocation, and instead directed me to their website to fill out an estimate request form for a new gate. Another company was willing to do the work, and refurbished the gate, which looks and works great. I would have rather the company tell me that they do not do this sort of work, instead of telling me that it wasn't really possible.

This company is great! They did not install the gate originally, but we called this company to repair the gate when our installer would never call us back. Alex from Automatic Gate Company asked me questions over the phone and made some suggestions for us to try ourselves first to possibly save us some money. Those did not work, so he came out to look at the gate. They did a reset of the gate and it seemed to work, but it was not working the next day. Our gate arm/motor was still under warranty so they went to the distributors and got us a new circuit board and came to install it. Everything works great now. They also pointed out some potential installation issues and told us what to do to make sure the gate lasts longer. They were very responsive and contacted me if they were running behind on other jobs. They refused to take payment form me the first time they came out but I paid them $50 anyway. After installing the new circuit board the second time they would not give me an invoice for their labor until they knew it was working well for several days. This is a family business and they are very fair and helpful! They do other work besides gates so I will definitely be calling them in the future for other work as well!

AGC performed the repair work in exemplary fashion--on-time, in budget, and in a professional manner. Jack Raiffeisen (the owner) correctly diagnosed the probable cause of the gate failure (post holes not deep enough) without even looking at the gate. He has been installing automatic metal gates in the Houston area since the 1970s, and he'e seen all manner of incompetent work performed by other companies. The hinge posts for these metal gates need to be installed at least 48 inches deep, and Jack has a bobcat-mounted drilling device that allows him to dig holes over 60 inches deep. There may be other companies in Houston who can competently install automatic metal gates, but I don't know why you would use them. Jack knows everything there is to know about automatic metal gates, and his pricing is competitive with other contractors.

Automatic Gate Company removed my old broken gate opener and installed a new gate opener. Jack (the owner) personally does the work. He is very knowledgable when it comes to gates and gate openers. The price he quoted was similar to another quote I received from another company but his knowledge and attention to detail makes the final product worth much more. For instance, he doesn't install the gate opener straight out of the box. Instead, he modifies some of the parts to improve their durability and usability. I'm very pleased with the work performed. His welding skill is top notch as well.

Jack repaired a gate opener at our old house and installed a completely new gate and partial fence at our new house. I have no objection to the work which was performed, I think it was good. What I found unprofessional was the constant battering of other brands, my current gate, other companies, etc. I called you, I want you to sell me your product, don't waste my time bad mouthing everyone else instead of using my time informing me about your product. The work was done as planned in the work order and within a reasonable amount of time (2wks). I just cringed each time I had to answer the phone knowing it was him! Each conversation eventually broke down to the same three points, how crappy my existing gate is (which is why I called him to begin with), how crappy all other openers are except the one he promotes (again why I called him), and what an awesome job he is going to do making my fence/gate (again why I called him). I hate people that use this sales tactic! It serves no purpose to promote your product by degrading others. If all others are pieces of poo, you are only telling me that yours is better than a piece of poo. Not the best benchmark in my opinion... If you can handle the problem above, I would suggesting using him. I am satisfied by the quality of his work and product. I just cant stand talking to the guy! Oh well...

UPDATE: I read the Provider Response and it is not accurate. The key pad was approximately 15 years old. Over the years, from time to time, I have changed out the battery in the key pad. A relatively simple operation. This time I tried changing the battery......twice. AND i told Jack I had replaced the battery twice. After the first battery did not work I put in another new battery just to make sure I didn't have a bad battery. He clearly doesn't remember our conversation. A model number is not necessary to inquire about the battery(or give a programing explanation). AND I told Jack about the battery. He said he needed the model number so he could pick up a new key pad. He said NOTHING about battery replacement. or programing. He was not "attempting to explain" anything he told me he "could me not help me" unless I did my part. In fact, he did most of the talking ( and very little listening). I probably would not have responded to his Provider Response, but for the fact that he accused a very professional and good company of doing expensive and unnecessary work. Nothing could be further from the truth. The other company listened to me, came to my home, tested the key pad (battery and all) diagnosed the problem, fixed the problem and gave me a bill. If Jack had listened and done the same, he would have had my business. Instead he has chosen to misstate the facts and make false allegations about one of his competitors. He very well may do good work. It is something I will never know.

I got 3 quotes and was most impressed with this company. Jack, the owner is very courteous and professional. He explained everything from A to Z, answered all my questions and never pressured me. His worksmanship is topnotch. He is very meticulous and makes sure that when he's done there aren't any flaws. This kind of service is hard to find. You can tell that he's very passionate about building gates. I would highly recommend him. He has 2 other workers that help him. He's at the jobsite from beginning to end making sure that everything is running smoothly. My husband and I are so happy we hired him. Our neighbors are so impressed with the gate! Don't hesitate in contacting him. He's very prompt. His shop is impressive. His gates are solar powered which is good for the environment.

Our one problem resulted from a lack of communication, but Jack's pride in his work and dedication to excellence found us a great solution. We were and are so impressed by the quality of his work and his integrity that we have passed his name on to our general contractor (who came over to admire the gate and fence). We were also very impressed that Jack was here performing the work himself for the entire job (he had one assistant). We would definitely use him again and highly recommend him. He may be a little more expensive than other gate companies, but we think that given the quality of the product and the work, we'll save it in future repairs and problems (for example, he double-dips his gates in a paint well, so the inside of the pickets are painted and the gate doesn't rust your driveway).

It went well. I had a problem with operator about one month after the intallation. Mario came back and fixed the problem for me and showed me what to do if the problem occurred again. It has not occurred again and my wife and I are very pleased with the initial installation and the follow up no charge service. I highley recommend this company if you want a good job done right at a reasonable price and appreciate a good looking fence.

they provide exactly the service quoted

Great. Turns out we didn't have enough sun in the original location for the solar panels, but they found another suitable location. Overall we like the gate a lot and though the experience went well.