Method
How we check
Licenses, public records, what customers say, and a call test. Done by hand and dated.
Most guides to local companies are star ratings and a phone number. We look at what homeowners never see, and we write down the date we checked.
What we check
1. The state license, and what it covers
Pest control is licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in four categories: household pests, termites, lawn and ornamental, and fumigation. Pool contractors are licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, for residential or for residential and commercial work. We look up every company and show exactly what its license covers.
2. Public records
Pool builders: new pool permits in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens for the last twelve months, and any public complaints or discipline on their state license. Pest companies: any state disciplinary actions we can find. For everyone: Better Business Bureau complaints over three years.
3. What customers say
We read each company's most recent Google reviews and report how many came in the last 90 days, how often the owner replies, and the themes customers praise and complain about. We describe those themes in our own words. We never copy reviews.
4. Our call test
We call every company on a list on the same morning with the same question, and fill out every web form. We log who answers live, how fast, what they quote and whether they follow up. We say who we are on every call. Results are coming.
Who gets listed
A company is listed if it holds an active state license, has at least 4.5 stars from at least 20 Google reviews, names the town on its own website and has a real local office: in north Palm Beach County for pest control, in Palm Beach or Martin County for pool builders. Every company that passes is listed. Nobody is added or left out by hand, and each list names the companies we checked that didn't make it.
How lists are ordered
By a review score that blends the star rating with the number of reviews: (reviews × rating + 50 × 4.7) ÷ (reviews + 50). A 5.0 from a dozen reviews can't jump ahead of a 4.9 from a thousand.
Who runs this
Palm Beach Homeowners is edited by Jack Bates and run by Bates Media, a marketing company in Jupiter. Some listed companies are Bates Media clients. They're marked everywhere, pass the same checks, and links to their sites are marked sponsored.