Over the course of the past year, American Ratings Corporation (ARC) has been looking for more ways to become involved with our community in Marin County. This summer, we’ve had the opportunity to host an intern from the Marin County School to Career Partnership program. The program helps high school students (and new graduates) develop on-the-job, real world skills by connecting them with local businesses. For the past five weeks, Ryan Tooker has been working with ARC’s Digital Team, analyzing media data, assisting with production and going on video shoots. He has also shadowed in our Ratings Department, witnessing firsthand how a company qualifies to become Diamond Certified. It’s been such a pleasure to have Ryan around. Read more

You already know you can use diamondcertified.info and the quarterly Diamond Certified Directory to find all types of service companies that have been independently rated Highest in Quality…but do you know how a company becomes Diamond Certified in the first place? Here’s a breakdown of our 12-step certification process and what it means for you, the consumer.

1. APPLY
The company must apply to begin the rating process.

2. SAMPLE
A random sample of typically 400 past customers is collected from all customer files of the applicant company. Read more

We’re so excited about the publication of our 2015 Diamond Certified Directory! (If you haven’t received your FREE copy in the mail yet, click here.) The 11 county-specific versions began arriving in Bay Area mailboxes last month, and the response has been great. “It arrived the same day that a tree fell in my yard,” writes Louisa K. in Albany. “I found a tree service professional who came out right away.” Calvin G. in Palo Alto keeps the Diamond Certified Digital Directory on his smartphone so he can always find a quality service provider, and Cassandra C. from San Francisco says, “I love the directory. I don’t trust anybody but Diamond Certified to work on my house.”

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The Diamond Certified Directory has long been a valuable resource for Northern California consumers—in addition to full-page profiles of top rated companies across a wide range of service industries, it features a Consumer Help List with contact information for various consumer agencies, a detailed explanation of why the Diamond Certified Program is more accurate than most review sites and much more.

This year, we’ve included a brand-new section that makes the Diamond Certified Directory even more valuable: Diamond Certified Expert Contributor tips. Read more

Maybe you’ve heard about the Diamond Certified Preferred Consumer Membership but still aren’t quite sure what it’s all about. Maybe you just haven’t had a chance to learn more, or maybe your consumer “spider sense” has kicked in and you’re detecting some kind of sales gimmick.

The fact is, not only is becoming a Diamond Certified Preferred Consumer incredibly easy, there’s positively nothing to lose because it’s always 100 percent free. Here are a few of the benefits that come with being a card carrying member of our Preferred Consumer program:

Member hotline
Whether to ask a question, lodge a complaint or compliment a Diamond Certified company on their great work, Read more

Have you received your free copy of the Winter Diamond Certified Directory Update in the mail? It provides instant access to hundreds of local, top rated Diamond Certified companies across a wide range of service industries, from auto repair and landscaping to optometry and dentistry.

Every Diamond Certified company must continue to deliver on its promises to you, the consumer. That’s why we conduct ongoing customer satisfaction research, perform credential-based ratings, monitor each company’s performance, and back you up with mediation and the Diamond Certified Performance Guarantee.

If you haven’t received your copy of the 2015 Winter Diamond Certified Directory Update, simply click this link and we’ll send one as soon as possible. Read more

We are very curious.

Maybe your New Year’s resolution relates to services that Diamond Certified companies provide: you want to remodel your bathroom or get your teeth cleaned more often. Or, instead, maybe you just want to finish that novel or lose 10 pounds. Either way, we want to hear about it. Write it on a piece of paper (like we did below) and send us a selfie. You can also write your resolution in the comment section below.

Thanks for sharing and good luck!

While we wait to hear from you, here are some of the things we came up with:

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