How we vet every business
Nobody can buy a place on Best in Ogden. Every business passes the same published checks first, and each check is recorded with the date and who made it.
The Best in Ogden Standard
Three tests. A business has to pass all three before anything else is looked at. Most applications that fail, fail here.
Based in the Ogden area
The business has a real, physical address in Ogden, South Ogden, North Ogden, Washington Terrace, Riverdale, Roy, Harrisville, Pleasant View, Marriott-Slaterville or West Haven. We check the address on the map, not just on the application.
A virtual office or mailbox service doesn't count. Neither does a Salt Lake or Davis County address with Ogden listed as a service area.
Ogden is a home market
Plenty of companies show up in an Ogden search because Ogden sits inside a service radius drawn from somewhere else. If Ogden is one city out of forty on a map run from Lehi, it's the edge of their market, not the middle of it. We list businesses whose work is mostly here.
Locally owned and operated
Decisions are made by someone in Weber County, and an owner or local manager answers for the work.
A locally owned franchise can pass. Some well-known brands are run in Ogden by a local owner with local crews, and if one of them belongs among the best ten in its trade, leaving it out over a logo would make the list worse. What doesn't pass is a national call center that routes your job to whoever happens to be free.
What we check after the three tests
Each of these is checked against its source, never taken from the application alone. What we verify appears on the listing as a badge with the date it was checked.
| Check | How we verify it | Shown on the listing |
|---|---|---|
| Utah license | Looked up in the state's license database (Utah Division of Professional Licensing), where the trade requires a license | Utah licensed, with date |
| Insurance | We see a current certificate of insurance | Insured, with date |
| Review history | We read the Google Business Profile history, looking for signs reviews were bought: a burst of five-star reviews in one week, or reviewers with a single review | Not a badge. A failed check means no listing |
| A local human | We call the number. A person in Ogden should answer, not an out-of-state call center | Not a badge |
| Manufacturer certifications | Checked in the manufacturer's own installer directory, for example Tesla's certified installer list | Named badge, with date |
Badges are never self-reported. If we couldn't verify it, it isn't on the page.
What we don't check
We don't inspect finished jobs, and we can't promise how any single job will go. What the checks do is rule out the businesses most likely to cause problems: the ones that aren't really local, aren't licensed, aren't insured, or are propping themselves up with fake reviews. Hiring is still your decision, and you should still get a written quote.
Why the list is never ranked
Every business in a trade passed the same checks, so we don't put one above another. The order rotates on the 1st of every month and is the same for everyone who visits that month. Businesses pay a flat annual fee to hold a slot, and that fee never changes the order.
Ten means ten
Each trade has ten slots. When they're full, the trade is full, and a business that applies is told so, and we let it know when a slot opens. We don't add an eleventh, and we don't fill empty slots with businesses that didn't pass. A trade with four businesses says 4 of 10.
Removals and re-checks
Every listing is checked again at renewal, once a year. A listing comes down if the business moves out of the area, is sold to an owner who isn't local, lets its license or insurance lapse, or if we find its reviews were bought. If you think a listed business breaks a rule, tell us and we'll check again.
Questions about vetting
Do you check the quality of a business's work?
Not directly. We do not inspect jobs. We check the things that can be checked: where the business is, who owns it, its license and insurance, its review history and whether a local person answers the phone. Those facts rule out the businesses most likely to cause problems, but they are not a guarantee about any single job.
Can a business pay to skip the checks?
No. A business is only invoiced after it passes. If it fails, there is nothing to pay and nothing is listed.
How often are listings checked again?
Every listing is re-checked at renewal, once a year, and any time someone reports a problem. Each check is recorded with the date.
What happens if I report a listing?
We look at what you sent, check the business again against the same standard, and remove the listing if it no longer passes. We do not publish your name or your report.
Run a business that passes?
Applications take about five minutes. We do the checking.