Automatic Gate Installations

It’s very challenging to find someone to work on the Elite gates — especially when you’re a residential customer vs commercial — thank goodness for AGI — Cristi and her team are always polite, efficient and caring whenever we have challenges with our home gate in Campbell. Thank you Cristi for your great service.

We had a very simply gate installation job that became unnecessarily prolonged and painful and cost us a fortune. We needed AGI to come back at least a half dozen times and ultimately decided it was good enough and we were done dealing with them. Here is an abbreviated sequence of events:
* Poor communication and communication disconnects. We met with Rick and described what we wanted. We referenced another gate he had boasted about having installed that we thought was quite nice and indicated we wanted something similar. Rick sent us a bid that included drawings that matched what we expected. The gate that he subsequently installed looked nothing like the gate we had referenced and that he had drawn. We were expecting something that was framed in metal with nice, finished wood inset within the frame. What we got was fence-​grade plywood mounted on the outside of a frame. To say it was ugly and looked nothing like the drawings is an understatement.
* To his defense, Rick acknowledged the communication disconnect and agreed to replace it with nicer wood, but indicated we would need to pay for it as he hadn’t budgeted for stain grade wood. Further, he would need to re-​purpose the existing frame which was not sized to have inset wood (it was too small). As a result, it wound up with big gaps on each side and wasn’t level at the top. We discussed our disappointment, and he patched together a solution with a rectangular frame on top and angled metal mounted to cover some of the large gaps. This was a band-​aid that was aesthetically less pleasing, but we relented.
* We subsequently needed to have his team come back repeatedly to get it right. Some examples:
* The wood was mounted with huge gaps between some pieces and no gaps between others. And the screws were sticking through in some boards.
* The wood was cut to different sizes, so was jagged on the top and bottom. When we pointed this out, they proposed covering the gaps with trim wood (see a theme?) which they did. But not all pieces were actually nailed in and they weren’t cut at angles in the corners. Just very sloppy woodwork generally.
* Rick refused to stain the wood as this isn’t a service they provide.
* The workers broke the cover off our outdoor electrical outlet and then denied it. (we were confident it wasn’t previously broken and I recall seeing it on the ground the day they had plugged in their equipment.)
* The gate isn’t level — and can’t be since the side frame is not level and is mounted to the house and cemented into the ground.
* We wanted the gate to come to a complete close, but Rick resisted. At first he indicated it would make a loud noise that would reverberate in the house. When we indicated we didn’t mind, he changed his story and said it would be a safety hazard and refused. So now there is a gap when it closes.
* Partway through the job, we learned that the opener would be mounted above ground and we were concerned about our children hitting it with their bicycles. Rick agreed to install an underground one instead (he hadn’t told us about this option despite us asking for something that wasn’t visible — we had to research it on our own.) Then when he installed it, he gouged us on the price. When I compared the retail price on Amazon, the new opener was $ 200 more expensive, but Rick issued a change order for an additional $ 2500.
* We signed a contract in February with a commitment to complete the work in April. They didn’t actually do the job until July. With all of the back and forth and rework, they didn’t actually finish everything until October!
* Any time we called Rick, it took 2 – 3 phone calls or text messages before we got a response. The last time I reached out to him, I got no response and then he just randomly appeared at the door while I was getting my kids ready for bed one night.
* There were cigarette butts on our driveway from his crew after each visit. A minor thing, but a sign of inconsideration.
We actually really liked Rick when we met him. He has a very pleasant demeanor and personality and speaks in a manner that inspires confidence. He came recommended, so we trusted him when he told us his top priority was quality and satisfaction. He was 50% more than our next highest bid and with the change orders, it became obscenely expensive. When one pays over $ 12,000 for a gate, he expects top of the line and amazing service. Every time I met with Rick, he immediately told me how busy he is and that he is turning down work. It’s quite possible that our experience is not representative of his work more generally. Perhaps they are simply too busy and corners get cut. In any case, I can only speak to my experience and it was a disappointment.
I struggled between 1 and 2 stars for this one. In the end, I landed on 2 since he did come back multiple times and tried to make it right.

Rick and his crews are very professional. I hired them to install an electric gate on my side yard in front of my carport. The work quality is excellent. What impressed me more was their professionalism and commitment to customer satisfaction. After the installation, the gate was not perfectly level (but within «reasonable» expectation). Being somewhat of a perfectionist, I pointed this out, and Rick committed to fixing it despite the incremental work involved (cutting steel, grinding, re-​welding, painting). He maintained a positive attitude throughout. Timely responses were not common, but I attribute this to the backlog they have based on their outstanding work product. I would hire again with no reservations.

We had our driveway gate installed four years ago. Automatic Gate Installations company was very helpful, honest, and professional. They did everything to code and made sure that the gate was safe for our children and pets. They even helped us program the garage door button on the inside of our car to work with opening and closing the gate.
Now, four years later, we were having an issue in the rain with the gate opening and closing. The electrical panel seemed fine, And I had no idea what was wrong, so I gave them a call. The gentleman on the phone (Rick) ran me through through some troubleshooting. Based on my descriptions, he suggested that something might be blocking the sensor. He said to check that first and only call them out if that didn’t resolve it. He was right! It turned out there was a small piece of leaf stuck to our gate sensor that I had not noticed which was tricking it into thinking a person or animal was in the line of the gate, so the safety feature wouldn’t let it close. All I had to do was wipe off the piece of leaf, and the gate worked perfectly again!
A dishonest company would have known that it was something simple, sent out a repair person anyway, and charged me for wiping a leaf off the sensor. But this company is very honest and helpful. I would definitely recommend them!

We took bids from two other installers and went with AGI as they seemed to know the most. We had a difficult job (narrow driveway) but AGI made it work. Some minor issues after the install due to the manufacturer’s motor but they came out and fixed it. Working great since! Minor communication/​scheduling issues like showing up when not scheduled. Bottom line: quality work.

Since I bought my current house in Atherton in 2009, I had two times problems with my gate. Both times it was difficult to get a contractor come out quickly. First time, service from another company was fine, but very expensive. Recently, I needed assistance again and Automatic Gate Installations came to help. Cristi, the engineer was very competent and efficient and solved my immediate problem quickly. She also recommended some additional work which was competently discharged and reasonably priced. Good experience.

We had Automatic Gate Installations create a wrought iron pedestrian gate and a large driveway gate for our home in Palo Alto. Rick and his daughter Cristi were amazing. Rick’s iron subcontractor created the gates from a picture I liked on Pinterest. We were very happy with the crew and our gates and intercom systems are working beautifully.

I highly recommend Automatic Gate Installations! We have a wood gate and wanted it to be automatic to keep it closed for our dogs in our yard, and yet be easily opened and closed often for our cars going through. Automatic Gate Installations, quickly provided us with a quote and easily made some adjustments per my husband’s special request to match our home automation switches as well as our garage door remotes. They also provided us a drawing of the work to be done, for the city and fire permits. It is one of the best improvements we have done on our home and is by far one of the best companies we have worked with! Everyone we have worked with there has been efficient, timely and super nice. I love being able to press the button on our car or garage remote and easily open and close it, and we also have keypads next to the gate, along with switches in our house that can open and close it. We have had it almost a year and all is going well, we have been impressed by their work, it’s really well done and secure, and looks great!

Bad operations. Tried to get them to come to look at my gate. They promised to come by, but for 3 weeks nobody ever showed up.

I have been having problems with my gates not opening and closing reliably for almost a year. I had tried a few gate companies and no one could figure it out, including the manufacturer. Turns out that when the gates were installed 11 years ago one little switch was wrong on one of the gates and the system has never worked correctly. Automatic Gate Installations found the problem immediately and fixed it! Two months straight of no issues.

Ehhh. My contact with Automatic Gate Installations was polite but unsatisfying. I really liked the polite folks there but I am a bit miffed over the whole thing.
I had an issue with an installed gate and asked them to come out and fix it. I was pretty much asked to just replace the entire system. Against their advice I asked to just replace the parts of the current system to try to get it to work.
Now, replacing the parts didn’t work, and that’s okay, but I kind of expected them to be more thorough in their issue diagnosis. As an engineer I can go check each part of this system with a multimeter and diagnose which parts are broken and replace those rather than gut the whole system for ten times the cost, but these folks weren’t really doing that, they more or less opened it up, took a guess, replaced a part, and then suggested replacing the whole system again.
Honestly it’s an approach that will work, but it’s kind of expensive. I don’t fault them too much here because individual debugging of these parts can take a while and probably cost more than it’s worth. I’ll do it myself.
The biggest issue I have though is that the second tech that came out didn’t communicate well with the first tech that came out. The gate needed welding and the first tech didn’t mention this to the second one. The guy didn’t have the welding tools so they had to come out again, but they charged me for both visits.
So I got charged thirty bucks for their tech to come out again because of THEIR mistake. That’s not cool. I’m just gonna pay the invoice rather than haggle over thirty bucks but come on guys.
– Update:
AGI contacted me and apologized for the situation. I respect it when someone can own up to their mistakes and I appreciate it.

I called Rick for a gate repair job at the last minute. I sensed that his day was pretty packed. He promised that he would try to drop by if his other jobs ended early. I was so pleasantly surprised that both Rick and Cody showed up after lunch and in less than 30 minutes, they accurately diagnosed and fixed my problem by tightening a slipping clutch. These guys are responsive and very knowledgable. Good contractors are so hard to find these days and these guys from Automatic Gate Installations are top notch.

Rick and Cody are knowledgeable, professional, reliable, responsive, honest, friendly — I cannot say enough about Automatic Gate Installations. I whole-​heartedly recommend them for any project!
Automatic Gate Installations automated our new gates across our driveway. I called them based on Unilocal reviews — they have exceeded all my expectations! Rick came to my house the same day I contacted him, gave me thoughtful ideas, and fit me into his schedule based on my needs. When our project was unexpectedly delayed in the middle of the automation Rick was completely accommodating and friendly about the delay! Cody was competent, efficient, and delightful to have onsite (and I don’t like having strangers around). Their work is first-​rate!

We had some issues with our gate. It would open and close randomly. I called and within an hour Rick was there. He checked the gate and remedied the problem. i did not even mention our son was autistic and we needed the gate. We are extremely grateful for the prompt and courteous service.

Rick Dentoni provided an excellent quality gate opener and his installers did a very professional job of installing it. We’re very pleased with the work. I recommend his services without hesitation.

Made appointment with a guy named Rick, he never showed up during time agreed. Had someone stay home for the 4 hour window, a complete waste of time.
No one ever called, so I called him and he admitted not showing wanted to reschedule. Not a very reliable person.

Rick and his team did a fantastic job on our driveway gate! Rick was very responsive from my initial call until the job was complete. He offered design suggestions (which we loved!) and worked with us on cost-​saving options that did not compromise our design or the quality of the installation. He graciously accommodated after-​the-​fact changes we requested without hesitation. His prices are competitive, his work is superior, and he does what he says he will do. I couldn’t have asked for more.

These guys rock. Was having problems with a gate installed by another company. AGI came out and diagnosed problem. There was a $ solution and a $$ solution. They did not pressure at all to go with $$ solution — just provided the facts and let me come to my own decision. The solution I chose ended up taking several visits to get it right but they were not only willing but happy to come and do more than make it right — they wanted me happy. Each person I had contact with at this company was charming and delightful in addition to professional. This is exactly the kind of company you want to do business with.

I got a puppy and needed to have the rest of my yard fenced and gated. I heard about Rick’s company through a family member and called. The estimate process was quick and easy. Rick was very responsive via phone and e-​mail. They answered my many questions and were very flexible and communicative. The job was very professionally done, and I think it looks great. They also worked with me to make the job more affordable. I would use them again in a heartbeat.