In order to get to my point, I have to tell you one story, so I can tell you another. The punchline, however, is this: Therma-Tru fiberglass doors won a Consumers Digest Best Buy award in 2011 and that is a big deal. It’s a title that holds for more than just 2011. And it’s not just some clip art Therma-Tru can use in their marketing. Here’s the whole story (hint: the first part is about me!):
I used to edit a magazine called Tools of the Trade. It was an all-pro, tools-only Consumer’s Digest style book. Our mainstay was to gather all the tools in a category—18 volt impact drivers, 4 1/2 inch angle grinders, 12 inch sliders, etc—put them in the hands of awesome reviewers and, with the guidance of criteria we wrote based on our lives on the jobsite, find out what the reviewers thought about how the tools worked in the real world.
It’s a careful process that requires a lot of people do a lot of work, then put it out there for the world to see. With the world looking—especially pros who know the tools and depend on them for their living and livelihood—if you make a mistake, you get called on it; nevermind companies that have invested millions in their products.
And there are other awards that might be more subjective. For example, Editors’ Choice Awards are sometimes like this because they’ll give more weight to a certain criteria like a ground-breaking technology or risky new design, etc than overall product performance. The step-by-step reviews are not, which is why—after reading Consumers Digest’s Best Buy Process—I can report that Therma-Tru’s Classic-Craft line of energy efficient fiberglass doors earned a Consumers Digest Best Buy.
The award, if I can take it a step further, proves out something else: the feeling of happiness I have when I close the very same door in my own house. Heavy, solid, beautiful, and a sweet swing (the latter being carpenter-talk for a door that travels easily, closes plushly.)
What’s more, all five collections in the Classic-Craft line won: American Style, Mahogany, Rustic, Oak, and Canvas beating out the other products in the category by achieving the perfect balance of quality, price, style and more. The July/August 2011 issue of Consumers Digest says: “No other door that’s in this price range replicates the look of a wood door better than the Classic-Craft series does.”
There are awards that are cool and there are awards that are designations. The Consumers Digest tap is the latter and a worthwhile, hands-on, though-driven reason Therma-Tru delivers an entrance you’ll be proud (we are) and that will drive up curb appear while driving down energy costs for years to come.
