Consumers

Millions of Americans have sought pain relief through chiropractic treatments. As an alternative form of care, chiropractic doesn’t face the same scrutiny as traditional medicine, which makes it more important for patients to educate themselves about the field. The old image of chiropractors as “spine-crackers” is outdated; today, practitioners use an array of techniques to heal patients. Below, we’ll define some chiropractic approaches, offer some tips for spinal health and answer some questions you may have before seeking treatment.

Treatment Methods

Activator method
This method uses a small, handheld instrument to apply a quick, low-force pulse to the affected area, thereby restoring or improving the range of motion. It was developed as an alternative to manual manipulation of the spine and extremities. Read more

Last year, we set ourselves a challenge: Improve our website without losing any of the great features consumers use and love. Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of the newly redesigned diamondcertified.org!

We came into this project confident that the Diamond Certified Resource is the best way for consumers to find local, top rated companies. We knew our website averages more than 430,000 visitors per year, and most of these visitors are Bay Area consumers who are seeking helpful expertise and companies they can trust. We also knew we could make our website even better.

We had two goals with this redevelopment project:

1. Make it easier for consumers to find all types of solutions,

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Many Bay Area consumers had great experiences with Diamond Certified companies this summer, and they’ve been letting us know about them.

The Breens from Walnut Creek recently completed a major project with Kodiak Construction, replacing a circular driveway, walkways, a porch and a patio at their home. They found Kodiak’s estimator “very easy to work with,” adding, “he came to our home several times to better understand what we wanted, he helped educate us about our options and the final estimate was easy to understand.” The Breens described the work crew as “the hardest working we’ve ever encountered” and praised their respectful treatment of pre-existing landscape features. “A lot of their business comes from repeat customers and we can see why,” wrote the Breens. Read more

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, close to 25 percent of all employed Americans work from home at least some of the time. This is hardly surprising given increasingly longer commutes and the growth of the gig economy. If you’re part of this trend of telecommuters, you probably already know that working from home has its upsides and downsides. The key to staying on task while surrounded by the distractions of home is to create a home office where you can be your most productive. Let’s go through the steps.

Step 1: Establish Your Work Station

If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated room for a home office, Read more

While part of preparing a rental property for market is getting the physical space move-in ready, the other part is addressing non-physical details such as tenant screening. Due to the potential consequences of oversights or poor decisions in this area, it’s important to take a meticulous, preventative approach. To learn a few critical steps, read the following tip sheet by Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Sam LaPlaca of CM Property Management Inc.:

1. Verify income. Accepting a tenant who can’t afford the rent is a mistake that can cost you a lot of time, money and frustration. That’s why, in addition to asking for pay stubs and bank statements, Read more

If you own a rental property that has recently been vacated, you’ll need to prepare it for going back on the market. While this primarily consists of cleaning and basic maintenance, a vacancy also provides an opportunity to increase the property’s value and maximize your investment. Here are some steps to consider:

Address maintenance needs. Four to six weeks before your intended market date, make a list of maintenance items that need to be addressed. This should include standard maintenance measures like cleaning the carpets as well as deferred tasks such as fixing a roof leak or broken window blind. It’s also a good idea to have preventative HVAC, plumbing and pest inspections performed during this time. Read more

Delivering feedback isn’t always easy. Before deciding to speak up, you may wrestle with competing goals of personal and social responsibility versus a desire to avoid conflict. At some point, every service provider has needed constructive feedback to better serve their customers. In speaking to thousands of consumers over the years, I’ve found that some people prefer to silently move on and not use that company’s services again. In those cases, everyone loses. Armed with the following tips, you may feel empowered to turn an unsatisfactory situation around and experience increased goodwill and satisfaction. Read more