Tom Sestak is not shy on the subject of ValueStar. The owner of Standard Roofing in San Francisco was solicited by ValueStar in 1992. Sestak wound up paying $295 to go through the company's certification process, hoping to put the gold star in his advertising. "Every contractor is looking for an edge," he explains.
Standard Roofing passed the certification process, then paid another $695 to use the ValueStar logo in Yellow Pages advertising. But when it came time to renew with ValueStar a year later, in September 1993, Sestak declined. The gold star simply wasn't paying its way.
"We always ask people where they were referred from," Sestak says. "In a whole year, I didn't get one referral from them [ValueStar]."
Sestak says that Standard Roofing wrote a letter to the Yellow Pages representative and told him to remove the logo from its ad. But the ValueStar logo remained in place in the next printing of the phone book. ValueStar blamed Standard Roofing.
In November 1994, ValueStar sued Standard Roofing for $25,000, alleging trademark infringement. The case went to an Alameda County Court arbitrator, who decided that Standard Roofing should pay ValueStar $990, because it had used the logo for an additional year.
"The yellow pages representative wrote a letter saying that they have my letter in their file," Sestak says. "They [ValueStar] said I have to pay this damage and so forth. So I gave them the one-finger salute -- they're not getting a dime out of me."
Funny thing is, Sestak claims that ValueStar didn't even live up to its own claims about checking with a random sample of his customers. Instead, Sestak says he gave ValueStar a list of pre-qualified references to call, the same list of architects, contractors, and customers he submits when his company bids for a job. Sestak put his best foot forward to ValueStar, knowing those on the list would give him a good reference.
"I'm not going to give them Mrs. Jones on 19th Avenue," Sestak says. "We've done some really nice, classy work for people like the San Francisco Historical Society and the Huntington Hotel. I've got about 10 real estate brokers I deal with."
When Sestak sums up his dealings with ValueStar, it is with little affection, or respect. "They want your money, that's all," he growls. "The sales people have no idea of the past history of any business relationships. They still keep soliciting me. I find that curious because I would think they'd want me off the books.
Published:In the March 24 story "Eat This Logo, Sucker," SF Weekly misplaced the Public Research Institute within the organizational structure of San Francisco State University. The institute is under the College of Behavorial and Social Sciences, and is not part of the urban studies department.
