The Chooz Painters Scoring System
The Chooz Score is a 100-point rating that evaluates painting contractors across four areas: Platform Reviews and Ratings (20 points), Review Quality and Engagement (40 points), Website and Digital Presence (20 points), and Business Credibility (20 points). If you're looking for a painting contractor, we recommend considering any company scoring above 80.
Research Painters
Chooz Painters Certified
Top Painter Award
Best Painter Award
Best Painter Award (94 to 100 points): The highest recognition we offer. These companies perform at an exceptional level across all four scoring areas.
Top Painter Award (87 to 93 points): Strong, dependable companies with consistently high marks. You can hire these contractors with confidence.
Certified Pro (80 to 86 points): Solid companies that meet our standards for listing. They may still be working toward a higher tier, but they're reliable options. Our team provides them with specific guidance to help improve their score.
Below 80 points: We don't display scores below 80 on the site. We do work with these companies behind the scenes though, giving them detailed feedback so they can strengthen their business and eventually earn a spot on our directory.
AI Analysis Meets Human Review
A lot of directory sites either average out star ratings or run everything through an algorithm and call it a day. We do things differently. We start with AI to pull data from dozens of sources and crunch the numbers, but then two people on our team go through every score by hand. This lets us pick up on things that software misses, like a newer company that's clearly doing great work but just hasn't built up a ton of reviews yet. It also helps us spot red flags that look fine on paper. The end result is a score that actually reflects what it's like to hire these companies.
Platform Reviews and Ratings (20 Points)
We look at star ratings across all the major review platforms, including Google, Facebook, Yelp, Angi, and the Better Business Bureau. Instead of treating every platform the same, we give more weight to the platforms where a company gets the most reviews. So if most of a company's feedback is on Google, that's going to carry more of their score than a platform where they only have a couple of reviews. This way the rating reflects where customers are actually leaving feedback, and companies aren't penalized for not having a big presence on every single platform.
Review Quality and Engagement (40 Points)
This is the biggest part of our score because we think what customers write matters more than just a star count. A 5.0 average is nice, but we want to know what's behind it. We look at how specific and detailed the reviews are, whether new reviews are coming in consistently or just in big bursts, if customers are posting photos of the finished work, and how the company responds to feedback. We pay close attention to how they handle negative reviews too, because every company runs into problems eventually. What matters is whether they own it and make it right. Companies that score well here are the ones showing a real, ongoing effort to keep their customers happy.
Website and Digital Presence (20 Points)
How a company shows up online tells you a lot about how they operate. We check whether their website is functional, easy to use, and gives you the information you actually need, like what areas they serve, examples of their work, and a simple way to request an estimate. We also look at things like their Google Business Profile, whether their business info is consistent across online directories, and if they're active on social media. This isn't about having a fancy website. It's about whether they're making it easy for you to find them, learn about their work, and reach out.
Business Credibility (20 Points)
This section covers the professional basics that back up good service. We look at licensing and insurance, how long they've been in business, industry certifications, whether they offer warranties, and how they staff their jobs. We also factor in how responsive and communicative they are with our team, because in our experience, companies that take the time to verify their information and stay engaged tend to bring that same energy to their customer relationships. These are the things that help you feel confident you're hiring someone accountable and reliable.