How We Selected the Best Contractors for the 2024-2025 Ranking: The Story of a Three-Year Journey
In February 2022, we made a decision that seemed crazy at the time: to create the first independent national ranking of stone countertop contractors in the United States. Today, after more than three years of developing this project, we can finally share how this large-scale selection process took place — and why we chose the most difficult, yet the only right path.
The Beginning of a Long Journey: The First Nine Months of Manual Data Collection
When we began our work in 2022, the very first thing we did was start manually identifying stone countertop fabrication companies. Our analysts, Vikki and Ann, were given a task that at first seemed impossible: to find and catalog every quality company across the United States.
We made a deliberate decision not to use automated systems or third-party partners. Since we were building a ranking for end consumers, we searched for companies exactly the way regular users do—through Google search, Google Maps, and other services, studying websites and analyzing reviews.
At first, we focused on the largest cities — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago. Then we expanded to smaller cities, gradually reaching towns with populations down to 80,000. In South Carolina, we were especially thorough—we selected every company even in the smallest communities.
This painstaking work took about nine months. Day after day, city by city, Vikki and Ann gathered information. The result of their efforts was a database of around 10,000 companies—our long list.
From 10,000 to 2,500: Nine Months of Deep Analysis
After collection came an even more challenging phase—creating the shortlist. This process took another nine months. Our analysts meticulously evaluated each company against strict criteria:
- Company websites: verifying that countertop fabrication was their primary business
- Customer reviews: analyzing reputation across all available sources
- Service ratings: examining scores on Google, Yelp, and Facebook
- Online presence: evaluating professional activity and responsiveness
The result was both impressive and eye-opening: out of 10,000 companies, only about 2,500 made the shortlist. This showed just how fragmented the market was and how many companies didn't meet our selection standards.
Contractors had no idea we were creating this ranking—we were still unknown, and nobody was sending us participation applications. The entire list was compiled exclusively by our team's efforts.
Final Validation: The Mystery Shopper Method
After forming the shortlist, we began an even deeper evaluation using the mystery shopper method. Our specialists contacted companies as potential customers, assessing real service levels.
This stage eliminated over 400 more companies from the shortlist—mainly those who openly stated that countertops weren't their core business, or companies that simply sold slabs without handling full fabrication and installation cycles.
The bottom line: the final 2024-2025 ranking included 2,044 companies. As of today (09/09/2025), the ranking contains 2,042 companies—we removed two that had ceased operations.
New Reality for 2025-2026: From Search to Applications
While preparing the 2025-2026 ranking, we made a fundamentally different decision—not to conduct manual company sourcing. Over three years, the project became well-known in the industry, and quality contractors now find us on their own.
The 2025-2026 ranking will include current participating companies whose performance hasn't declined over the year, plus we'll accept and evaluate companies that come to us directly through Get Listed.
This allows us to focus on thorough vetting of motivated candidates rather than spending resources searching for companies that might not even be interested in participating.
Results We're Proud Of
Yes, we invested enormous time and effort into creating this ranking—but it was absolutely the right decision! Thanks to Vikki and Ann's meticulous work, we didn't just create a list—we established a national quality standard for the stone countertop industry.
Today, our ranking brings together over 2,000 carefully vetted companies from 559 U.S. cities. Each has passed multi-stage evaluation and earned the right to be called among the best in their region. Thousands of Americans trust our ranking when choosing a contractor—and we're genuinely proud of what this major undertaking has accomplished.
Eighteen months of manual labor, 10,000 companies analyzed, rigorous selection criteria—that's how a ranking was born that our team and many industry participants believe has become a quality benchmark for the entire industry.
