So many times I feel so bad going into a house to give an estimate and see how the client wasted their money on their previous painting job. I really don’t like to see people wasting money when they actually think they are saving it.
It is not always true that if it cost more it means it is a better job, but I truly believe that sometime we need to go based on common sense.
I believe a home owner should ask their self the following questions when they compare two or three different proposals. Remember, there is always a reason why one proposal is lower or higher than the other one:
1) Is your contractor licensed? “You can check this by visiting the contractor state license board at: http://www.cslb.ca.gov
2) Does he have general liability and workers compensation insurance?
3) Who are the employees, how long they have been working for the company and how much do they make? “This is extremely important because many contractors out there are only paying the minimum wage to their employees and do you know what that means? It means the employees are miserable to be on the job, they are only there to make the money and can’t wait to be 4:30PM to go home. They definitely don’t take pride of what they do, they definitely don’t care about making the company look good, they hate their Employers and they simply don’t care to properly sand, properly clean and properly prime or paint”. All my employees are making what they deserve. I treat them good, I personally train them on a daily basic and I can guarantee you they are not miserable on the job. They take pride of what they do and yes they do care about the company they are working for because they understand that if we do good we will always grow more and always be busy.
4) Does the contractor pay their employees cash or on payroll? ” This is also very important. All my employees are on payroll with PAYCHEX which mean I have payroll taxes expenses, payroll fee expenses and of course I have to consider all of this when I give a proposal”.
5) How does the contractor make you feel when you talk to him? How confident is he when he answer your question?
6) What is the contractor’s background and what kind of project has he worked on?
Please don’t just hire a contractor based on the price of his bid. Talk to him, ask him many questions. I see clients going straight to the price page instead of going over the work details first. Yes the price is important but quality is what you must receive. If the proposal is not detailed is not a good proposal. Always get at least two bid, three is best. Compare the bids based on the work details, not the price difference.
It is easy for a contractor to say he can do it for much less. The question is, how is he going to do it?
Venetian plaster
