You do consider yourself an educated consumer, right? So, now, you’re asking…“Where do I start?” “What do I look for?” and “What should I look out for when improving my stately Sydney home by way of local painters?
Perhaps the most important question you should be asking yourself during this process is, “Who do I trust to provide me with a quality job while presenting the best value for my money?”
As experts offering the kind of excellent residential painting services Sydney has been waiting for, we here at Prestige Coatings are going to now explore the five steps when choosing a painting contractor for your home.
Explore Your Options
In Sydney, there are no shortages of options and resources available to you when it comes time to pin down prospective painting contractors – but along with that comes no guarantee that any of the random companies you will ultimately find while searching the internet or asking neighbors will be reputable contractors. Indeed, you need to know where your best resources actually are if you’re going to start the process off on the right foot.
The way we see it, the best places to start when choosing a painting contractor are:
• Referrals from a friend or family member
• Your local Better Business Bureau (or like-minded association) website
• Reputable online review sites like Angie’s List
In a general sense, the highly-reviewed contractors found on these aforementioned websites tend to exude more quality-conscious characteristics and are usually more concerned with exceeding their customers’ expectations.
Get Multiple Bids
After selecting a few companies that have piqued your interest, it’s time to move on to bids. It’s always a good idea to get multiple bids for comparison purposes; avoid the temptation of choosing a prospect simply because the company boasts the lowest bid price, as that is by far the most dangerous way of selecting a contractor. Still, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone, and it helps to keep prices at reasonable levels.
A good rule of thumb here is to collect three bids before making your decision. Now, you may have to contact more than three companies in order to obtain those three bids because some of them may report being back-logged with projects and, unfortunately, some of them just won’t be very good at returning phone calls or emails (not us here at Prestige, though!).
Interview the Candidates
We’ve seen it time and time again: One of the biggest reasons why people end up dissatisfied with their contractor is that they didn’t know the right questions to ask before they made their decision. When you meet with candidates, you should treat it like a job interview; indeed, they are literally interviewing for your job, so don’t be afraid to ask tough questions. The time to find out information about your contractor is before you hire him – not after.
Here are some other things we’d like to say about interviewing potential candidates for your home painting project: If you find a contractor is too proud or too busy to take the time to answer questions about the things that are important to you now, then you can probably also assume that they will be too proud or too busy to take the time to address your concerns during and after the project.
If you’re not asking the right questions, your decision will most likely be based solely on price…but it’s important to remember that you’re not just looking for the best price – you’re looking for the company you can trust to provide you with a quality job and give you the best value for your hard-earned money.
Check References
This one should be a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning: Your final act of due diligence when choosing a painting contractor is to check their references. Any contractor worth their salt will come complete with a list of references so you can check out their work for yourself.
Now, you can choose with confidence!
Pay it Forward
Once your project turns out exactly the way you envisioned it would, help your neighbors out by posting a rave online review of your experience, or agreeing to serve as a reference for the next person who’s needing help choosing a painting contractor for their own project.
Painting is one of the more popular home improvement projects homeowners like to undertake. Whatever the scope of the project, hiring a professional contractor will save a great deal of time and effort in the long run. Before you choose a contractor who meets your needs, consider the aforementioned tips.
To learn more about how Prestige Coatings hires the kinds of painters Sydney has been waiting for, click here.
