How do you feel when you want to call your painting contractor with a concern or a problem? Do you assume he does not care to listen or that he will not attend to your problem? Will he not return your call or e-mail?
A good thing to keep in mind and to level the playing field is that you, the client, picked the contractor in the first place. In some way, you trusted him and thought he would be a good fit for you. This is where choosing a contractor based strictly on price may come to pass as a bad decision. But let’s not dwell on the obvious and for the purpose of this article our contractors today will have good intent and best practices!
Number One: Give your contractor a chance to attend to your needs and concerns in a good way. Don’t assume the worse! Even though you may be frustrated, be patient and kind. Express yourself in such a way that would lend the person on the other end a real opportunity to make something right. Good contractors and their support staff are very driven to please their clients and most will do whatever it takes to do so. Give them that chance before anger or frustration takes hold. There should never be good cause to yell or create high levels of stress.
Number Two: Address your questions/concerns with the on-site crew leader. Often time, being proactive and addressing questions as soon as they arise is the best way to eliminate miss-communication and improve service level.
Number Three: Are you being reasonable with your demand? For example, some surface cannot be made to look perfect especially if they were compromised to start with. At Stellar Painting & Remodeling we take pride in educating our clients, we let them know if they need to replace something rotten for example. If something is not being done to your liking, express it kindly and I can assure you that really good contractors will take care of your concern.
Number Four: Make sure to review your proposal to ensure that you understand what was agreed upon to begin with. What is agreed between you and your contractor in the proposal is key. A successful project completion is a two way street, both client and contractor are needed. The contractor needs his client to take the time to conduct his final walk tru. Make your appointment as soon as possible because your crew leader is anxious to take care of any touch-ups or concerns on the spot. Take advantage of the fact that everything is already on-site; people, tools, supplies!
Contractors enjoy immediate gratification and need their projects to be completed as soon as possible. It is a real inconvenience to have them fester and been addressed days or weeks later. If you are happy, reward your contractor by paying him promptly or as agreed upon. Remember, quality and hard working painting contractors live and die to make their clients happy. Lend them that opportunity and you will always reap the benefits.