How to Hire the Right Painter
Hiring the right painting contractor can be a difficult task. Take a lesson from business and follow these steps to finding the right painter. Imagine you are a company, you are hiring an employee, the painter. That employee works for you and you are the boss. Most of the time, contractors will perform a job as if they are the one in charge and tell you, the employer, what to do. Its important to set the tone early in the interview process, you are the boss. We have all heard horror stories about contractors not showing up on time, not getting the work done, and raising the price unfairly halfway through the project.
Treat the entire process as if you are a business. Sketch out a business plan (more like a painting plan), recruit the right professional for the job, sign a fair contract you both agree on, and monitor the process. This makes things much more clear and easier to do.
A business plan, or painting plan, is the perfect tool to get the painting process started. Prior to speaking with any painting contractors, research what you think needs to be done and the industry prices. Go as far as creating a quote for yourself, but be honest, don't price too high or too low. Remember, this is not a budget, its a cost analysis.
Once you have a cost analysis, get a time line set. Get an idea of how long you think it will take to do the job, and break it down into sections, later you can show this to your painting contractor and even have them sign it. You might even show it to them in the interview process. Your time line may be completely wrong, but it will give you an idea of how receptive the contractor is to your input. If they go over it with you on a line item bases, that's good. If they push it aside, you might want to reconsider hiring them
The HR process. When was the last time you went to a job and gave your prospective employer a contract for hiring you? Most likely never, if you worked for someone else. You go into a job, and the employer gives you a contract to sign. If you don't agree with it, there is not much negotiating room. Well, remember, you are the employer when hiring a painting contractor, but this time, the employee (the painter) creates the contract. Although they created the contract, its perfectly okay to add, amend, and delete parts of it. If they don't agree with your version, move on.
Recruiting: what company has hired the first person they interviewed for a job? Probably none that are still in business. Yet, it is so common for the first painting contractor interviewed to get the job. Interview at least 3 contractors and get bids and copies of their contracts prior to making a decision, no matter how much you like the first or second contractor.
One last trick. Utilize the Internet. Most painting companies have been reviewed online and they are well aware of it. It can make or break their business. Research the painting company on sites such as Kudzu.com, Google Local, and Yahoo Local and read the reviews. Most importantly, let them know you read the reviews. Tell them, that you found a great review on whatever site they where on and that you would love to write a review yourself when they are done. That will make sure they do a great job.
If you treat this process as if you are a business, you will save yourself a lot of time, money, and headaches.