What to consider when hiring a contractor?
Hiring a contractor can be a dreaded task for anyone. There are many horror stories about contractors taking money and disappearing, not delivering upon the promised product or completing a job incorrectly and causing more damage. This is frustrating for both clients and other contractors who are professionals in their fields and strive for excellence.
Here are some things to consider when deciding who to hire:
LICENSE
Getting a license for a contractor is no small feat; education, experience and monetary responsibility are required and accessed by the state every two years in TN. The board has a complaint process, if substantiated, the complaint goes on public record.
EXPERIENCE
It is important to hire someone who has completed this type of work before and can guarantee a successful delivery of project completion. Ask for proof of previously completed projects, pictures, videos, references. Reading a few reviews on Google or other platforms is also a good way to determine prior client experiences quickly.
INSURACE
All respectable businesses have insurance, and the reason for it is not only to protect themselves, but to protect you as a customer. If anything goes wrong on the jobsite, you need to have peace of mind. You can ask the contractor to provide you with COI (Certificate of Insurance).
COMMUNICATION
This quality should probably be up there with the license requirement. Will the company you hire return your calls, emails, text messages within a reasonable amount of time? If it’s an emergency, do they have someone available to answer questions within 15 minutes or less? If it’s a non-emergency, do you get to hear back from them within 24 hours? If the answer to the above questions is no, then do you really think such a company will make you a priority when it comes to solving your problem?
COST
The cost is intentionally the last thing to consider when looking to solve a problem. All of us have heard this saying, “You get what you pay for”. Of course everyone is looking for a bargain, and that is a financially responsible thing to do, but don’t sacrifice quality and risk getting a temporary solution. Many clients call us after they have paid someone else to have a go, and that money end up being a waste, because the project was not completed, or completed incorrectly, costing the client more in the long run.
We hope this helps you make a better decision when hiring a contractor in the future! Thank you for reading.
