The Ole Switcheroo

The Ole Switcheroo

When I say please be at your estimate there are many reasons why but expectations of the final product are one of the top reasons for sure.

I know in my house or really in any relationship you have we all have different opinions and things that are important to us and some things that are not important.

So many decisions in your home are done together to make sure both people are happy with the end result and the decision being made, whether that is a new dog, a new car, or new furniture the person or people who will be living with the decisions should be part of that process.

No more important is the decision when you are hiring a service such as a painting contractor

One issue we sometimes see is I have done an estimate let's say for the husband, he walks me through the house and shows me the work being done, the only issue is he could care less on the final appearance and only wants a color change.

He never explained his wife really is the one who this is very important to and will be judging the final work.

Why is this bad?

This can be disastrous to your project because no expectations were ever mentioned so it was estimated for a basic color change, minimal patching and a quick repaint project.

When the project starts the other partner expects the walls to look brand new, ultra-smooth even though they are not currently that way.

And so it begins

This is where it can all go south, you can have an angry spouse who doesn't think the job is the quality they expected although it really is what was explained on the estimate, they weren't there though and trying to explain this is what they asked for is a mute point now because it will only get worse. So you end up spending more time on a project, extra hours spackling and patching or extra coats of paint.

The walkthrough

This is where you can end any of these issues, do a pre-job walkthrough and fully explain to everyone how the project will be done, what to expect and what the final appearance will look like. What you can do and cannot do. Make it a point and requirement everyone is there and why they should be there. If they cannot be at the estimate or the pre-job walkthrough I know it sounds tough but they should not be communicating with you once the job starts.

It takes clear and direct communication to achieve this, if you're afraid to tell them the truth or be direct it can only get worse from here. Yes, you may upset a few people but reflect back on the estimate when they could not be there for the most important part of the job.

The relationship

This can happen in any form, it could be the wife or girlfriend not there or vice versa or on a commercial project they typically have a secretary walk though who has no say in anything once the job starts and along comes someone else who knows nothing about the conversations we had long before the job starts. Address this issue right away or be prepared for a long, tough project