Why choosing the lowest priced painter can be a huge mistake
Choosing the lowest prices anything can be a huge mistake, I get it, you want to save money, expenses are tight and many people love the art of the deal.
By saving some money or asking "is this the best you can do?" or "is this your lowest price?" for some is a thrill, but remember the service industry is typically smaller companies, some family owned and some single person companies who, their families depend on a fair wage to survive.
By always hiring the lowest price your risking a few things
- Will they stand behind their work if something goes wrong?
- Will they be in business in a year or so from now?
- How much experience and training do they invest in?
- Are they actually paying taxes and are they insured (and their workers)
- What is their relationship with the manufacturers of the products they use
Will they stand behind the work if something goes wrong?
This is a big one, anyone can buy a few paint brushes and say they have a business but a lot more goes into this than that. The big one is mistakes happen, paint does sometimes peel or chip off among many other things.
Some of these things may be warrantied and some not, will they be able to be found when tings go wrong, if they are continually charging less than they should to sustain a business, there will be nothing left when these things occur, how many companies do you know will come back a year later to fix something? I have been in the painting business a long time and I can tell you not many, they are hard enough to get a hold of when you are paying them, imagine when there is no money in the game for them?
Will they be in business a year from now?
By routinely under charging and under valuing their work, they are leaving no investment or money left to maintain and sustain a business, they are living check to check or cash to cash and there will be nothing available when things go wrong, and things will go wrong from time to time. They are not investing in any training typically or the training of their workers.
Are they paying taxes and are they insured?
This is a huge one, if you have to pay taxes on the earnings you make, why should others not have to?
Paying taxes helps fund the towns we live in, if someone is so quick to skirt these responsibilities, what happens when your not looking on the work they are doing for you?
Insurance is the big one here, if someone under or uninsured gets hurt working in or around your home what do you think will happen? They will sue you and your insurance company and most likely win, do they have workers? If so they need workers compensation or the same thing will happen, it will just roll downhill back to you and your home. It is super important to know who is in and around your home and are they adequately insured.
What is their relationship with the manufactures of the products they use?
You would be surprised what a great relationship will get you from Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams, sometimes paints fail or other issues come up, without having support from the manufacturer to correct these issues, your on your own. Trust me when I tell you the companies that buy more paint get different treatment whether anyone admits it or not. I can call up right now and get things other contractors may not be able to get such as very quick support, products and more.
This also helps with new products, the paint industry is ever changing and you have to be ahead of it to stay current and aware of all the new products and applications
