Hiring employees through values

Hiring employees through values

Hiring employees whether painters, office staff is never easy, we have learned some tough lessons over the years by hiring the wrong type of person.

There have been angry ones, irrational ones, demanding and just plain old you don't want to be around them. One of the typical ones is the type that never can do wrong, even when they do something totally abusing the company policy they don't understand why they had to be let go and they don't end it at termination. Angrily leaving voicemails, verbally abusing anyone who answers the phone or leaving irrational posts on our social media sites.

We decided there had to be another way and there was, by creating our key company values which are. Dependability, Commitment, Relationships and Accountability and using those as the basis we hire or don't hire someone and never wavering from it. 

Whether experienced or not a bad seed who doesn't share our values will totally ruin the morale of the other workers quickly. So from the pre-screening interview to the actual interview, we are trying to determine whether this person will be a fit for our company.

By doing so we have gathered a great group of people who I would want to be around each day and are excited to come to work and a team that does great things each day.

Here is a recent video I made discussing this very topic.

What goes into a commercial paint job.

What goes into a typical large painting job

Blood sweat and tears sometimes

Commercial painting can be a cutthroat business but one that is rewarding when a project is running correctly by the general contractor, the other trades, and our own team.

Should one of those areas slip it creates a cascade of aggravation throughout the whole project, however when all is going great it's like watching a synchronized dance and it is wonderful to watch a large group of trades come together to complete a job.

Let's discuss a typical project. It all starts with a bid invite or rfp  (request for proposal)

They can come to you in many ways, from repeat customers, lists you pay for, your paint store etc.

Once you receive that it's time to determine if a project is right for your team, you should not take every project that comes your way for many reasons.

Once you go over the rfp the estimating team gets to work, there may or may not be a site visit, typically we bid off of blueprints only, never seeing a project until the day we start.

We scour over the blueprints using an estimating program that we can accurately measure all surfaces.

Once we have all of that information and numbers we send it for approval and to put a dollar value on it. We submit it wither via our proposal or an online portal for the general contractor. Some projects you may be bidding to 4-5 different contractors. It's nice to develop a relationship with one and become their preferred painter.

Once you submit your bids it may be months or even a year before you hear anything. Once you're awarded a project is where the work begins. From submittals of all paints and materials used to contracts, insurance and planning the project. It now goes to operations where they will begin putting the plan together.

Once we get a start date we mobilize all of our equipment and do a walkthrough, here is where the project is made or not. If you get a project manager onsite who cannot manage a job site you're all in big trouble. We have been on projects where all of the trades had to come together and run a project in spite of the person who should really be doing it.

As the job is going you will get feedback good and bad and at completion a punch list of all the touch-ups needed, We recommend noting every conversation, email and taking photos as you go because they will come up later on most projects. Be prepared and you may be able to have a smooth commercial painting project.

How to paint your kitchen cabinets

So you have finally decided to paint the kitchen cabinets.
Most likely this after you found out how much it is to replace them or reface them.
Painting cabinets is ALL about the preparation work you do before you even open a can of paint.
This is a process and one not to be taken lightly or you could have a total failure of adhesion and just a mess down the road that will cost a lot more than spending the time doing it right the first time.

You should research the company you're going to use, have they done this before, will they be spraying or rolling or a combination of both, what products will they be using and how many coats will you be receiving? The number of coats is important for build-up up of mills (thickness of paint) and a ton more important than painting a wall.

What warranty comes along with this work? Do you know what to expect and understand it is still a paint coating and not indestructible?

This is the time to use the best paint you can get, not try to save $10 on a lower grade of paint. cabinets are used each day and take a beating, you want that coating to be hard, washable and last.
One great thing about painting them is they can be touched up when needed. Touching up doesn't mean you have a bad paint job at all, you have to expect heavy used areas or areas that rub together will wear quicker than others. If they are hit the paint may chip just as the cabinet may dent or scratch even without paint on it.

Here is a video I did explaining this process, should you have any questions please let us know, we would love to help paint your cabinets

What happens at a painting estimate

What happens at a painting estimate

What a typical estimate for us looks like

OK, so you decided you need a room, a few rooms or the whole house painted so now what? 

You can ask your friends who they have used, check Facebook or the other social media sites or like most of us search for a painter online.

You find a few painting companies and call them up, most won't answer and the ones that have a voicemail will either call back, never call back or take days or weeks to call back, remember this initial first call is a good indicator how you will be treated the whole time,

So you called us and first you will speak to either Tracy or Tanya who will get all of your contact information and ask some very important questions such as time frame, have you used a professional painting company before and what is your budget, these questions are super important as it will tell us if we can offer you what you're looking for and if we're a good fit for each other. Once they have all of this information they will set up a mutually good time for your estimate.

The day before your estimate they will send over some basic information on what to expect, the time we will arrive and also confirm this appointment is still good. It is important that whoever is making the decision will be onsite, so many expectations can be missed if this person or persons are not all at the estimate.

When I am on the way that day should I be one minute late we will call to notify you, my track record is awesome and I prefer to be early but sometimes things happen out of our control? When I arrive I will greet you and hand you a business card and ask you to show me and explain exactly what you would like done, when and by what means.

After we walk through I will go back to the beginning and measure each surface if needed and write all of this down in a clear and concise manner. Once I have all the measurements we will go back over the project, talk about paint choices, colors, accent walls and preparation of surfaces. By this time I have a pretty clear idea of what this project will take, sometimes I can offer a price right on the spot and this is preferred as we can speak about the budget at this time too. If not I will take it back to the office and in most cases email it over within a day or two.

Once we email it over Tanya or Tracy will confirm you received it and discuss moving forward at this time. We like to discuss the budget at this time to see if we need to adjust the scope of work to meet any budget issues, once we have agreed on a proposal, it is as easy as signing it, we get an instant notification you have accepted and we can begin the process on our end.

So trust me this an easy process at that, no hard pressure, when we give you a price it is the real price, we won't call back the next day giving a discount to sign now, our prices are real and we back it up , what we say is what we do.

Why you should love bad feedback

Sometimes bad feedback is a good thing

We all want each and every project we do to be perfect but that isn't real life.

So you have been on a job, you were excited to get started, you set everything up, all the painters show up on time, paint is delivered and you get going, everything is going smoothly for the most part and then something goes bad. You spill paint, you scratch something, you break something. The office doesn;t get right back to someone, you missed a spot, they think you need more painters than are onsite(different blog for another time) you get the point almost anything can and may happen at any time. 

Some of these are accidents and there isn't anything you can do about them, others are missed expectations either from the customers end because they never shared them, think they heard something else or the estimator didn't relay this information to the painter or the painter just simply didn't follow through.

So your great job you were going to be profitable on no has an angry customer and one that can make everyone miserable for the remainder of the job if not addressed right away or one that has everyone walking on eggshells and rushing to get done, or worse yet you have the customer who says nothing, you have no idea they are upset and they hir you with a bad review with your painters and office thinking everything was great.

This happens all the time and it knocks the wind out of everyone each time, trust me the painters and staff want nothing more than to make people happy from the customer to their supervisors to themselves, if you're in the painting industry you are a people pleaser for the most part and any bad feedback cab send us into a dark hole.

But don;t crawl in that hole, sometimes yes it may be a customer that no matter what you do nothing will make them happy, for people like this, smile and get the job done and move on, learn how to pre-qualify your leads better and learn a lesson but for the issues that are real where you missed satisfaction step back and thank the customer for bringing these issues up and use it to train yourself, your crew and staff in the office.

It is a magical moment and gift that customer gave you by telling you what is wrong in their mind!

They are letting you know how to get better, imagine if everyone did this around you it would be a daily chance to make things better for the next time and next customers and better yet win that damn client back by your service and gain new work from them and force them to refer you to other people, it has happened, we have had just the worst clients, most difficult people and in the end they thank us and refer their friends because we listened, got better and as it may have turned out they weren't really being difficult we just weren't listening and we were running scared of disappointment and negative feedback.

Again use this as a gift handed to you to make yourself and your company better.

Sometimes the truth is not so popular

Sometimes the truth is not what people want to hear

When I go out to estimates or interact with clients, employees or vendors everyone generally has an idea of what they want to hear from me, for instance when I go on an estimate and we go over their project and the client will tell me how we should be doing it, what products to use and how to apply them.

So I have spent 25 plus years in the painting and coatings industry and have training constantly and train other employees and companies but for some reason, a client overlooks this entirely and speaks to me in a way that they should probably do their own work. I know this happens in any business and most small business owners will have this issue at one time or another.

Another example is product use, when I recommend a product is from past experiences with it, we have used it before and feel comfortable with the application, performance, and longevity of it but still customer insist on supplying their own products, this to me is a bit crazy, you're voiding your warranty, forcing the painters to use products they may have not used before, trust us one can of paint is not the same as the next and application, drying times all change.

When we say something can not be done sometimes the client is so dead set on another idea whether it is right or wrong they are going to use anyone who agrees with them, sometimes you need to get over yourself and put your trust in the professionals, not every job is a cookie cutter approach, when you find a customer like this you can try to give them your knowledge but most of the time it is wasted time and your better off passing, this can all generally be resolved when you make your pre qualification call.

Stand strong in your beliefs, you have spent years learning how to do your trade, don't let someone undermine you or your passion for your business and trade.

Price too high?

"Your price is too high?"

We do a ton of estimates each week, myself I probably do 6-8 onsite estimates and another 15 in the office from blueprints and one thing we hear often when we call to follow up is your price is too high.

We have qualified these estimates, sent literature explaining we may not be the lowest and still it comes as a surprise we may be higher than others. Could it be prices are high? Possibly but I will bet you the other companies are too low. I am referring solely to residential painting here as commercial is about the fastest systematic way to paint meaning generally the lowest price wins.

So out of three estimates you go with the lowest one, in the end, that low price could very well turn out to be the highest, a deal most of the time is not a deal, they can be deceptive, you may get cheaper materials, low-quality paint, uninsured painters who have no workers compensation which could be devastating should someone get hurt.

We chose not to play the price game and be in the race to the bottom and sell our value we can offer.

How many companies do you call and someone answers the phone calls you back or if you get that far shows up? We know exactly how each job will turn out because we have done them over and over with the same trained staff from the person who answers your call, to our follow ups and communication and that is before the job itself starts.

If you can't get someone to call you back what do you think will happen when the job starts and if something bad happens on the site such as spilled paint, damage or an injury where do you think that company will be? The answer is they will disappear and most likely without insurance your job will not be done and it will cost you more than hiring that higher price. Everyone makes mistakes and has an accident here and there, it will happen and when it does you want the accountable company working for you not the lowballer

At this point I shouldn't be suprised when I hear this but it does , when I shop for a dervice I look for the best service first, nto that price doesn;t matter but I will certainly pay more for great service and that is hard to find

How many coats of paint and why?

How many coats of paint and why? 

That question gets asked a ton when I am doing a painting estimate.  It seems that one coat should be sufficient – after all, it’s paint, same color same can from the same store however it isn't quite that simple

  Let’s look at several factors that can affect how many coats of paint are necessary for a perfect paint job.

Painting with the same color of paint

If the walls in a room are currently painted white and you paint them with white again, one coat should be sufficient. However, if the “new” paint is of low quality or has a sheen of any kind it will be difficult to match that same sheen as existing, while it may "cover" your finish would not be uniform

Assuming the walls are clean and not faded a single coat using the same sheen and good quality paint should be sufficient,.

Painting dark over light

Accurately estimating the number of coats you’ll need if you’re going from one color to another can be tricky. Theoretically, when painting a dark color over a light color, a single coat is all you need. But this isn’t always the case. (If ever) 

Some paint shades – for example, pastels, and even some heavier colors like deep red – are what we call low-hide colors. This means they don’t hide previous paint colors, as well as other shades do even when the previous colors are of a lighter tint. Two coats of paint are often necessary when using low-hide colors.

Also, custom-mixed colors and lower-grade paints won’t cover as well as factory-mixed paints, regardless of what shade you’re trying to hide.

Painting light over dark

Obviously when painting a light color, say a creamy yellow, over something like a rich mahogany, a single coat isn’t going to do the job. You might paint four coats, and still, that creamy yellow looks polluted. In this case, you can save time and money by applying a tinted primer before the new paint.

There are many types of primer, but all of them are engineered to neutrally block a current color and provide a surface that will allow the new paint to fully attach and cover. Before selecting a primer, talk with a professional painter or an experienced paint store staff member.