Getting Your Best Painting Estimate

 How to get your best painting estimate

Comparing estimates seems to be the thing to do, we all do it, get three estimates put them side by side and look at the pricing but when I tell you how impossible that is you may think and look at it another way.

The three estimates you received, if you took those three contractors and had them in the same room at the same time they still would come back with totally different ways to do the job.

 Maybe using different materials, different applications. different workforces and for sure different overhead. 

The most important difference and one we aim for is a totally different experience. 

You all have called around to contractors, how many call you back? or take forever to call back or never do?

How many keep you updated on the process, help choose colors.

Train their staff and have a ton of resources behind them to help make sure your job goes well even when something goes wrong?

If they do show up for the estimate how long does it take to get the estimate back to you? 

For us it is the same day or next.

Do they have one person dedicated to making sure your project goes well and your totally satisfied? We do.

I am asking you to forget the norm and throw away price shopping for a second.

Also the price may be important for some but if it costs a bit more for the satisfaction of knowing you have no worries or responsibilities,  and can be assured no matter what you will be happy isn't that worth it?

If you had an issue with someone calling you back or showing up on time for your estimate what happens once the painting project starts?

You will always find someone cheaper but at what expense to your home or project?

Asking the correct questions

A major issue in the painting and construction trades is insurance.

Listen, things may and will go wrong from time to time.

Is your contractor insured with the proper liability insurance AND worker's compensation to cover all their workers? 

This is not something you want to find out about after the fact and be surprised your now responsible.

Available right away?

Did you call a painter the last second and needed them the next day, and they are free?

That is a red flag, of course there are variables here, maybe their schedule freed up due to a cancellation or delay.

But trust me, most good contractors, and painters are not readily available to start a project immediately.

4-6 weeks or more is the norm for a good contractor, I would highly suggest digging even deeper with the questions if someone is available right away.

NO company has an unlimited amount of quality painters ready to go when a call comes in if they do great work in most cases.

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No matter who you choose to do your painting work, we want it to be a great experience, there are many good painting companies out there.

The goal is to find one who delivers what they promised, meets your expectations and your totally comfortable with.

Once you find that company, there is no need in the future to continue to get multiple estimates. You already have your go to trusted painting contractor

On the estimate

Please be home for your estimate and be present, turn off all phones, computers and not be on a conference call. 

This is an important time to be available and to share your wants, needs and expectations for your project.

Please be aware, scheduling an onsite estimate or virtual estimate with us, we audio and may video record estimates, your scheduling of an estimate is acceptance and agreement of this. It may be used for training and or social media.

Please put all pets away so we may be able to discuss the project, although we love pets, we will want to lay with them and it can become distracting

You Want A Painting Estimate Now

You Want A Painting Estimate Now

You want a painting estimate now but are your prepared for what you may hear?

Do you know what type of company you would like to hire?

What? You didn't know every company is different?

Remember the painting industry is not robotic, every painter, every company does things differently and each will have different costs associated with "their way"

Before you send that email or call that painting company you chose from facebook or Google, make sure you know what is important to you and your family for the work you want done. 

This can included

• The time frame
• How much preparation of the surface you want ( it is not standard from company to company) 
• The type of paint you want to use vs your budget, remember you can go from $15 a gallon of paint all the way up to and over $100 PER GALLON
• What will make you thrilled once the project is over, what will you remember about the job
• Have you had issues in the past with other companies

The Time Frame

The time frame is very important, most companies will surely be 4-6 weeks out with scheduling, please plan your projects ahead of time when possible, there is always a chance a project can be done ahead of that time frame when time and schedule permits. But if your time frame is less than a week, you will have an issue securing a highly sought after professional painting company or painter.

Let them know right away on the phone, a good company will ask this BEFORE coming out so they can avoid wasting anyone's time for a time frame they could never meet.

Preparation

No two companies will prepare your walls the same and it doesn't mean any one company is right or wrong, some companies do high end work where every inch of the surface is perfect and budget is not an issue for that client while other companies give you a general patching , hitting small dings and dent, maybe not all of them will be done but the majority and than there will be companies in between. 

Without explaining what you want your project is ripe for missed expectations and trouble, the experience will be miserable if you think your getting one job but receive another.

Don't be afraid to have an open and honest discussion with the contractor you're going to select because it is certainly a relationship. With any type of relationship if there is no communication there will be issues.

Paints Used

Paint prices vary so greatly, you can get a lower grade paint for a quick color change for an apartment for $15 or less in some cases or you can go all out and spend over $100 for a custom hand made paint from Benjamin Moore. Somewhere between those two options are many, many other choices depending on the performance you wish for your home or business.

Here are some questions to ask yourself

• Will you wash your walls?
• If so will you scrub them?
• Do you have children and pets?
• What type of sheen (shine) or lack of do you wish?
• What colors are you choosing?
• How often do you repaint
• Do you want a zero voc paint?
• Do you or anyone in your home have asthma or allergies?

The Vision

When your project is over a good company should know and meet what your vision is for your project.

We all have a vision, whether you got it from Houzz, Google, saw a friends home, a picture on Facebook or simply came up with it on your own, that is a vision and we want to know what that looks like so we can meet and exceed it.

A picture, drawing, link or video is a great way to share this vision, having a working relationship with any contractor will surely make your painting project a great one

The Customer Is Always Right?

The Client Is Always Right?

If you go out anywhere you're gonna run into people that are plain and simple jerks right? 

You know as soon as I said that you had somebody in your mind that you've come across in the last month. 

 You know when things aren't going good you see people's true colors and for the last three months or so we've all been kind of locked up in the house. It's no different in business 

 It all starts with that first phone call , you get people who are just difficult , all of a sudden they have no email address or they won't give you their phone number and sometimes they won't even give you their address.

You have to manage it on the first phone call, this should be  the first litmus test on whether that it's somebody that you can work with because  it's not getting better after that phone call.

 If they won't give you their information, if they won't give you their email address ,  if they won't supply you with the basic information you need to do your job how are you going to do it and it's only gonna get worse once the project starts.

 The second one is, what do they expect on their project? If they only want pricing, that's all they're looking for from you , to compare it to another company.

We recommend having that budget conversation from the beginning ,  knowing somebody's budget budgetary range is a good thing that's not a bad thing ,  ask on the phone .

You know if they're looking to get a full exterior paint job and only want to spend  four hundred dollars that's a conversation to have right there.  

 Do you have a written process for everybody that answers the phone? 

So now let's assume you've actually got the information and you went out to give an estimate or you did a virtual estimate 

The customer has to be on site, if you go out and they're not on site  it's another opportunity for missed expectations.

 If a client is expecting something but never tells you throughout the whole process until you're halfway through the job,  you're in for it and it's happened to us.

 I'm going out to estimates and everybody's just says we just wanna paint job,  we want to change the color we want this and that.

 Never did they mention that they are expecting the wood to be completely smooth,  that's a totally different paint job.

This is a totally different pint jobnow than what now and a different price but try to explain it to them now when you're halfway through the job and they think that you're screwing up.

 So  it's important to say what's on your mind , it's important to ask questions when you're on the estimate,  it's important to get the expectations no matter how dumb you think the questions are.

You need to ask how much prep did they expect?  what do they want it to  look like at the end of the job? What will make this job an awesome job for them when they step back?  I want to know that have they had other jobs that went bad , I want to know that what's most important to them.

 I want to know that,  because if you can ask and get the answers to all these questions you're gonna be a step ahead of the game and you're gonna be on the road to success

Ride along with me on a commercial estimate

Take a trip with me on a commercial estimate

Doing commercial estimates is no easy tasks and doing 9 in one day is even tougher. \

But with proper preparation and planning and the correct systems in place, I did this in 2.5 hours and sent them all while I was onsite.

It's important to know just being the lowest price does not make you successful, you need to service your clients while also being profitable.

Anyone can be the lowest price and this isn't a race to the bottom of the pile of failed companies.

Painting companies are notoriously bad business people, heck I was in the paint store and a few never heard of workers compensation the other day. That's crazy.

So follow along with me and see what goes into a day at Amato Painting with Ryan.