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.

Realistic Expectations On Home Shows

Home Shows

I love home shows but they have made some jobs hard

We all love to watch the home shows and the miraculous makeovers that they show and done in no time at all but what they fail to show is all the work going on in the background, the actual time it takes and any of the mistakes that happened along the way.

Remember these are television shows meant to entertain, in the real world on a job site or a residence sometimes mistakes happen, work is disrupted or delayed, it rains or things just do not go as planned. I wish each job could go just like a television show but it just won't happen.

On a normal job, there is pre-planning after the estimate, time spent picking up materials and paint, delivering all of this to the site, walkthroughs, preparation of the surfaces and multiple coats applied.

Hopefully, if it is an exterior paint job it doesn't rain, get too cold, or the humidity isn't too high. After all of that, there are still chances something may not go as planned. 

If life was like a television show we would all drive expensive cars and live in mansions but in the real world, we work for everything we get.

So the reason this has made some jobs tough is it has given some clients the unreachable expectations they see on these shows, from the timeframes of work being done to the perfection they perceive to see on them. Nothing is as great as it seems up close and neither would any of these shows.

Enjoy the process of your project and have realistic expectations, get to know who is working on your project, say hello and get to meet some great people.

Paint sheens and how to choose

Paint sheen and how to choose

Choosing paint sheen can be confusing but it doesn't have to be

So your ready to paint your home and you picked out the best color and know what brand your getting and than they ask you what sheen would you like to use and you look like a deer in the headlights. No one ever explained them and who cares what sheen we use, the color is what we want.

Wrong

This is the most important decision you can make, the  sheen is what makes it sometimes washable or not, easy to touch up or not and will show imperfections or not.

We made this list to help you choose the perfect sheen depending on the situation, lighting, application difficulty and use of space will all effect the choice. Your estimator or office staff can certainly help assist in this decision.

Hello!

We would like to thank you for the opportunity of earning your business.  Amato Painting, LLC would like to help you pick the correct sheen for your project. Please review our suggestions below:

1.    Flat:

a.    Look:  Non-reflective

b.    Qualities:  Hides imperfections, absorbs light, hard to clean, easy touch up

c.    Best Use:  Low traffic areas, interior walls and ceilings

2.    Matte:

a.    Look:  low luster but with an angular sheen

b.    Qualities:  Hides minor imperfections, absorbs light, low stain resistance, easier to clean

c.    Best Use:  Medium traffic areas (bedrooms), interior walls

3.    Eggshell:

a.       Look:  Flat finish with little luster. Soft velvet like appearance

b.      Qualities:  cover wall imperfections, resists some dirt and grime , may not touch  up as easy as other sheens

c.       Best Use:  Moderate traffic areas (Living room, dining room)

4.    Satin:

a.      Look:  pearl like look

b.      Qualities:  easy to clean, can be used inside and outside, resists mildew, dirt and stains. Will show any imperfections on your walls

c.       Best Use: high traffic areas, and areas that exposure to some moisture (kitchen)

5.    Semi-Gloss:

a.      Look: radiant sheen, reflects light

b.      Qualities: easy to clean, resists mildew, moisture and wear, can be used inside and outside. Hard to touch up

c.       Best Use: high traffic and moisture prone areas (bathrooms, kitchens)

6.    Gloss:

a.      Look: Smooth, high shine finish, glass like finish

b.      Qualities:  very easy to clean, no touch up and shows every imperfection

c.       Best Use: surfaces that are frequently cleaned, window trim, cabinets, doors

Please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Warm Regards, Amato Painting - 484-821-7112

Resurfacing your acoustic ceiling tiles

Save money and resurface your ceiling tiles

Why replace them when you can make them better?

Everyone has seen them whether in a residential setting or a commercial ones, the dirty water stained ceiling tiles, they are put in place to have access above the ceiling to pipes wires and more.

But once they stain or get dirty they are horrendous looking.

Usually you would just replace the bad ones with new, what usually happens is you don't have enough and you end up having many different types of tiles in the ceiling.

What if I told you you can resurface them (apply a coating) at generally a third of the replacement cost while not effecting the acoustics benefits of them, or bridging them (gluing track to tile)

and giving it a fire rating? 

Yes this service we now offer and very little down time to your business if any at all.

all work can be done off hours and with a quick return to service. All speakers, vents can also be coated at the same time.

Here is a recent project we just completed in one day.

 This project was done on short notice in a school with a one day time frame, it took about 10 gallons of product and one painter to accomplish this.
If you would like more information check out our ceiling restoration page  or contact us for a free consultation at 484-821-7112 or email us.

The HGTV customer

The HGTV customer

How tv has made estimates and work difficult.

Everyone seems to watch all the how to and fix it shows flip this flip that.  They portray these easy and quick rehabs and renovations that make it seem like it can be done in a day with no disruption to your home.

What they fail to show is the difficulties throughout the projects, the mistakes, the long days.

What these idealistic shows have done is make a real renovation or repainting project difficult by giving homeowners a false sense of knowledge on their end and expectations that can not possibly be met with a normal budget.

We go through this all the time on estimates, with the homeowner that wants consultation work for free on the 15 different ideas they have from trim to specialty finishes they would never be able to afford under normal circumstances to how long a project will take or how it should be done.

Here is a video I just produced this weekend that can explain this a bit more.

When you realize these are ideal situations, produced and overly managed under budgets that the normal person cannot afford you will understand it is a show, yes some great ideas but I watch shows about $150,000 cars too, it doesn't mean I am going out to buy one.

When you need a real, truthful consultation give me a call I Would be glad to come out and take a look.

www.ryanamatopainting .com

Recently completed exterior painting in Easton,PA

Completion of an exterior in Easton, Pa

We recently completed this exterior in Easton, Pa working on this project for a great family who was simply easy and awesome to work for every step of the way.
When we first looked at this one at the initial estimate we noticed it really needed a color change to set it apart from the other homes on the street. Once we determined our plan to do revitalize this home, we put everything together and along with the homeowner helping to choose colors.
We began by pressure washing the surfaces to clean and remove and mildew or dirt, now we use a soft wash technique, not usually blasting at any surface to avoid possible damage, sometimes customers see this and wonder if we're really cleaning at all but trust me if someone is washing your home any other way they are not up to date on the new techniques and your taking a chance.

After washing we began scraping any remaining loose peeling paint, oil priming the bare surfaces using Cover Stain by Zinnser and caulking every gap seen around windows, doors, and penetrations. This very important step is one that takes a professional eye.
Once all the prep was done we began using Sherwin Williams Resilience every painted surface receives a full two coats of paint.

There were some interesting angles and access issues on this home but our skilled group of painters is used to this and did a wonderful job safely accessing the top levels and completing the job in a safe productive and profitable manner.

The customer was thrilled with the results and left us a great Google review and sent in a wonderful report card, "it was an easy process every step of the way"

If you need your exterior done there is still some time left but you could also be one of the first up for 2018, give us a call at 484-821-7112 or email us

Painter for a day is a great deal

Sometimes small projects get pushed away from other painting contractors as they are sometimes more work than it is worth, we saw this issue and created a "painter for a day"
What this means is you don't have to take time meeting 3 or 4 contractors giving estimates and many of them won't show, so you took off of work and lost even more money.
We offer one fee of $500 for one experienced painter for one day.
We are offering a painter for a day:

Our Painter For A Day program includes all of the following for the low cost of $500.00. Job Specific Materials & Equipment are billed at our cost plus 25%. Job specific materials are paint, tape, roller covers for example:

• One experienced painter during normal working hours
• All necessary tools such as ladders, drop cloths
• 8 hours of quality painting service

Painter For A Day services can include:

• Painting your Office, Hallways, or Lobby
• Painting your Common Areas or Stairwells
• Touch-Up Interior or Exterior Trim
• Paint your Doors and Door Frames to make them look new
• Work on both interior and exterior surfaces
• And Much More!
• This would be great for a smaller job such as that one wall that needs to be painted, or a few doors and trim that you need to be spruced up before the family comes over.
• This is not for large exterior work, anything needing an extension ladder or more detailed projects, for those you would want to get a proper estimate. This is for residential projects only but doesn't fret our commercial friends we also do offer painters for daily projects.
• For you,  it saves time, no need for an estimate and knowing you will get your small project done in an efficient way.
• For our end, it reduces costs as we do not have to come out for an estimate as those costs are built into the jobs, for a painter for a day you get a drastically reduced price and an expedited service saving weeks when normally placed on the schedule.
• If you would like more information please visit our website at www.ryanamatopainting.com or email bidrequests@ryanamatopaintingllc.com