Everyone knows a painting contractor. Right! It seems like we can always find a painter when we need one by asking our neighbor, friend or relative. But can you find a painter that is professional? Oh that is little harder.

Let me define what professional is, at least in my opinion.  Professional is; showing up at meetings as promised, taking notes and delivering an accurate typed estimate on a document that has your company name on it, returning phone calls within 24 hours, completing a project in a timely manner, having a website with a working phone number and never taking money for something that is not completed.

If you have a painter doing all of these on a regular basis, I think most people would consider them a professional painter. If you don’t have one, I am sorry to hear that.

You can help get rid of the painter that is not professional or does not have a license to paint. Here are three things you can do to help your friends and neighbors against the painter who starts and never finishes or commits to a start date and then never shows up again.

The number one thing that happens to homeowners. They pay before any work is started. Don’t give them ANY money for anything before they start working. If they cannot afford to buy paint then do you really want them doing your painting? Some companies have a policy of giving them a deposit to hold a date but most will waive that if you say you don’t feel comfortable. If they don’t waive it, look elsewhere.

If you don’t get return phone calls within 24-36 hours that is a good sign they are not really too organized. There are things that happen from time to time but rarely are they anything but well thought out excuses. Every business owner has a cell phone. If they don’t, they don’t have a real business.

If they don’t have a website then that is a sign that are not trying to run a real business. This is really the thing that differentiates the one man company from the company that is running as a business. Most “real” companies have a website of some kind, check to see if there is a working phone number on the website. If so, that is a good sign.

There are many good painting companies that do great work and they know how to run their business. If they don’t have any of the three things just mentioned, it is probably best to look elsewhere. If you do a little research in your area through websites like www.yelp.com, www.angieslist.com you can almost always find a good painter that will do great work for you. ‘

Remember it is very easy to call yourself a painter but it is hard to stay in business and build good processes and procedures. When you find a company that acts and performs like a “real” business, let your neighbors know and tell them to do a little research. It is everyone’s responsibility to get rid of the bad painters and support the companies that have worked at building a business. It will save you and your neighbors’ heartache in the future.

Have an Amazing Day

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