Hiring Service Contractors:
We hire service contractors for many reasons such as movers, roofers, landscape, painters, and the list goes on. Much of the time we tend to base our decisions on price, reputation, and of course quality of work. These are very important but let’s not forget responsiveness.
How many times have you called a service company and got a voice mail or the secretary that ask you for your name and number so someone can call you back? What happens if you have an emergency or something goes wrong while the work is underway and you need to contact the office?
A poll found that 61 percent of callers always leave a message expressing interest in hiring the companies they call when their call goes to voice mail. Two-thirds of those that leave a message expect a call back that day. Nearly one-third said a follow-up call is important, and they will hire someone else if they don’t hear back from a company within a couple of days.
Most customers become frustrated when service companies don’t return their phone calls. Being able to easily contact someone from the company you hire is important because if something goes wrong, you want to know that you will be able to get a hold of them right away.
A company’s lack of communication could be a result of an overwhelming amount of business – they are just too busy to return every phone call. Other companies may be short staffed. If the contractor was performing their services at your residence you would want them to give the job 100%. Taking complete care of a current customer is way more important than taking on more work that you can’t handle at that moment. It just shows that the company is more interested in quality over quantity.
Frontier Apt Movers says homeowners can take steps to improve the lines of communication:
1) Ask the contractor for the best ways of communication and what time is best to reach them. Do they prefer in person, by phone, fax or email? Get as many contact numbers and emails, including mobile phones, as possible before the job begins.
2) Use your patience and planning abilities. If yours can’t wait, it will show and your pocketbook will reflect it in such an emergency. Don’t be discouraged by a contractor who can’t get you an estimate right away. Often, the good ones are busy.
3) Be flexible and accommodate contractors by meeting them during normal business hours, rather than requiring an evening or weekend appointment.
It’s not always wise to choose the largest, most colorful ad in the phone book or the first one on your Google search. Many companies have plenty of marketing power to advertise relentlessly and purchase expensive memberships to rely on a new customer each time for business. Others get by with repeat business and word of mouth.
It always makes sense to call around for rates and quotes. It also gives us an opportunity to interact with the company so we can feel them out and ask questions. Be sure to have a list of important questions to ask them when you call them. The quality of their answers to your questions will give you a good impression of how they operate.
Ask your friends, family and co-workers for references. You can also do an internet search according to business type with search terms such as reviews, scams, complaints, etc. Example for movers: type in “Phoenix movers reviews“, “home builder scams”, etc.
Things to consider when hiring contractors:
1) Reliability
2) Reputation, reviews
3) Price, total cost
4) Availability
5) Professionalism
6) Warranty
7) Insurance
8) Qualified employees
9) BBB reports, whether they are members or not
10) Licensed