Mistakes You Don't Want To Make When Hiring A Contractor
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Finding a trusted partner for your home and landscape projects can be hard. I've included some tips for hiring a landscape contractor (or any contractor for that matter) below.
In my 20 plus years of entrepreneurship, it still leaves me baffled when I meet with a new client and they tell me that they have called 3 other landscape companies before me and I was the only one that answered the phone or called them back. I think, wow, how can someone run a business that is totally dependent on a steady flow of leads and not call those leads back. (Well, actually, the first thing I think about is, dang, I really need to improve my marketing since I was the 4th company they found, but that’s a topic for another day).
Finding a partner for your project starts with communication. Clear and timely communication sets the stage to start building trust and you definitely want to trust the company you are considering spending thousands of dollars with or signing up for a year long landscape management contract.
Do they listen to your ideas without cutting you off to sell “their way of doing it.” Do they offer solutions to your problems? Are they dressed neatly and have literature to give you that explains how their business operates and what to expect if you do business with them?
Do they have the ability to provide you with a detailed written or typed proposal and design services? Do not accept a word of mouth quote, if that is all they can provide you, find someone else, period.
Look at more than the pretty pictures on their Facebook page.
Do they have a website and email address? That is a must for reputable companies these days. Do they have industry specific certifications? These certifications let you know that they know what they are doing and you will be receiving a quality product, installed to industry standards.
Ask for references if you are still not sure, any good company will quickly be able to provide you with a list of references. Ask for references of projects similar to yours.
Make sure they have insurance.
If they don’t have insurance, they are not a company. You do not want anyone working on your home or property without insurance, not matter how cheap their bid is. If something goes wrong, you will be on the hook.
Most super cheap bids come from people with no insurance. Insurance costs are a big expense for contractors and we have to cover that overhead.
