When people buy a house or car or even enter into a personal relationship, they tend to do a great deal of due diligence prior to committing. They communicate their wants and needs and if those requirements are not met or they get a bad feeling, they don’t go through with the deal.
Homeowners tend not to do the same amount of research on contractors because there isn’t an easy way to do so. Even if you provided them with your credentials or gave references, it’s difficult for them to judge because they don’t understand the details of the trade. It would be like you trying to judge how good a doctor really is.
Here are a few tips to help you improve the homeowners (and your) experience.
Provide 3rd Party Backup
You wouldn’t hire a baby sitter or even a mechanic without SOME incite as to how good they are. If you did hire that person with no background, you would probably spy on them or look over shoulder to make sure they weren’t hurting your baby! Homeowners are no different when it comes to you working on their home or yard.
Organizations like www.TrueBlueContractors.com that make this part easy as pie by doing a full background check on its members. When you tell a homeowner you’re a member, they know you have taken steps to stand out as a professional.
References and word of mouth are still the best. If someone loves the work you did, get them to write a letter of recommendation or rate you on www.TrueBlueContractors.com or some other rating web site.
Communicate
This is the big one! Once they are comfortable they have chosen a good contractor, communication is the key to making sure they continue to hold you in high regard. The main thing you want to do is align expectations.
Price is always the obvious thing you make sure you both agree on, but what about:
1. Length of time.
2. Materials.
3. Cleanliness.
4. Fit and finish.
5. How unexpected surprises will be handled.
Make sure you are both crystal clear on everything above by putting it in writing. People have a way of hearing what they want to. Add the “lingo barrier” and you have a recipe for disaster. You say “quarter round molding” and they hear “six inch crown molding”. Writing it down on paper for them to read takes the “hearing challenge” away and gives them the opportunity to clarify before it’s too late.
Unexpected Surprises
This one is most definitely the biggest misunderstanding between homeowners and contractors and warrants its own section. Making the homeowner understand that unexpected things pop up during construction is probably one of the best things you can do to establish a great relationship. Reminding them of whatever unpredictable things tend to plague your line of work. Explain things like:
• Homes are made of all different kinds of materials, building codes change over time, things wear out, houses literally move and get squeezed when the temperature and humidity changes. A contractor never knows what he is going to find when he pulls a cabinet or knocks a wall down. A surprise could cost you more than originally anticipated. Understanding that’s not always the contractors fault is key.
• Weather is unpredictable and can affect your project in countless ways.
1. Outside work can’t be done in bad weather.
2. Wood, metal, and other materials can swell or shrink.
3. Paint and drywall compounds can take much longer to dry in damp weather.
4. Trucks can tear up a wet lawn.
5. Etc.
• Based on construction work not necessarily being steady, contractors typically have multiple jobs going at the same time. Some times an emergency happens at another job and yours gets delayed. Or it could be you with the emergency and someone else getting delayed!
Lingo
Like any profession, construction has its own terms and lingo. Most people are too proud to say they “don’t know” so go out of your way to use layman terms as often as possible. When you have to use a technical term, stop and explain it. A simple “stop me if I you know about this or let me know if I am being too detailed” will usually take you off the hook for any perceived insults.
Lori Smith
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