There are some key mistakes that a homeowner can make when hiring a house washing company.
As a homeowner, your home is one of your biggest investments and so protecting it and being vigilant on who can service it is very important. The 5 mistakes are as follows..
1. Not checking for insurance – There are two kinds of insurance that a contractor needs to have in BC. First is liability insurance. Second is coverage with Worksafe BC. In our industry the Worksafe BC classification rate for cleaning companies is 10%. Work safe rates definitely a contributor to why we charge the prices that we do.
2. Not reading online reviews – Doing 10 minutes of research with a Google search, you can learn a lot about a company. What is their Google rating and how do they respond to negative reviews? As a consumer, you want to know who you’re hiring and how they conduct their business operations. Positive online reviews gives a consumer social proof that they can be more confident in trusting the home service provider
3. Not asking what happens after the job – The relationship with your contractor should not finish when you have cut the cheque and the job is finished. A reputable contractor will follow up with you after the project is completed to ensure you are happy. Also following up 6 months or 12 months down the road is a good idea to ensure that you are still happy with the work. Fly by night companies will not provide this level of service to you after the job has been completed. A reputable company will stand by their work with a guarantee.
4. Hiring the lowest bid – Hiring the lowest bid can be a costly mistake! As a consumer you want to see what VALUE you’re getting for the money that you are paying. Just because the price is the lowest does not mean they this is the best value. Operating a business takes money and in order to provide a high level of customer service takes money to ensure the business is set up to serve customers. It is always a good idea to get 3 bids for your project. It is important to decipher which of the bids provides you with the most value.
5. Bait & Switch & agreement not in writing – This one happens all the time and you as a homeowner need to be aware. Some contractors will give a low price to get in the door and to your property, they will then begin changing the price based on the scope of work. This is different than legitimately adding to the scope of work. I am talking about contractors being dishonest and not being up front about the work involved. In addition to this, ensure that your contract has your agreement in writing so that there is no room for ambiguity with what is included in the scope of work.
