Finding a good painter and decorator in Kent.
Which painter and decorator should I choose?
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe!
If only we really knew! I only say that because each potential new client looks for and likes different things in their decorator.
Here are some ideals the home owner should look for, when considering employing a painter & decorator to work in their home:
- Recommendation – is the painter being referred to you by a friend, neighbour or relative. Can you see the work the painter has carried out. Are they registered on a review site online?
- Public Liability Insurance – does the decorator carry adequate liability insurance. They ought to if working in or around your home. What if they break something?
- Trade Association – It isn’t a necessity that your painter belongs to one. B&A did belong to The Painting & Decorating Association but pulled out after I noticed they were “apparently” letting anyone in. But it is the only association specific to the trade. It also investigates any complaint made against a member & makes every effort to resolve disputes through mediation.
- Qualifications/Experience – Has your decorator achieved any qualification or had more than 5 years experience within the trade working alongside qualified decorators?
- Guaranteeing All Work – Does your painter & decorator guarantee their work? A minimum requirement for interior work could be six months and a minimum for exterior work could be twelve months (both from completion). Will they stand behind their guarantee?
- Presentable – Which do you choose?
1/ You see the van pull up outside, nice signage, looks clean & roadworthy. The decorator gets out and walks to your door. You open it and greet him. He too looks clean & presentable. Has a nice logo’d t-shirt, clean trousers and he takes his shoes off before stepping onto your nice hallway carpet.
Or?
2/ A car pulls up, paint all over the rear bumper with poor vehicle livery (if any) stuck to the side windows. A man walks up your drive with more colours on his trousers and shirt than Jason & his Technicolour Dreamcoat. You open the door, he walks in, shoes still on and proceeds to sit down (in work clothes) on your new leather sofa! - Detailed quote/estimate – It might look like a boring thing to read, but a comprehensive quote or estimate on headed paper is worth reading. It will show what your painter is going to do for you and will enable you to see why the cost is what it is. Better to have a detailed quote you can refer back too, than a quickly written out piece of plain paper which just shows “Paint all ceilings and walls – £***.00″
- Can they be found – Does your decorator have business cards with an address? Does he or she just use a mobile number on the stationary/advert/van signage? Just having a mobile number may indicate they don’t always like to be found.
Those are just some things I would be looking for when considering employing the services of a trades person. Obviously, having the bullet points listed and then ticked, doesn’t guarantee you a pleasant experience with the service provided. You could still end up with a pig in a poke, but my guess is that if all of the above are ticked, chances are you will have found a good trades person whom you would be willing to do business with for many years to come and who you would recommend to friends and family. So start spreading the word!
Category: B&A Blog, Uncategorized
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Great post Tim.
Thank you, Harry.
Just a few things for the potential clients to chew over before they choose a tradesman. Like I say, those points don’t always make for a pleasant experience, but most often it does.
Thanks for dropping by.
Some great tips here for people, it’s especially difficult if you’re new to an area so following some of this advice would work well. I also think finding proactive tradespeople can really help those who have a website/social media etc. Not totally necessary but shows they are looking to stay around for the future!
Great post, thanks