So it is time to paint the house, you need to hire someone and you’re not exactly sure who to hire.

I feel your pain every time we have to hire a contractor for services such as plumbing or electrical work.  As a business owner, we have decided to invest in people and have the people who represent us be employees. There are other contractors that have decided to use subcontractors and not employees. Is there a difference? Does it matter? Decide for yourself it it matters hiring a paint contractor with employees vs subcontractors.

painter - dfranco - Hiring a paint contractor with employees vs Subcontractors

Do you know who is in your home working?

If you have called a reputable company odds are they have employees working for them.  How do you know for sure?? ASK THEM! Find out when you call them about getting an estimate or before a service tech ever shows up to your home.

Being a business owner has been a blessing to our customers, our family and to our employees! We have been working hard to:

  • Create a family atmosphere
  • Find people that fit into our culture
  • Believe in our 5 core values
    • Faith
    • Ownership
    • Vision
    • Focus
    • Experience
  • Find people who work together as a team.

When we hire anyone we have them fill out a background consent form in addition to random drug testing and no-use policies while at work.

For all of our background checks we use a company called Verifirst. They perform local, state and federal background checks so that we know who we have working for us and with us! We want you to trust the people in your home as much as we trust them with our tools, vehicles and reputation.

Want a story? We interviewed a person some time ago. Everything seemed to be great, attitude, knew what he was saying, knew many of the things we did, had his own tools and a brand new work van.  When we did a simple Google search of his name – assault, battery, restraining order, registered sex offender popped up on the 1st page with his picture! Now this person had been and still is working as a painter. So again, I ask – Do you know who is in your home working?

Is the contractor you hired trained or self-taught?

I want to make sure I stress there is nothing wrong with being self-taught and learning!  Because I also have learned a ton from YouTube.

But there are some things you cannot learn form videos or reading. Sometimes you need professional or organized training.

  • Our employees get certification training from the PCA and from Sherwin Williams education resources.
  • Hands-on training of tools
  • Training at our shop on drywall repair, caulking, filling nail holes etc.

We also take advantage of the training and local seminars that are hosted by Sherwin Williams and local Benjamin Moore/JC LICHT representatives.

Is my contractor insured?

You better know the answer to this question! What happens if:

  • A person in your home breaks something?
  • The person falls, trips or gets hurt in your home?
  • Moves an appliance and the water starts to leak?

By hiring a established company, they have insurance for all of these issues and others you may never think about. What if there is a defect in the product being used – the contractor did nothing wrong yet the paint peels?

  • How does it get fixed?
  • Will it get fixed?
  • Who pays for the repairs?
  • Do you know who pays for the new materials?

How do you check on past work of your contractor?

We used to use references from customers, but with growing privacy issues, we rely on online reviews such as Google.  Google does a check to verify the person doing the work, we also comment on every review we get so we know who is doing the review.

Local paint stores usually know who the top guys are to do the work you need.

Facebook is also a tool we use for marketing but not for reviews, no reason for or against it, just where we are at.

Do you know what your painting will cost up front?

All of our estimates are in writing, you can look up our blog posts, Facebook, YouTube or our Podcast to see and hear what we charge for almost everything. We strive for you to know, not be shocked or surprised by what we do, how we do it, and how much it costs.

We follow that up with lifetime warranty on labor of the work we perform.

Now the next time you have to hire a painter…

You have a few more tools and questions to ask so you know who you’re hiring and what you’re getting.  I was told years ago that people hire people and contractors that they know, like and trust. So that is what we strive for.

So Hiring a paint contractor with employees vs Subcontractors – what do you think?

Let us know if you have any questions.  We hope we help you love the space you’re in!