House Painters & Painting Contractors

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Be sure to investigate your perspective contractor to be sure they are a legitimate business (doing business legally by the state standards and laws / having a license). Checking credibility through sources like the Oregon CCB & Angieslist will help.

Check out the website of the perspective contractor. A lot can be said by the work and testimonies they display.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. What I would want to know is, why does it seem so expensive? A lot is considered in pricing when it comes to owning a business, for example: Overhead costs, profit, wages, taxes, etc. Certainly the bulk of expense is in labor then materials but an IMPORTANT part of business is the overhead and profit even though their a relatively smaller portion. Not only that, but a smaller business is going to spend more time off the payroll to help promote the business. As a one man show half the time and having a crew the other half, I tend to spend much more time off the clock (payroll) than I do on it. Where is that expense? Perhaps it's "sacrifice",not so much "expense"... Granted, I'm not justifying higher cost due to off the clock work, but it is work nonetheless and most perspective clients have not clue how a business of this nature works.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Ask things that reveal credibility. Ask for referrals and don't be shy to ask for a full page. Ask for Insurance coverage or bonding information. Ask personal questions that allow you to get to "know" your contractor. Nothing in the world opens me up than getting personal with my perspective clients. Topics like: children, jobs, travel, where you've lived, military experience, etc. are simple things to give interaction to the experience. I believe this is called building rapport. My point is; this doesn't have to be initiated by the contractor as it has benefits for you as a client.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Seek for Credibility through other resources: AngiesList, Better Business Bureau, Google Places, Facebook, PDCA Portland Chapter and requesting a page of referrals. Check on their licensing to see if the business is in good standing with state laws. Here in Oregon a CCB number is required to do business. And when you seek out this information, be sure to check on any Dispute Resolution Services (DRS) complaints. Another thing to ask for is; insurance and bonding certificates, this will show liability for anything that goes wrong incurred by the contractor. If the contractor has employees a workmans comp notice of compliance would be good.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I became unemployed in 1998. A husband of a friend gave me some work painting apartments. 6 months later he helped me start my own business. Now, 12 years later I am no longer painting apartments and have stepped up to residential painting. My skills and techniques are hard to beat in this field. Also, being a son of two artists (in their own ways) one a canvas painter, the other an auto painter, I tend to lean a lot of my skills on details. Our work has really got to look right before I will accept it's completion. I'm thankful for friends and acquaintances in the business industry and specifically in the painting market.