How do you Weed Out Contractors you Shouldn’t Trust?
What attracted you to the contractor you have in your sights right now? Was it their flashy and attention-grabbing marketing and self-promotion? Did they come recommended to you by multiple people you know? Did they market themselves as someone who can get the job done at an outrageously low bid? When it comes to finding trustworthy people who can perform the needed task, nothing is more important than knowing their reputation and experience. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), proper research on independent contractors is key to finding out whether you should let them through your door. Various aspects should be taken into consideration – such as how long they have been in business, who are some other notable clients they have worked with, whether they will comply with a criminal background check/ drug analysis, and what online reviews say about them. It is always best to be thorough and ask a lot of questions in relation to their work.
Know the Signs of a Potential Scam
- If they are willing to offer discounts for finding other clients
- If they have material left over from previous work
- If they only accept cash, suggest you pay for everything up front, or ask you to borrow money from a lender the contractor knows
- If they do not come prepared with all the permits necessary
- If they consider your job a “demonstration”
- If they offer a “lifetime” or another unreasonably long guarantee
- If they aren’t willing to put anything in writing regarding the scope of work
- If they minimize their contact info online and in print
How am I Guaranteed to find Legitimate Contractors?
There are plenty of fantastic independent contractors at your disposal, the trick is for you to be willing to do your own independent research. This process can be time-consuming and tedious. If your to-do list is long, and you don’t have time to do proper vendor screening time, you could consider utilizing an agency that can vet through various contractors on your behalf. However, while these agencies will find you several candidates for the right bid, you now have the laborious effort of ensuring your contractors are performing their tasks to the right specifications.
Instead, we’d like to suggest you consider City Wide Facility Solutions. Not only will City Wide verify all the work done is executed to your standards, but you can skip the step of researching contractors and save you the stress of finding the one(s) at an agreeable price for your scope of work. Let’s say you need multiple contractors for several different jobs. With several different contractors, comes several points of contact. With City Wide, that’s one less thing for you to worry about, as your one point of contact – the Facility Solutions Manager assigned to your account – will handle all of that for you.
Click to learn more about the services City Wide manages.
