“Can I find commercial painters near me?” That might be the first question business owners usually ask whenever they are looking for painters to upgrade the look of their establishment. And it’s natural for them to look for commercial painters near them because they want to be accessible to their services.
If you do find some painters near where you do your business, do not just pick one just because they’re close to where your business is. It’s also important to do a considerable background check on the commercial painters you’re considering making sure you won’t regret hiring them later. Remember, commercial painters can contribute a big part to your business’ success…or can cause its failure.
To make sure you hire the right commercial painter, here are the five critical questions you should not forget to ask them before signing a contract:
1. Did you do some quality work?
You may wonder why this is important. It’s important to ask commercial painters for reference: to let you know if they have done quality work for their most recent projects.
If the painters give you a list of their customer references, it means that they are confident in the work that they’ve done in the past. That’s one of the indications of a reputable contractor.
Using the references, you can contact their previous clients that these painters worked for. These clients will confirm if the painters did a good quality job. If they especially like the painter, they will even recommend them to you. They would invite you to their own establishments and let you observe if the paint on the walls still stands well. Check other details, e.g., if the caulking was applied correctly. Observe cut-in areas around windows, doors, and trim for any wayward streaks of paint. If the paint job was done correctly and neatly, it gives an indication that the painter paid attention to details, and therefore it translates to quality work.
2. Did you protect non-painted areas or surfaces?
A good painter is characterized by how neatly he does his job. When painters do an exterior painting job, they make sure that the pavement, flower beds, and other surfaces that shouldn’t be painted are covered or taped appropriately.
When doing an interior painting job, they should move out furniture pieces or cover them with drop cloths to protect possible paint splatters. If the trim, doors, window frames, and baseboards shouldn’t be painted, painters should cover them with painter’s tape, as well.
3. Did your painters begin and finish their work on time?
Most professional painters will inform you about their schedule in advance and will follow that schedule unless unforeseen and serious circumstances befall. This applies most to exterior painting, where rain and other harsh weather conditions would force the painters to cut their work time short.
Typically, painters should arrive for work at a designated time in the morning and should leave at the designated time later in the day.
4. Were your painters professional, courteous, and pleasing to work with?
One of the indications of a professional painter is their punctuality – do they arrive to the site on time? Do they wear appropriate uniforms and drive service vans with the logo of their company on them?
As much as the quality of their work is important is their relations with their clients. Not just important, but even crucial. Workers should possess good communication skills and courtesy. Clients will feel more comfortable and assured (and will feel less stressed) around painters who are respectful and communicate well. In addition, a painter who finds satisfaction with his work will do a better job, compared to painters who always feel exhausted, complain a lot, or work just for the cash.
5. Did you offer a written warranty of your work?
Sure, painters would literally tell you that they would cover the work as long as it’s the effect of their poor workmanship. But it’s still better if they provide you an actual document of their warranty, which you can keep and use in the future should problems arise from the paint job.
A warranty indicates that the painting company will cover certain things, such as fading paint, cracking, blistering, etc., because of poor application or inferior materials. The painters will supply the materials to correct such surface problems for little or no charge.
However, if the surface suffers other things such as incidental damage, molds and mildew, rusting, water retention, or paints that are supplied by you or by other contractors, etc., they aren’t usually covered in the painter’s warranty. You may still need them to fix these surface issues, but you have to pay the full regular fees.
“Does choosing among the commercial painters near me have to be hard?” There is some degree of difficulty especially if you are considering several painters. But if you ask these five questions when interviewing candidates, choosing among them doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems. In no time, you’ll have a commercial painter who meets all the requirements and specifications for your job.
