Doing the right thing allows you to stop spending money on advertising.
Dan Roach, Roach-Lamburg Roofing
Dan came highly recommended by my realtor, who only recommends the best. Nearly all his work comes from referrals. That’s much more important than repeat business for a roofer — seeing how he sells a product that lasts for decades.
Dan started his roofing company ten years ago, knocking on doors and hoping to drum up enough work to keep him in business before the money ran out. Since then, he’s built a reputation on doing quality work, staying on budget, and giving customers more than they asked for.
Knowing that contractors often require some payment up front, I offered the check (enough for the whole job) that I got from the lawyers when I closed on my new house. “No thanks,” he said. “I’d rather not get paid until you know the job is done right.” If that’s not proof that he knows what he’s doing, I don’t know what is.
One thought on “Doing the Right Thing”
Be careful with this one as a criteria for evaluating contractors, though… I’m sure Dan is the exception but as a general rule this can also be an indication of a contractor who is unable or unwilling to do the organizational piece around paperwork, which can also point to issues like lack of proper insurance, licensing or resource network to solve problems that arise initially.
I personally think it’s preferable for a reputable contractor to be out ahead on billing, until the end of the job when the client is essentially holding the profit pending total satisfaction. Not having a retainer to cover production cost, or at least an agreement on how to compensate those costs if the plan changes is a ticking time bomb, since it stands to reason that if there are crooked contractors out there then there will also be crooked clients, eventually.