A customer recently made the comment, “We’re shopping around because all you guys pretty much do the same thing anyway, right?” Well, we all put roofs on in one way or another- if that’s what they meant.
All joking aside, this is a common misconception within the home improvement industry- we all “do the same thing” so why does it matter who does the job? It matters! Goes back to that old expression- “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.”
Here’s why it’s vital to hire the right contractor, for the right reasons.
1. Warranties! Workmanship or Manufacturer
Any company, roofing or other, should be able to provide you with some kind of warranty. Don’t think warranties matter? Think again. Say they do the work and go out of business or they won’t return your calls. What then? If it’s an issue with the product, having a manufacturer warranty will be your saving grace. If the company can’t or doesn’t offer this, you may want to look elsewhere. If you skip the option to purchase this, if offered at an additional cost, you should probably reconsider. This will be your best line of defense to reducing your out of pocket when having to pay another contractor to do the work. Most manufacturer warranties pay for labor as well. A workmanship warranty is offered in case the installation of a product was faulty. Then the company will be on the hook to fix any issue for the allotted amount of time.
2. Hiring based on Price or Relationship with the installer- Bad idea
People have admittedly said they hired strictly based on price because they didn’t think it mattered. Or, they hire a family friend for the job. This goes back to the initial statement of “we all do the same work.” Time and time again ABC Roofing is called out to fix anything from siding repairs to entire roofs because the installation was bad, the company isn’t returning calls or won’t take responsibility for the job or that family friend wasn’t quite as handy as he thought. They end up paying for the work twice. Not good.
3. Quality and Reputation
Sure, EVERY business in the world is going to have the good reviews and the bad. You can’t please everyone, no matter how hard you try but how do these companies respond to the bad? How long have they been around? This means something. It means they’ve been doing something right all these years. Quality and reputation are huge reasons when deciding on the right contractor. Why throw your money away? You literally throw it away when you hire a contractor for the wrong reasons. Quality materials and installation are vital to your investment. You want a company that will stand behind you should any issues arise.
Essentially, not all contractors do the same work. Far from it. Make sure when hiring for any home improvements you’re not doing it based off price or the assumption you’ll get the same quality and service as you would elsewhere. That’s just not the case. Finding the right contractor is tough. Be sure and do your research. As always, ABC Roofing offers FREE estimates for roofing, siding, windows and more!
Good luck to you!
Comments