What To Look For When Choosing A Home Service Provider
The term "home service provider" can be a catch-all for a contractor that services many household repairs. Additionally, when a homeowner is unsure of what to look for, finding a great home service provider can be challenging. Here's a simple guide for choosing a great home service company with you and your home in mind:
Experience
Any company that's new to the mix may have a pumped-up sales team or an excited CEO, but true satisfaction and workmanship come from experience. A company that has been in the home service or household repair business for ten years or more will better be able to speak to the market ebbs and flows in household repairs and what's best for the homeowner. Being new to the field doesn't make a novice home service company any less capable, but there's value in having experience.
Finding a company that has long been servicing homeowners and understands their way around a property ensures that you'll have a company that understands the full scope of your home. A home service tech should know the full range of plumbing and piping, floor installation, painting, carpentry, termite damage and repair, kitchen and bath remodeling, and electrical, including outdoor repairs like fencing, sprinklers, and fire defense.
Hiring an inexperienced or unreliable handyman can be money down the drain.
Free Consultation
Some companies charge for an initial consultation, and hey, that's their prerogative. Unless the company is so specialized and backlogged with too many customers, we find that having a free consultation for new and returning customers helps diagnose issues. Better yet, it allows you to know your options before spending any money with a company.
As a client, you can decide whether to take those recommendations or work with the company. We want that to be within your right, and because of this, we tend to find the vast majority of our phone calls turn into service because there is no initial upfront obligation.
Tangible Guarantee or Workmanship Promise
It is sad to say, but people get burned by false promises. A great home service company should be focused on your utmost satisfaction and be able to communicate in writing how they uphold that promise. Our service and workmanship come with a satisfaction guarantee, and we stand behind that.
Honest Reputation On (and Offline)
It is easy to obsess over reviews online. They are everywhere—Google, Facebook, Next Door, Thumbtack, Angie's List, Yelp, and many others. We suggest taking a broader scope at the sites; you can trust most and then taking the overall rating into account. Read a couple of negative reviews and see if that company handled their responses well, or if it maybe seemed like the person just had a bad day. Ultimately honest and professional businesses shine throughout their online reputation.
Lastly, if the company is in question, go ahead and ask for a reference. It is your right to decide who comes into your home and who will be servicing your household needs best.
Diverse Service Offerings
A common misconception is that if you have a plumbing issue, you call a plumber, and when you have an electrical problem, you call an electrician. If that is always the case, keeping your home in tip-top shape can be an interviewing and organizational nightmare. Not many homeowners have the time to work with so many different specialties and companies.
A good home service company will offer the whole gamut of services that you usually see specialized out, so when you have an issue, you call one company for full service, and that's it.
In conclusion, you want a professional who understands how to fix that pipe in your kitchen because they know plumbing and overall home construction. While that 'handyman ad' on craigslist may be enticing for the price, a true professional will be able to offer peace of mind in their expertise and, in our opinion, that is worth so much more.
Clover Valley Home Service offers reliable service in plumbing, electrical, carpentry, baseboard and crown molding, sprinkler repair, fence repair or replacement, yard work and cleanup, and fire defense space preparation services. We do most home service jobs. Our work is guaranteed. Call (916) 742-3141 today!
