HOW TO HIRE MAINTENENCE HELP

Please know you are not alone when it comes to knowing how to hire maintenance help. My husband couldn’t hire a window washer, who could do the job correctly. I was the one who did all the research and narrowed the choices down to two or three, of which he could choose. Usually I also made the final decision. However, this wasn’t always the case. After he made a few mistakes in hiring, he turned the job over to me. I was so concerned that I would make a mistake that I started asking everyone I knew for advice. Before long I had a system in place to find new people, if I needed too.

The first rule is to never start out by talking about price. I know how much the person wants for their services is important. You have a budget after all. Look at it from the service persons view. They have a skill that hopefully they are proud of. This skill is valuable or they would not have learned it. Hopefully they are good at the service offered. How much is expertise worth? You should talk about price, just don’t let it be the first thing out of your mouth. If it is, the service person will get the impression that you are frugal. If the person takes the job, you might get less than quality service. You might even end up paying more in the long run. You want the service person to know that you value his or her skills rather than feeling you want the work done with minimal compensation. We will come back to cost a bit later.

One of the first things to do when looking for service or maintenance help is to survey, in your mind, the people you know whom you trust. You want to be able to go to these people and ask who they use. The people you ask opinions of should be people who are not having problems with the people they hire. You should also be able to look at the work done for the people you know; to judge for yourself if you want to hire their maintenance person. I have people in my life that I love dearly, but I would never think of asking them whom they hire for certain tasks. Why? Because, they don’t have my anal-retentive perfectionist requirements. So, think about your requirements before asking someone else whom he or she uses.

Once you have a few people in mind to ask for references; write down a few questions for them. Questions such as: What did the person do for you? How long did it take? Was there a contract? Where they clean and courteous? Did they show up on time and finish on time? Are they bonded and licensed? How did you find them? Was the job they did for them similar to the one you want done? Were there any complaints that were not addressed and handled? What type of follow up did they do after the job was complete? Did they do what they said they would? Was the cost reasonable? Were there more charges added after the job began? What was the cost? Add more questions as you think of them.

Now, contact the people you have chosen to get references from and talk to them about the work they had done; asking them the above questions. In addition, If the service you are looking to hire someone to do is something that is visible from the road; drive around and look at it from the comfort of your car. If you like what you see; go to the front door and see if the owner will talk to you about it. After talking to a few people you should be getting a feel for the type of person you want to hire. You should also be getting a feel for the level of skill to look for and the price range of the service. One other place to look for references is the hardware store. I usually ask several stores for names of people they like. Sometimes you will get detailed info from the stores on maintenance people and sometimes you will be told they can’t give a reference. The point is to try anyway.

After you have gathered your foundational information it is time to call several service people and ask for bids; letting them know that you are in the bid phase of your project. Most people will give free bids; if you are told the bid isn’t free, you might want to think twice about having them come out. The first few times you have someone come out to give you a bid, do your best to have someone there with you, who is also knowledgeable about the service you want done. You would still be the one asking the questions. If there isn’t anyone available, that’s ok. It just helps in the beginning to relieve possible nervousness and another person might have questions or comments that you might not think of. However, you can do this on your own. I sure did and still do. Have your questions at hand when talking to them. If a question isn’t answered ask it again. Don’t be shy. You are the one paying the bill and the one who has to live with the job.

Make sure you understand everything the person can and can’t do before they leave. After you have talked about what needs to be done and the person has advised you of what they can do for you, including when they can start the job, it is time to talk price. By this time you should have a good idea of the price range, due to all the homework you have done. It is ok to negotiate. Ask them if they have any specials, or if they offer discounts. Ask them what their terms are. Is this a long term contract as would sometimes be the case with a lawn person? If so, how long is the contract for? Is there an opt-out clause in the contract if you are not happy? Do they want a down payment? Do they offer a discount if you pay within a certain period of time after the work is done?

RULE #2 – NEVER EVER, EVER PAY IN FULL UP FRONT FOR A JOB – PLEASE HEAR ME – IF YOU DO; YOU ARE ASKING TO BE ROBBED WITHOUT A GUN. It is ok and sometimes customary to pay a third up front for materials and supplies but that is all. Most service people have accounts at hardware stores and paint shops. They get supplies on account. If someone asks you for all the money up front, do not hire him or her.

After you have obtained several bids (at least 3) weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each. Be wary of someone who doesn’t want to give you a written bid with his or her signature and date. Take a few days to do this process. If you have any additional questions for any or all of the bidders call them and ask your questions. Most people are happy to answer your questions. Once you have done all of your homework, received bids and reviewed them; it’s time to call the one you wish to hire. Let them know that you want to go over what they will and will not do for you again, including the costs and payment requirements. If everything is in order, hire them.

Finally, you want to make sure you are home when the work is being done; if the person doing the work is someone you do not know personally. If the person you have been dealing with is not the one doing the work or has a crew; get their names and give a list of those names to someone you depend on and trust. It is also advisable to let your neighbors or someone else know that you will have workers in your home and ask them to come by and check on you periodically during the day. Put jewelry and valuables out of site too. You can never be too careful and having someone check on you, gives you piece of mind and let’s the workers know you are not alone. You also want to get periodic updates on how the work is progressing.

When the work is complete and you have inspected the job and are satisfied with the work, it is ok to make the final payment. HAPPY HIRING!

Marie A. O'Neill is the founder of White Lotus Life Coaching. She is a Life Coach who specializes in Life Renewal for Widows and Divorcees. Her web site is: whitelotuslifecoaching.com. Call or e-mail her to set up your free 20 minute coaching session. She can be reached at: [e-mail] or by phone [phone]