Handy tips to help you make the best decisions for your project
With many of our clients finally settling in after the heavy lockdowns from 2020 and being able to allocate and spend budget again – we have heard an unsettling amount of ‘horror stories’ about service levels, so called ‘service-providers’ and awful contractors within South Africa. It is based on that premise, we pride ourselves on consistent and ongoing service delivery no matter the season- thought that it might be quite prevalent to provide our clients and potential clients with some handy information on how to choose the right contractors and service providers for their needs!
Based on our many years within the industry, we have devised some tips to consider when choosing a contractor, or service provider, for any of your projects, whether you are an established company with a stable vetting process- or an everyday individual trying to make the best value decision. Most importantly, you are more than welcome to contact us for any assistance with a referral on the many reputable service providers that we have worked with over the years!
As a starting point for choosing the correct service provider, have your completed thorough research on multiple providers? We strongly recommend that you try and narrow your search down to no less than three service providers and continue from there.
When trying to contact your service provider, are they easy to reach? How many times do you have to call them, or email them to get a response? What is the turnaround for their feedback? Understandably, many contractors may need a day or two to schedule a viewing, assessment, or quotation time, but generally, a phone call or email should have a turnaround time of no more than one day. And a quicker response rate is always preferable. If you cannot reach the contractor within that turnaround time, or they simply do not get back to you – remove them from your short list and move on! The response time that you get when trying to obtain an assessment, will inevitably be the same response rate that you receive when trying to get an update on your live project- immediately will always be the best response time!
From your prospective contractor list, have you thoroughly researched their areas of expertise- what areas do they specialize in? What services do they actually offer? Are they a full turnkey operation, or will you need to hire more than one contractor to complete the project? How long have they been trading for? What working experience have they had in projects of a similar nature? All these questions are vital in understanding who you will be entrusting your project too! Many times, we come across contractors that specialise in one area, say for example, tiling installations – and we have found that they are also supplying and installing waterproofing too. That may seem like a quick solution, but the reality is, if the contractor is not a specialist in both waterproofing and tiling, one or both of those services is going to be sorely lacking, and most likely sub-par unfortunately… Ultimately resulting in a failure in one, or both services offered. Understanding how long a company has been trading, will provide a particularly good indication of their experience within the industry, providing you with peace of mind, in the sense that you are entrusting your project to a capable contractor, that could have likely worked on a similar project in the past. Never be afraid to ask the questions – all these details are pertinent to making the right decision for you, and these should be easy enough for an established contractor to answer.
Moving onto a service provider’s contactable refences, a well-established and experienced service provider should easily be able to produce information on who have they worked for previously, as well as being able to indicate what their feedback was while completing the project. In fact, most potential service providers should be able to provide you with an office telephone number and corresponding email address of any previous clients that they may have worked with. Identifiable and photographic evidence of projects completed should also be available upon request. Again, if any of the details or images do not sit well with you, then this is not the correct contractor for you.
Taking it one step further, would be asking if they have a corporate client list- who have these contractors worked with in the industry? What type of clients do they have, and what is their area of speciality? In a corporate environment, the service levels expected are much higher, and as such, having an excellent track record in this environment is a benefit.
From a pricing perspective, how do the contractors compare price wise to the average market? Having more than one contractor providing you with quotations will easily answer this question for you. By comparing a few options, what are they offering to complete, in this service- is the scope of work the same? Looking at these options, how does their value for money and services offered compare to one another? Going for the cheapest option is not always going to give you the best value- so keep it in mind to look at more than just budget constraints.
Be sure to thoroughly examine the products being used by each contractor- ensure a product comparison is made, so that you understand what products are being used for your project. How do these products compare? Is a cheaper product better to use, if your guarantee is shorter? Of course, not necessarily, as with a cheaper product line that is likely to fail sooner, you will end up spending the same amount of money, (or more!), to repair it a second time! Be very aware of the lifespan of your product choice- Is it UV stable in a climate like South Africa's? Are you placing a low foot traffic product in a high traffic area? In our experience it is often better in a long-term situation, to choose the product with a longer lifespan, and longer guarantee, which will save you money long term as it is not necessary to replace it as often as a cheaper product or material.
What is the workmanship guarantees, and product guarantees being offered for your project? How often do you need to have an inspection completed, and are there any maintenance plans that are in place, that may have associated costs? What types of business insurance do the potential contractors carry? What type of Workmen Compensation is offered to their labourers? All these questions are essential in relating to any site accidents, and how these will be handled by the contractor- and if not, what is the potential liability for you, the actual client! If a potential contractor does not have any of these options or covers, it is in your best interests to review other suppliers, as this is unfortunately quite a foreboding situation that could have you, the client, liable for any costs from problems that arise subsequently!
Often, the most important question is, what are the payment options and the payment terms? Are these terms reasonable, and are you prepared to meet your obligations to the supplier? What Guarantees are provided for product delivery- in other words, is product delivery guaranteed on proof of payment? Is a tracking number provided for the scheduled delivery? What Guarantees are provided for the completion of project? Are you happy with this guarantee period? What recourse do you have if the project is not completed? Again, this question goes back to the contact time frame – you are entrusting this service provider with your assets, with your payments- and it is no good if you have completed everything on your part, but you have not received what you have paid for ultimately.
Lastly, what are the time frames offered to complete the project, and how feasible is that programmed in relation to the roll out plan? How does that affect your day-to-day life, or business operations? What interferences and disruptions can be expected? This is vital in understanding the entirety of the project and making sure that the roll out is feasible for you and will not create a complete hinderance for the duration of project. Asking for the relevant changes that are not acceptable to you are perfectly fine, but just ensure that these changes will be acceptable too!
We hope that we have been able to assist you with your contractor or service provider’s selection process and wish you the best of luck on any of your upcoming projects! Remember, that if you need any professional advice or assistance, we are only a phone call or email away!
There is no project too big or too small for us!
Not only are we available for waterproofing projects In Johannesburg, but we are also able to assist with installations throughout South Africa.