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How to Review A Contractor Proposal

Always Read the Fine Print...

This blog is more of a personal observation than my other blogs on painting projects. Over the years I have submitted hundreds of proposals for homeowners, businesses and general contractors and I have discovered one common FLAW in the bidding process. Most people reviewing proposals do not read them thoroughly... I always mention to clients when submitting my proposal to review my scope of work and paint products submitted for the job. I always have hopes they will call and ask “can you change this” or “add that here” or “clarify this” because then I know they have taken the time to read and give thought to my proposal. But the phone calls or emails never come, or maybe I should say, rarely come. If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Oh, I didn’t know you had that in your scope” or “I thought you included that”, I would be on a real nice vacation every year! I’m sure most of us have heard the phrase, “apples to apples”. These days it isn’t anything close to “apples to apples”, but more like “apples to vegetables”.

Know Quality & What You're Getting

To me “apples to apples” isn’t just the scope of work and products used. But the type of bidders involved. It’s also values and culture of a company. How does the company bidding represent themselves in the business community or the community they live in? So many companies use the words “value” and “quality” that we have become jaded to the true meaning of those words. Homeowners and contractors alike need to get back in the “apple” business and hold our tradesman companies to a better standard. The “need it now at this price” standard is common. If price keeps driving the decisions to hire a company, we will just continue to drive the quality companies away and lower our expectations.

You probably had no idea of the trickling effect of not reading proposals or hiring under-qualified companies, on a contractor market. It’s hard to stick to your guns, but those who do stay in business year after year in good times and bad. Always read the fine print. Make sure what you are buying is what you’re going to get. Most professional contractors really are reasonable people and are willing to take the time to thoroughly explain their proposal and answer any questions you may have. So, next time you’re reviewing bids, take the time to read them and don’t hesitate to ask questions to get the information you really need.

 

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Very professional, live up to their billing! [The] company was very cooperative, on top of everything. [They] followed through with their commitment.

Marylan T.

Brooks Painting gets in gets it done and out! Quality job, great price. Touch base daily with a report on progress of job. It's important to have confidence in a company that works for you. Brooks is that company.

Jeff Allbright, Nugget Markets Corp.

The crew is as neat and reliable as the actual painting job and paint used. No boom boxes!! Cordial staff spoke English. The crew got along with each other and worked as a team. The actual finish is / was beautiful. We would like to use Brooks again!

Donna H.

Listened to my needs and offered good suggestions. Customer confidence in value and quality.

John K.

I have always received excellent customer service and the crews are always very concerned about ensuring satisfaction!

Shawn W.

Brooks Painting has be in business a long time in our area. As a native resident we have seen and heard of their professional & quality painting. In looking for bids on painting our house Brooks was referred numerous times. When Jeremy came out to meet us we were sold on using their services and looked no further. Every aspect of this company was very upfront, professional and made us feel safe, valued and comfortable hiring them. The office staff kept good communication with us. The color matching was perfect. The crew showed up on time, were respectful and did a great job from prep to the final end of the project. The warranty offered was a plus and the liability coverage gave us peace of mind also. The price was well worth all that was included in the project so we had little to do but move our stuff away from the house. Thank you Brooks painting, crew and staff for making our home new again :)

Karen Boone
Google

Brooks Panting Inc. just finished painting the exterior of our house. The crew did a terrific job. The house is a mid century modern with redwood paneling and an unusual amount of trim work. The Brooks crew was efficient, the quality of the painting was exceptional and the work was completed on time! Because of the age of the house several panels needed to be replaced. Brooks had the expertise to closely match the new paneling with the old paneling. I would not hesitate to recommend this company. They are professionals!

Daniel Dykstra
Google

My experience with Brooks Painting has been outstanding, and, if it were an option on Google, I would assign 100 stars to their work. Mark and his crew were exceptional in painting both the inside and outside of my Central Davis home. They were considerate, careful, and respectful of my furnishings and yard. Kristen and her office staff were also responsive to my queries and were timely in scheduling the work. Thank you Brooks Painting for assisting in transforming my house into a beautiful home!

Hollis Skaife
Google

Brooks did a fantastic job on our exterior and interior paint jobs. Quality was high, price was reasonable, and the team was extremely professional and detail-oriented. Mark was our crew lead and the team performed a number of exterior wood repairs, a door re-stain, interior and exterior painting. Mark clearly takes a lot of pride in his work and went above and beyond to ensure the work was high-quality, including finding exact matching siding to fix dry rot, and performing minor repairs that weren't even included in the quote. He and the team were all consistently positive and personable, joking with each other throughout the day, while also genuinely complimenting each other on the quality of their work. It was great to see, and that positivity definitely showed through the work they did. We couldn't be happier with the end result.

Ryan Schauland
Google

We would recommend them highly. [They] painted and did a good job. Kept everything clean and cleaned up after, very polite.

Muriel Y.

Courteous and well mannered, attentive, discussed complete job and provided good service.

Juan C., C.H.P.

Chris and Gabriel were amazing. Corey was patient and helpful in answering questions and while I decided on colors. The office was easy to contact and had good follow-through. Thank you so much to Brooks for a job I could not possibly be happier with. Feel free to use me as a reference!

Laura P

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