A Few Tips on Hiring a Professional Painter in San Diego in Today’s Market

Before hiring a painter for your next paint project, ask yourself this one question: “What kind of painting company do I want to hire?” Now I know what you are thinking. “Ah…I want a good one!” Was I right? Well, of course you want a painting company to do a good job for you but finding a “good one” in this market is not as easy as you may think. Lets dig a little deeper and determine the specific type of paint contractor that is right for you!

I like to put painting contractors in three categories: A true professional, a paint company who has employees and does a decent job, and, what I would call “a bucket and brush” painter.

Bucket and Brush Painter

You’ve all seen a bucket and a brush painter more than once in your life. In fact, you will typically see him (or her) most days except Mondays! He will typically show up in a rust-infested hatchback sedan, leave when he feels like it and get the job done when there is no surf or the rent is due. When he decides to begin painting, he will then hire a cheap helper or his roommate to help apply paint, sometimes for the first time. He will then charge you 1/3 to 1/2 of a true professional and promise you astounding results. When you are finished with this type of painter, you will typically be calling for one of the two other types of painters to clean up the mess he left for you, free of charge!

Decent Painter, but Not Real Professional

The second type of painter is typically good at what he does but may not be real professional. He sometimes will arrive late, be hard to get a hold of by phone or email and take a little longer to do the job. However, his pricing typically sounds good to most homeowners. This type of paint contractor also does not listen to your specific needs very well. Instead, he will paint your house the way he thinks it should be done, without any of your concerns taken into consideration. I was recently doing an estimate for a couple who took me around their home and shared with me a number of their concerns and asked me to breakdown the estimate cost into individual items. When I asked about their experience with the other painters bidding the job, they both unloaded on me the things I just mentioned above. It was not rocket science to do what they were asking. They were receiving estimates from painters who worked in their very own neighborhood but were not professional. After explaining in detail what they wanted to the other contractors, they did the complete opposite. The bid the job and presented the estimate as a lump sum. If only they would listen, take careful notes, show up on time, use the right products, etc. those guys would have had a good shot and winning their business. They would have done a decent job but the owners just did not feel comfortable that the painters would do a quality job when they could not follow such simple guidelines.

A True Professional

The final type of paint contractors are called “True Professionals.” Although you sometimes have to pay a little more to get a professional painting contractor, you will not have the frustrations that come with the paint companies mentioned above. A true professional runs a quality business. They strive for customer satisfaction, return calls promptly, listen carefully to your concerns, are kept up to date on the best products to use and use craftsmen painters to complete your project. Professionals painters will make the typically painting experience a positive one from the first initial contact to the finish product.