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CertaPro Painters of Berkeley in 5 Useful Answers
Well, safety is really important. On every single job, there's usually something a little bit specific, a little bit different. So, we do a site visit at the first day of the job, and we'll walk around and look for any potential hazards, any issues, um, hills, trees, power lines, animals, dogs, gates. And it's not just for our homeowners, it's the crews as well, the neighbors, people walking by. A lot of things can come up on a job site. And so, information is important, just being aware of it and looking around. And so, we take the crew around and walk out and do a little safety check. Make sure that everybody's clear on what the hazards could be and where to put our equipment at the end of the day in case kids happen to want to run around afterwards. And safety is important. So we, we take it very importantly. How did I get into the painting industry? Well, I got a job right after college and I didn't care for it too much. And so I, I went out and started knocking on doors in, in the Oakland Hills and figured if I'm going to get into the painting world, I might as well do it in the hardest houses. Oakland has some pretty difficult houses and challenging terrain and different substrates. And so I figured I'd cut my teeth there and tried the hardest and I worked on it. I knocked on doors and got some business and met some good people and try to figure out the trade and the painting industry and tools and how to do everything. And, um, went from there, hired employees and got up into the business and, and I am where I am. I love the business. I love working with Certa Pro and meeting people and converting their houses into completely new, new designs and, and portfolios. Favorite thing that I enjoy about the work that I do is, is, is working with my employees. They're really good people. You know, they didn't have a lot of opportunities when they were younger. A lot of them didn't speak a lot of English. They didn't have a lot of skills in painting or, or anything else and finance and things outside of the painting world. And working with them, I've had them for so many years and, and we periodically do training and I just help them become more acclimated to society and, you know, the kids are growing up and going to college and school and it's just interesting to see how their transition has been, um, you know, through learning and development and just gaining skills and transferring on to their children and their families and, um, seeing where they are now managing jobs and taking care of things and, uh, becoming successful. It's, it's, it's really captivating to see. So for high quality, what we try to do is first we have ongoing training. So I spend a lot of times in trade shows and I, there's a lot of products out there. There's a lot of specialty products and there's a lot of one-size-fits-all products. So a lot of times because it's easy, it's on the shelf, it's right there. That's what people use, but it's not necessarily the best thing to use on the specific substrates and areas that you're working on. So we spend, we spend a lot of time finding products, right? The right types of cocking and fillers and all the different methods for applying products and preparation styles and then training my, my people to know how to use them, what the best safety practices are. Um, so that just increases the level of work that we can provide. That coupled with just putting more time on a job, preparation is really the key into any job lasting. So, I've just found the more time we put in prep, the more time I give my guys to say, "Hey, you know, we're not looking to do it quick and easy. We're looking to do this right and spend our time and, and prepare and scrape and clean up properly. So, take your time and don't rush." That leads to a much higher level job, much longer lasting, much higher level. Couple of questions that customers should be asking contractors. Number one is insurance and licensing. Uh, licensing is important. In California, you have to be licensed contractor to be doing work. And if you're not, you lose a lot of rights to go after anybody if anything was to happen. Um, insurance is important as well, and it's really expensive. As we all know, with our homeowners insurance going up, it's, it's not cheap to ensure, and there's so many ways to get out of it. There's so many ways to, to lower the coverages, and at the end of the day, it puts you at risk. We are working on pretty challenging houses, ladders, and people falling in employees. And so insurance, making sure you verify it, check it out with the brokers to make sure that it's actually active and working and proper. Um, next up is just have things written down in a formal contract. If they just say, "Oh, we're using good paint." Well, that's not really going to cut it because there's a lot of room for discrepancy, which you don't want to get into. So, have things written down. If they say they didn't do it, they should write it down. Typically, if they don't write it down, means they're probably not going to do it. What sets us apart a little bit from other contractors doing the same type of work is I feel like we have a little more of a personal touch. When I come to look at the job, when I come to meet with you to discuss what you're looking for, I feel like that's important. That's a big step to see what the prerogatives are, what the objectives are, what are your big goals in getting this thing done. Everyone's a little different. Everyone has this. That's important. That's an important, um, so I try to understand what that is and cater a package towards that. Some people want the front door area to look a little nicer and it just a little more personal, a little bit more specific to what you're looking for. That helps dictate the price, the work that the guys are going to do and then it rolls out that way. So you get exactly what you want and you pay what, what's a proper amount to pay.