Doing Your Due Diligence

When it comes to hiring home services, security is something of prime concern. The safety of your family and valuables could be compromised if you allow shady characters into your home. That is why, before hiring a contractor, you should do your due diligence.

Should You Just Ask Family or Friends?

One of the primary ways that people source home help, such as lawn mowing contractors, or window cleaners, is to ask friends, family or acquaintances for their recommendations.

There are, of course, significant advantages to this. First of all, the recommendations will be from people we know, ie, people that have been vetted as to honesty and integrity. Secondly, these recommendations will come from people who aware of our budget limitations and priorities. But, are there drawbacks to also consider? Yes.

Allow me to illustrate a possible pitfall in using friend’s recommendations. Say, for instance, your good friend Nola recommends Billy Bob to mow your lawn. However, after speaking to Billy Bob, you decide that he is way too rough a character for you to use. So, you decide to go with someone else.

After a short period of time, Nola asks how things are working out with Billy Bob. You inform her that you decided to go with someone else. How does Nola react? She feels slighted that you ignored her recommendation and sulks for a year or more. The obligation, therefore, when asking for recommendations from your peers, is that you risk offending them if you don’t follow through on their advice.

Is there a better way?

So, how can you overcome this problem  and still get the contractor that you need? Well, you shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Recommendations are still an excellent way to safeguard your family and get a great job.

Where, then, can you source the recommendation? Most business directories or other websites now contain a review function. The way to proceed then, is to source a reliable website such as ‘Choice’ and seek the type of contractor that you need.

Likely, the recommendations will be from people you don’t know, and have never met. This nullifies the risk of offending anyone. And, you will likely find a home help professional who can really be trustworthy with your home or family.

What are some of the questions that you could ask them:

• Do they have Police Clearance?
• Do they hold a current ‘Working with Children’ licence?
• Are they insured for both personal and property damage?

Summing It All Up

So, in conclusion, how can you source a safe and efficient home help professional? Well, don’t upset your family or friends, consult a website with credible reviews. Then, do an interview process asking the questions outlined above. Taking these simple but effective steps in Due Diligence will ensure that you have a happy outcome as opposed to years of regret.