Start a file on prospective roofers. Stick with
professional roofing contractors. In most areas that
means they are accountable to a local or state
licensing board. That gives you some leverage if
you need it. “Roofers from Hell” don’t worry about
licenses, permits or their responsibilities to you.
Ask your friends, neighbors, relatives and
coworkers if they can recommend someone. They
might also tell you who to avoid!
Call the roofing suppliers in your area or drop by
for some product literature. Talk to the manager,
tell him about your project and ask for the names
of a few good roofers. If nothing else, he knows
who pays their bills and who doesn’t, which is part
of being professional.
Call the building inspector’s office for your
municipality and speak to a roofing inspector. Ask
about the permit and inspection requirements for
your project. While you have him on the phone,
ask for a few names of roofers in your area who do
good work. He probably won’t make an official
endorsement, but he might give you a few names
to check out.
I don’t recommend getting bids from everybody in
the phone book, but your roofer should be listed
there if they’ve been in business longer than a
year or so. A phone listing is just part of being
professional, so prospects and customers can find
you.
But don’t be overly impressed by the big ads you
see in the yellow pages. They’re very expensive
and may be an indication the company depends
on them for leads rather than referrals from
satisfied customers. www.macgregorroofing.com Roofing Contractors
Pay attention to roofing work going on in your
neighborhood. Look for yard signs and company
names on the vehicles.
What’s the condition of their trucks? If they don’t
care about their own equipment, how much do you
think they will care about your roof?
What about the roofing crews? Do they go about
their work in a quiet professional manner… or
does the jobsite resemble a wild roof party,
complete with beer and music blasting from a
boom box?
Do they keep the jobsite clean… or are there
shingle wrappers and debris blowing all over the
neighborhood?
If you get the chance, talk to the homeowner after
a hard rain… is he a happy camper?
Finally, check out your prospective roofers on the
internet. Google the names of the companies and
also the owners.
See what Angies List (www.angieslist.com) and
the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) have
on them. Also check their status with your local
and state licensing boards.
By now you should have several companies to
choose from. Select the three with the strongest
reputation.
Call each of the three you have selected and
request an estimate. Make an appointment with
each of them… at least two hours apart. They
expect you will get other bids, but they don’t like to
run into their competition on your roof. It gives the
impression you are calling everybody in the phone
book and going with the cheapest price.
The good guys will go the extra mile for you, but if
they think all you are interested in is the cheapest
price, they probably won’t be very interested in you
or your project.
When each roofer shows up, make note if he’s on
time. This is a clue to his character and business
savvy. If he can’t even be on time when he’s trying
to get your business, how responsible will he be
after he gets it? Anybody can be late, but he
should at least call.
You should try to establish some rapport with each
roofer. Keep in mind that while you are sizing him
up as a potential contractor, he is sizing you up as
a potential client. He’s trying to separate the
“prospects” from the “suspects”.
He wants a client who is friendly, decisive,
reasonable, non-obtrusive, and one who will allow
him a fair profit. The good guys usually have plenty
of work. They can afford to pass on people and
projects that are problematic.
The impression you want to give this guy is that
you are friendly, but also an informed consumer
who is serious about getting a good job.
Give the estimator your spec sheet and ask him to
bid it this way. If he wants to do it different, get his
reasoning and ask him to bid his way as an
alternative.
Some roofing contractors estimate their own jobs;
some have a salesman do it. Some do it in one
trip, some measure the roof up and come back
with a presentation. Any of these methods is
acceptable.
Once the roofing proposal is prepared, it would be
good to sit down with the roofer to discuss it. You
might offer him a soda or coffee. Ask questions
and listen carefully to the answers.
One important question to ask is: “Exactly why you
should hire HIM rather than his competitor”. If he
doesn’t have a good reason for that, maybe there
isn’t one.
If you have a salesman pushing you to sign, just
tell him you are getting two other bids and you
can’t possibly make a decision until you have all
the information.
At this point, you should have a bid from each of
three roofers for identical scopes of work. Review
the information you have on each roofer. Call them
back if you need a clarification. Compare the
prices, terms and warranties.
As you make a decision, pay close attention to
your “gut feeling”. This is really just your
subconscious picking up little clues that you
weren’t consciously aware of. It might be his body
language, his handshake or something in the way
he makes eye contact.
It doesn’t really matter what it is. But something is
telling you that you can trust this guy or you better
not trust that one. Listen to these feelings as they
are surprisingly accurate.
If you are leaning towards a particular roofer and
he is the lowest price of your three candidates you
have an easy choice.
If your first choice is higher than the others, you
have a decision to make. You could try to get him
to lower his price. Just call him and say that you
really want him to do the job, but his price was “X”
dollars higher than his competitor. He may be
willing to match that price, or come down some to
get the job.
On the other hand, you may want to give him his
price. Some roofers get offended when you try to
beat them down and any rapport you’ve built with
them will be shot.
If this is the guy you will probably hire anyway, you
want his best efforts… rather than something less
because you’re paying him something less than
his price.
If you decide to pay his price even though he is a
little higher than the others, be sure to mention it.
He will appreciate your trust and possibly try extra
hard not to disappoint you.
Once you’ve decided who you want, you are in a
good position to encourage the roofer to “sweeten
the deal” a little.
For example, say you want to get the work done
fast. Call the roofer and ask him if he could start
right away if you gave him the job. He might be
willing to juggle his schedule a little to get the
work.
If getting the best job is your hot button, call the
roofer and ask if you could get his best crew if you
gave him the job. Again he might be willing to
juggle things around so you get his best guys and
it didn’t cost you an extra dime to get them.
My point is: If there is something else you want, try
to award the job contingent on you getting it.
That’s when you have the most leverage.
The best testimonials are always face to face but I have seen that in little towns like Nampa, ID they have a roofing company. Like I said, the best way to know is through reference.
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