Why More Employees Means Less Quality At Higher Prices

Employees for painting companies often times don’t take pride in their work, because they don’t own the company and they don’t get paid very well.

I’ve worked next to many employees with several painting companies before starting my own company and I’ve seen first hand the poor quality produced by painter employees.

I’ve also hired employees in the past and eventually learned that painting is not the type of business where you can produce quality work by hiring employees. I’m not saying they are all bad, but like I mentioned above...

Since painting contractors cannot bid very high on jobs, like plumbers or electricians, there is no room in any painting estimate to pay for employee screw ups. Unfortunately the other problem is, there are too many inexperienced painters running around bidding on jobs and driving the price down because this business is not regulated like plumbing or electrical. The bad news is that homeowners are losing money on poorly prepared paint projects where cheap paint is watered down and sprayed on thin.

Hiring an inexperienced painter at a discount can cost you three times the amount if the person you hire doesn’t prepare the job right and if they use cheap paint.

Paint doesn’t stick to dirt and cheap paint sprayed on thin wears out in a year or two. Not using the right materials to prepare the job can also result in poor quality work that will rear its ugly head soon after Joe Blow-and-Go is down the road with your money.

It’s a shame, but these stereotypical blow-and-go painters will be laughing and high fiving their buddies while sitting on some bar stool sharing beers, that your money bought, as the classic line blurts out of an alcohol breath three times the legal limit, “It looks good from my house.”

If the owner is not on the job site watching closely over his workers, the quality of work will diminish. Even if the owner is there, the quality of work might not be as good as it could be.

Your bid price will be higher when the painting company is larger. Overhead is greater and the company will need a cushion of money just in case something goes wrong on the job.

Theft can also occur when blow-and-go painting employees are running around in your home. I hired a painter years ago who seemed like a good guy, but turned out to be a thief. He was stealing my clients prescription pain pills. I didn’t catch him until the third homeowner came up to me, about their pain killers that went missing. I figured out what happened and I fired him instantly.

I don’t hire painters any longer. I just do the work myself. Jobs may take a little longer, but everyone is happy after I’ve completed a job and my life has less stress in it. Good painters are hard to find anyway and the best ones usually have their own business.

If you are hiring a painting contractor with employees, be sure to do your do diligence and operate like an employer. After all, you are basically an employer hiring an employee on a temporary basis. Check their references thoroughly and follow your gut instinct after you do your homework.


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