Dear Friend,

You could ignore this letter and move on with your day. You could simply choose the cheapest painting company you can find. After all many of you have never had a problem before. But you had better be prepared. The painting industry has changed drastically over the years. And I’m here to tell you that there is nothing good about it.

So what are some things you need to look for when finding the house painters?

1. New Construction Painters

Since the decline of the new home market in the country a dramatic shift in the home painting industry has taken place. The painters who were primarily doing new construction have flooded the repaint market. They were desperate for work and cut prices in an effort to stay busy. What you need to know is new construction is all about production. These painters (many with very little experience) were used to flying through a paint job. Builders were only concerned about turning a large number of houses. The paint contractors had to paint rapidly because builders were paying low low prices. The finished product was typically of poor quality. Beware of painting companies run by former new construction crews.

2. Subcontractors

There are a lot of really large companies out there right now. One particular company has around 35 crews. For the most part the owner of these companies only know the head guy on each crew. They really don’t know who is working for them. How can they possibly assure you they are providing quality workmanship when they don’t even know the workers? (At Clean Cut Painting I do not use subcontractors.)

3. Day Laborers

I guess I really don’t need to say much about this. If you live in metro Atlanta you probably know several places you can go pick up workers. How can these guys possibly be skilled laborers? I mean seriously, they just happen to know how to paint, install carpet, install drywall, install roofing, and do anything else someone driving up ask them to do? Can you really take the chance that some random guy off the street ends up working in your home or business? ( I wouldn’t even think about picking up one of these guys.)

4. Revolving Crews

One major problem I have seen in the home painting market is turn over. They may have one client who receives a great job and then a few months later a poor job. With the turn over of workers there is no consistency.

5. No English on Job Site

This is one of the complaints I hear about. There is a huge communication problem between clients and many house painters. I remember being in a paint store and some lady was trying to talk on the phone with the painter at her home. She actually had to have one of the employees at the paint store get on the phone and translate. And what was she even doing in the paint store. A client should never have to pick up the paint. (At Clean Cut Painting we speak English.)

6. No Owner on the Job

There are a lot of painting companies that are really nothing more than contractors. They sign contracts and pick up checks. Clients really have no idea who is going to show up to do the work. With no supervision quality usually suffers. I don’t just manage I actually paint. Quality is really important to me and I don’t want that to change.

7. One Coat Interior Trick

One of the worst tricks I have seen is for a company to come in and really low ball a paint bid. They do this knowing full well that walls always look best with at least 2 coats. Once they have one coat on the wall they go to the client and tell them the job is going to cost more. (I always provide a paint proposal addendum which shows the number of coats you will receive.)

8.Cheap Paint

As you are aware there really is a difference between cheap and quality paint. So many companies are using builder grade junk its pathetic. I won’t even do a job if the client wants to try and save a few bucks by using the cheapest paint on the market. The jobs not going to look good or hold up and I don’t want my name on it. I’ve even known of painters who take quality paint cans and fill them with the cheapest junk on the market. (At Clean Cut Painting I am all about quality.)

9. Lack of Care With Furniture, Etc.

A few years ago I was at a home where another company was painting. I really couldn’t believe what I saw. They were sanding, scraping, and spackling a family room ceiling. And they had no drop cloths on the floor and no plastic on the furniture and accessories. I don’t mean to sound too harsh, but how stupid can you get. Another thing I hate to see is dirty drop clothes thrown over furniture and dirty plastic carried room to room. (At Clean Cut Painting we always drop off the floors with tarps and the furniture with fresh clean plastic.)

10. Poor Prep Work

So many companies do absolutely no prep work. On interiors they don’t caulk, sand, or spackle. They simply come in and slap on the paint. I know because I come in after the damage has been done. I’ve actually seen painters spackle, but then paint right over the unsanded spots. On exteriors I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen painters go right over rotten wood without even telling the homeowner there is a problem. (I take pride in proper prep work. I actually take a work light to get the dents, dings, and nail holes you don’t see.)

I could go on but I guess you can see there is a lot that can go wrong in a house painting job. I’m not saying I am the perfect provider of painting services. I’m not saying I am the only good painting company. All I can say is I take quality and integrity seriously. I care about the long term value of my clients. And I care about the risk you take when you choose me to paint your home.

I want to thank you in advance for the opportunity to serve you and your families painting needs. Once you try us I can assure you will never want to use another paint company again.

Thanks,

Sean Cavanaugh