Why does a contractor’s proposal matter?

Why does a contractor’s proposal matter?

There is is a world of difference between naive and cynical. Between the two extremes is experience. It’s amazing the things we do when we were young and naive. Am I right?

I did some crazy things when I was young. Looking back, it’s hard to believe I drove home from college in a clunker of a car – a 1972 Beetle. My youthful exuberance didn’t break even after my 1970 AMC Hornet died during my move. I did this by myself in the days before cell phones were commonplace. You were lucky enough to have call boxes on the highway.

Today, I’m in a panic if I don’t have my cell phone. What a difference twenty years makes.

Buying a car is like hiring a general contractor.

I think we’d all agree that only a naive person would buy a car on the internet based price alone.

I’m confident that our audience is full of people who are wise and would never buy a car just based on price. In fact, they’d probably give us some sage advice.

Maybe because we’ve all bought a new or used car, a few times by now, that we expect so much more in our car buying experience. Though it’s technically not an investment, we lay down a pretty penny to get from A to B.

But every day, people sign two page proposals from general contractors with little-to-no scope. Why is this?

We think you should check out your contractor first, examine his proposal (maybe ask for a sample), and spend some time Googling them.

Check out your contractor.

When you buy a car, you check out the dealer. Are they on the internet (web & social)? Do they have a good reputation? What are their reviews on third party sites?

This is precisely why California has Contractor’s State License Board. They’ve made it easy for anyone to look up the status of a license. A quality general contractor should have an active B-class license. You can also check to see if their insurance has expired.

Every week, we get emails from CSLB from their various stings. Some people have a criminal history. Remember, you’re allowing these contractors into your workplace.

The proposal says a lot.

Once you found a quality contractor, you can tell more about them by their proposal. Just like when you buy a car. You want specifics beyond the make and model.

You want the VIN number, the CARFAX history report, photos, and mileage. You want to know how many owners the car had before you.

A two page proposal may suffice when you’re building a wall or two. But will it tell you what is being built on your tenant improvement? Do you know your finishes? Do you know what you’re not getting?

Experience

Riggins Construction & Management, Inc. has a rich history of commercial tenant improvements here in Orange County. After all, we’ve been working here, locally, since 1977, often on the same buildings. Repeat customers says it all.

We know the cities and their idiosyncrasies. We didn’t learn this by studying their planning codes, we learned it through experience. Experience matters when it’s your project that’s in question.

Don’t take our word for it, check out our reviews here, on BuildZoom, and Facebook.

We think detail makes all the difference. What do you think?

4 thoughts on “Why does a contractor’s proposal matter?

  1. James Parsons

    I’ve never thought about hiring a contractor like that. I also didn’t know that they provided reports like that. I would love to get a proposal before I dive into a project. That way I know it’s going to turn out great.

    Reply

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