Check out Credentials, Reputation and Experience

Consider this: If you need the services of a lawyer for a vitally important matter, would you pick the cheapest lawyer you could find? Or, if your child needed surgery, would you explore your options and then select the cheapest Doctor available?

If I was faced with either of these situations, I’d be checking out credentials, reputation and experience. Did the lawyer and doctor graduate from good schools? Do they have a solid reputation? How long have they been practicing their craft? I’d be reading online reviews, asking friends and family who may be familiar with them, and I’d be making sure there were no red flags.

While hiring the most expensive lawyer or doctor would not be necessary, I’d be looking for the ‘best’ lawyer or doctor for the given situation and would willingly pay more for somebody with good credentials, great reputation and years of experience.

For most their home is their single greatest financial investment. While not as precious as our children, our homes are where our children live. When choosing an in-home service provider you should also focus on credentials, reputation and experience.

Credentials include business licenses, contracting licenses and insurance. If their company is not listed with the state, or a local municipality, then this is not a business; it’s somebody’s hobby. Similarly, somebody doing home improvement contracting, but who isn’t licensed locally or through the state as a contractor, is also practicing a hobby. Lastly, legitimate businesses have General Liability insurance and Workers Compensation insurance. This protects the folks working in a home, and it also protects the owner of the home.

Reputations can be verified online. You can go to the website of the company you are considering too check them out, but I also recommend you visit other sites. What are their past customers posting on Yelp and Google? How about Angie’s List? If you can’t find the company listed that should be cause for concern; as how do you know what you’re getting? Are they brand new (little or no experience) or hiding from a questionable reputation under a prior company name?

While nobody with a substantial number of reviews is going to have perfect 5 stars ratings across the board, substantial reviews and a solid reputation across multiple sites is a pedigree and increases your chances of a positive outcome with your project.

With repetition comes experience. Having done something dozens, or even hundreds of times, one has encountered many variations of a problem and is well equipped to handle each one. Jacksonville has homes built 100 years ago, and new homes being built today. Building practices have changed many times through those years and you want somebody capable of handling your situation, whatever that may be.

Companies and individuals with proper credentials, great reputation and years of experience likely charge a bit more; and they are often worth every penny. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.