Recently I was in need of a local company to install some eavestroughing at my home and started my search by asking a few friends who they may know that I could trust.

Before we go any further, trust is a big word when hiring anyone… a plumber, electrician, contractor, financial advisor or heck even a Real Estate broker. I feel what most people are looking for is someone who can complete a few basic tasks.

• Show up on time.
• Complete the work they were hired to do.
• Complete the work in an agreed upon time frame.
• Communicate through the process keeping you up to date on the progress.
• Quickly inform you if there are extra costs that arise.

Trust is the glue that holds the entire process together. I have recently heard stories from a landscaper who shared they were removing the hardscaping from a home, a month after completed because it was installed incorrectly and someone who had a hydro panel replaced only to find out it didn’t meet the building code. Trust is the glue.

The first place most people go is to friends asking for recommendations. This is a great starting place however just relying on a referral from a friend may not turn out the way you hope it would. Years ago I referred a “contractor” to a client who had completed some work at our home. His trade was carpentry and he agreed to do a kitchen renovation for a couple. In the end his skill sets were with carpentry and not with electrical, plumbing and tile work. The result was sub-standard and to this day my client reminds me of the referral I made. As this topic is applied to Real Estate sales, we recently sold a home where the homeowner listed their property for sale with a family friend who had an office located 1 ½ hours from the home. The agent was referred after selling a home quickly in their local trading area and after a month or so the Seller realized the sales representative may have been a local expert in her own town but not one in the area their property was located in. We listed the home for sale and had the home sold for more than asking a week after the first Buyer walked through.

Here are a few hacks on how to find a quality business when you require some work to be done or a service to be performed.

1. Ask family or friends for recommendations. (“But Lindsay, you said not to rely on referrals.”) The next point will explain,
2. Once you receive a referral do a Google search and look at the business page of the company. What you are looking for are “Google reviews.” Google reviews are the most accurate review that are almost impossible to fake. If the business does not have a Google business page, that is a red flag that may indicate you need to explore other options. It is best to look through the reviewer comments and bear in mind that some bad reviews happen to any business, but it is the feeling you get from the content of the reviews.
3. Look at the company’s web page. Most companies who have been in business for a while will have a professional web presence. Notice how up to date the web site is and how professional it looks.
4. Do a search on Facebook or Instagram on the company. One of my trusted plumbers is Hayes Plumbing. If you go on Facebook and search by their telephone number (905-576-3043) their Facebook business page will appear. This adds credibility to their web presence.
5. Staying with Hayes Plumbing, another way of verifying the past history of the company is to go to www.bbb.org and search the name of the company you are considering. Hayes Plumbing  has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau.
6. Ask for names and numbers of past customers. This is critical and a quick way to determine what their clients are saying about their business.

Finding a reliable company does not have to be like finding a needle in a haystack if you do some necessary research and in the end you home the company or person you have found is trustworthy.

In my business, Real Estate sales there are 70,000 sales agents spread across the GTA and it is hard to determine which agent will give you the results you are looking for  in a timely manner with the skills and expertise to protect your interests. I would suggest following the above tips if you are looking to hire anyone from a painter to a doctor. Oh and I did forget, there is one last point if it is a Realtor you are looking for.

• Give Lindsay Smith and Wendy Starr at Buy Sell Love Durham a call if you are looking for quality and expert service. We have 134 Google 5 star reviews to help with your decision.

Back to the eavestroughing work I needed to have done at my home I broke one of my own rules. I didn’t check the Google reviews and booked an appointment with what turned out to be a very unprofessional tradesman. My next appointment was with a guy who had rock star reviews and in the end I was thrilled with the results. They ended up with one my 5 star review.

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