Commercial painting is a must when the site needing fresh coats of paint happens to be a retail location, factory, restaurant, or even an apartment complex. Since you want the highest quality results, it stands to reason that you will spend time and effort finding the right commercial painting company for the job. Along the way, make sure to consider each of these factors.

How Long the Company Has Been in Business

When a company catches your eye, one of the first questions that you want answered is how long the business has been around. A commercial painting service that’s been in business for five years or more is obviously doing something right. The ability to maintain a presence for at least that amount of time in a competitive market is a good indicator that the company does good work.

Don’t automatically write off a company that’s only been around for a short time. What you do want to focus on is the years of experience that the owners and contractors bring to the table. A new company may be headed by people with years of experience gained by working for others. You may be able to tap into that experience and get excellent results.

The Types of Commercial Painting Projects They’ve Done

There’s more than one type of commercial structure, so that means there’s more than one area in which a commercial painter can excel. As you begin to investigate a specific company, find out what sort of buildings the contractors have worked with most often. If the type of building you have is among the types of projects the company has taken on in the past, they could do a good job for you too.

For example, you own several apartment complexes or buildings. While a painting company that has done a lot of work for factory owners would likely do a good job, why settle for that company when another one has extensive experience with painting apartment buildings? You can bet that the latter company knows a few strategies that the team for the other company may or may not know.

In-House Team or Subcontractors

One of the questions that must be answered is who will be working on your painting project. Some commercial painters rely solely on their own teams to handle all jobs. Others will make use of subcontractors when the demand is high or may even subcontract all of their paint jobs for reasons best known to the business owners.

While both approaches are workable, it pays to know that contractors tend to have more control when a team of in-house painters are used for each project. Setting schedules and ensuring that they are kept without fail is not just good for the business; it’s also good for the customer. If you have a choice between the two, opting for the company that maintains its own team of painters is a good idea.

Licensing and Insurance Coverage are Both in Order

Making sure any commercial painting company you choose has a current business license is a must. It’s not just about complying with local legalities. The fact is that a business owner who secures and maintains a business license is more likely to remain on the scene for the long haul. That company owner is also likely to feel more of a connection with the local community and be active in it. That may or may not the case with a business that doesn’t bother with a license.

Insurance is also something that should be investigated carefully. Go beyond confirming that the company does have business liability coverage and find out more about the degree of coverage that’s maintained. If someone were injured on your property due to actions taken by the team of painters, would the insurance cover such an event? If the answer is yes, then that company is worth remaining on your list of possible hires.

Online Ratings and Comments are Mainly Positive

If you’ve gotten this far with a particular company, it’s time to put the Internet to work and find out what past customers think about the commercial painter. You can find ratings and comments in a number of areas around the Internet. For example, many search engines maintain rankings and comments supplied by their users. There may be ratings and comments found on the company’s site. It’s a safe bet that you will find some comments and ratings on social media.

While you do want to see primarily positive comments about the quality of the work, punctuality, the cleanup after the painting is done, and other aspects of the job, be wary when there’s nothing but glowing reviews. You also hope to see some ratings that are a little lower, note some minor issue and how it was resolved. This tells you that even if something does happen, the team at the painting company take customer concerns seriously and make reasonable efforts to take care of those concerns.

The Contractor’s Demeanor

At this juncture, it’s time to make contact and arrange for a contractor to visit your place of business. You can tell a great deal about how things will go based on the attitude of the contractor. One that is willing to listen to what you say about the project, looks closely at the buildings involved, and discusses details with you before preparing a quote is definitely someone you can work with.

On the other hand, one that seems to rush through the process, barely looks at the buildings, and is more interested in telling you how things will be than listening to what you want also reveals a lot. That’s a company you don’t need to have working on your project.

Able to Begin the Project Within an Acceptable Time Frame

Even with a company that has all the qualities you want, there’s still the matter of when the work can commence and how long it will take. You may find that your first choice already has several projects in progress and won’t be able to begin painting at your property for some time. You can depend on a reputable company to provide a date that’s based on fact and not what the contractor thinks you want to hear.

Unless there’s some circumstance that requires the painting to be done by a certain date, there is some room for you to be flexible on this point. If that’s possible, go ahead and opt for your first choice. When that date isn’t workable, there’s always the option of seeing what your second choice can do.

Remember that your goal is to ensure the paint job is high in quality, reasonably priced, and can be completed in a time frame that you consider reasonable. Once you find a commercial painter who can offer all of the above, your search is over.