Let us face it. If you have a pool repair job that needs to be done or you need a tile repair service, you are not really looking out for Michael Angelo or Leonardo da Vinci. You just need somebody that can get the job done. You are looking for minimum quality standards. By minimum, I am not saying that you should settle for crappy service but you are not looking for the world’s best. You are just looking for somebody that can do a competent job. The sad reality is that even if this is the threshold of the quality you are looking for, you still have your work cut-out for you. The vast majority of service providers out there really are all about cutting corners and taking shortcuts and, unfortunately, many of these practices end up harming you. At the very least, they shorten the life of their expected repair. At worst, they actually make things poorer. You end up in a worse shape than before.
To avoid unnecessary disappointments and headaches down the road and resulting additional costs, here are some tips that help you figure out how to find the most competent tile repair service in your area:
Check with the local BBB
The Better Business Bureau has been around for a long time and they do a good job of cataloging service providers based on the level of competence and customer satisfaction they deliver to the local community. It is always a good idea to check with the local BBB when it comes to tile repair service. Tile repair service companies that are really worried about their local reputation would bend over backward to make sure that they are of healthy local BBB reputations. With that been said, just because the company has a great local BBB reputation does not necessarily mean that it is the company for you. Similarly, if the company isn’t listed with the BBB, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad company.
Check with local clients
Make sure you check with the local clients of the tile repair service that you are thinking of contracting with. There is no substitute for real past work. Take a look at their clients. Ask them regarding their experience and set-up appointments to actually review their sites so you can see the actual work first hand.
Check online review sites
You should not necessarily give a lot of weight to online reviews, though they do matter. Then, if you see a persistent negative pattern of reviews regarding a particular tile repair service, it’s probably a good idea to skip that server or avoid it. You don’t want to intentionally contract lousy services. With that been said, anybody can write a bad review online, anybody can fake an online profile. So, don’t let a random negative review throw you off another wise positive pattern regarding a particular local tile repair service provider.
Ask for references
Always ask for references. They can be professional references or personal references. Normally, when you ask for these, this reads out services that are professional from services that don’t really care. It’s not all this positive, but it’s definitely a good way to filter your list of choices.
Arrange to see past work sites
This is not always possible but if it is available, never fail to take advantage of this opportunity. Always arrange with the service provider to actually look at the jobs that they’ve done in the past with actual clients. This can separate great service providers from fly-by-night operators.
