When it comes to any decision of who to hire, no matter the job, who you pick depends upon what you value. If you value trust, then finding someone who talks with you and gives you options is probably important. If you value honesty, then finding someone who lets you take time to make a decision without pushing you in one direction is probably important. If you value performance, then looking for someone who has a long history is probably important. Bottom line you have to know what you value.

           I want you to think about the types of people you like to work with. When you buy a car what type of personality do you want the car dealer to have? When you buy a house what do you want the realtor to be like? When you call customer service what type of person do you want answering the phone? The list goes on, but take a moment to think about the type of people you value.

Isn’t it frustrating when you try to explain what you want to someone, particularly someone you want to buy a product from, and they don’t listen? Or they don’t understand what you are saying? Now the lack of understanding can be attributed to two aspects of communication. Either one, the message you are trying to convey is getting lost in translation, or two, they simply weren’t listening. In my experience, you can tell when someone isn’t understanding what you are saying. You can also tell when they just aren’t listening either.

Finding someone who will actually listen to you is important for a couple of reasons. First, it's annoying when you feel like you are not in control of what is happening.  When someone doesn’t listen to you, especially someone you are paying, it feels like you have no control over what is happening. Second, finding someone who will listen to you means that they respect you.  

I can remember the first time that I went to buy a car. I dragged my dad with me while we went from dealership to dealership looking for the perfect car. However, it turns out that I was looking for more than just a car. I was looking for a car salesman that would look at me while he was talking, explain to me what my options are, and listen to what I was looking for. Let me tell you, we went to plenty of dealerships where the car dealer didn’t look at me. They talked to my dad. They showed me cars that didn’t fit what I was looking for. They didn’t listen to me.

Maybe you can relate to my car buying experience. In the end, I did buy a car, and I found a dealer that listened to what I was looking for. The same should go for anyone that you hire. From your car dealer to your realtor, to your roofing contractor.

Similar to point number one, having someone push you in a director you don’t feel comfortable with shows that they don’t respect you. In fact, this point goes hand in hand with point number one.  Usually, if someone doesn’t listen to you, they tend to push you in a way that you don’t like. The feeling of being pushed is not a feeling many people like.  It makes you feel like you have no control over where your money is going, and honestly, it shows that the person you are dealing with doesn’t respect you.

When it comes to roof repair and replacement getting pushed in one direction is not a good feeling. From my understanding, you can have a leak and if you have the wrong contractor go up on your roof they will likely tell you that the entire roof needs to be replaced.  Now, as a disclaimer, this might be true. There are instances when a roof just needs to be replaced, but there are many instances where it is just a leak that can be repaired, or you can have the roof restored.  If you feel like the contractor is pushing you in. a direction, get a second or third opinion. Chances are you will find that the first person was pushing you in the direction they wanted.  

My example has it where the contractor pushes you towards roof replacement, but they can push you in any direction. Maybe they push you towards a more expensive product.  Maybe they push you towards a product that is cheaper and doesn’t last as long. It doesn’t matter what why they push you, but if your gut tells you that it’s a bad way to go, listen. Ask the contractor to give you the pros and cons of the direction they are telling you.  If they stumble around trying to come up with a list for you or try to distract from the question either stand up for what you want or find a new contractor.  

The roofing industry is saturated with different products. There are products for replacement, products for repair, and products for restoration. With so many options out there, you should expect to be given options when it comes to the repair, restoration, or replacement of your roof.

A red flag should be if you the person tells you that replacement is your only option and when asked they tell you that the other options are “too expensive” or “aren’t worth your time”. As I said we always have options. We have the option to spend $5 on shoes at Walmart or spend $30 on shoes at Kohls.  Yes, we all know that the $5 shoes probably won’t last as long as the shoes from Kohl’s but that is a decision we have to make. We don’t have someone telling us we can only buy shoes from Kohls.  

 

Checking out the company's website is a great way to see their history or experience level. For example, on the Roof Medics homepage, we announce that we’ve had over 100 years of combined roofing experience in our company. Even though the company has been around for three years, the experience level shows that our company knows what we are doing.

If you find that the company you are looking at doesn’t have a website, I would count that as a red flag. You can go ahead and ask the contractor for their resume, or recommendations but not having a website should make you wary.  

On the most basic level, you are more likely to trust someone who you like. If you find a contractor annoying, the experience isn’t going to end well. You’re going to overlook their work ethic and knowledge if you can’t get over the fact that they don’t smile.  

           At the end of the day, you are in control of who you hire.  There are plenty of other aspects that will play into who you decide to hire, but the 5 aspects I listed are what I see as playing the biggest part in who to hire. When it comes down to it there is no right or wrong way to evaluate your roofing contractor. It's up to you to decide what you value.