Do you ever stop to think about how good we actually are as professional decorators? What is the alternative to hiring one of us? Homeowners can’t produce magic!! If they don’t hire a professional, they’re left needing to buy all their tools including dust sheets, brushes, rollers, the lot!! They’re going to go cheap, but even then, they’re down a couple of hundred quid before they even start.
Then they’re left with doing the decorating work, often around a full-time job, or even worse, kids!! They’re not trained decorators; they have crappy tools and they’re using retail paint. That must be hell!! Some of them even resort to inviting their in-laws to help!!!
Short pile rollers, no poles, cheap brushes and arguing with their family for the weeks it must take them to decorate a single room? Can you imagine how difficult it must be to cut retail paint in with a Poundland brush? Oh My God, Leave the decorating to the decorators!!
Decorators are Magic!!
Decorators on the other hand are the opposite end of the spectrum. Imagine us from the homeowners’ point of view. They get a consultation for a start, where they tell us what they want, then we give them the options!!
They know exactly how much it’s going to cost before they agree to the work!! They know exactly the process we’re going to go through, how long it’s likely to take and when we’re going to start. Everything is dead easy for them!!
Decorators are good too; I mean VERY good!!
We turn up with all the best tools, dust free sanders, dust sheets, carpet protector and trade paint. We lock ourselves in a room for a couple of days, then when we come out it looks completely new. We even tidy up after ourselves!!
We all know starting and running a decorating business comes with a lot of stress, but that’s nothing compared to the stress we save our client’s. Just think about that next time you’ve got someone haggling on price!!
How Good are Professional Decorators – by Mike Cupit
I love the idea of cutting in with the pound land brush! One of my regular customers told me she used a make up brush to do her cutting in when she first moved in to her flat!
I always find it interesting when a potential customer tells me they’ve done all the decorating previously but can no longer manage or don’t have the time anymore. It amazes me the amount of dirt they drag through their work, the lack of prep and very often the use of incorrect products for the substrate. They are always very pleased with what they’ve achieved until I point all this out!
It’s really only been recently that I’ve been in a position to press home to the client how important the decorating is and that trying to haggle me down to a non-liveable wage is an insult to me, my trade and my ability. Let’s face it, decorators are great!