Why is One Painting Contractor More Expensive than the Other In Broome County?

When we find ourselves bidding against another painting companies operating in Broome County, we typically inform the prospective client upfront that our pricing will likely be higher than any other bids they will receive. We aren’t trying to scare people away, we just don’t want there to be any surprises from day 1. Many people wonder, “Why”? When considering us to do the job for you, it might be beneficial to ask this question first, before accepting the lowest bid.

The paint industry is an unusual one – it lacks licensing or certification standards like plumbers and electricians – and therefore has very low barriers to entry – anyone can call themselves a painter or painting company, without any schooling, or training at all. Scary, right? It’s also typical that businesses in this industry go out of business every 1 to 3 years.

At the very low end of the pricing spectrum, you may find a company paying their workers off the books and so avoiding payroll taxes and worker’s compensation insurance. You’ll also likely find inexperience that leads to inaccurate estimating of a project – where we see a 500-hour project, the newer or inexperienced painter may see a 300-hour project. This is especially true when projects are made more complicated by extensive paint failure, productivity issues related to building height or accessibility issues. What’s more, is the newer/inexperienced painter will do whatever they can to finish the job in 300 hours, even if it means cutting corners and producing shoddy work. Afterall, if they are willing to pay off books, why would they be willing to go over budget on a project to ensure it is done right?

At the middle of the pricing spectrum, you may encounter more legitimate companies paying taxes, carrying appropriate insurance but lacking overhead. The owner may still work with the tools and run her or his business from a single vehicle and via a portable office. If they aren’t willing to invest in their business, why would they invest their time to ensure they are up to speed with current coating techniques, equipment, and products that will give the best outcome?

At the upper end, you’ll find more established companies with adequate overhead – office space, shop space, lettered vehicles, industry leading equipment, you’ll also find painters enjoying benefits like retirement insurance, vacation, and sick pay; compensation packages that ensure a high turnover of painters is not an issue in our painting company located in Binghamton New York.

These more established outfits typically also offer more experienced painters– presenting a wider array of skills, who love the company they work for an in turn will take care of its clients. You’ll also typically enjoy a more professional relationship – high levels of communication from a customer-facing company. Some may even have national accolades or achievements, such as being Fine Paints of Europe Certified.

Here at Brushes Over Broome, we definitely fall into the higher price spectrum, but offer no apology. This is intentional and is the niche that inspires us to be the best we can be. You’re always going to find people lower than us, but there is nobody who is going to be more trustworthy, give you a better product, see it through, and still be here in 5, 10, 15, 20 years if you ever have an issue. When you hire our company, you are not just hiring the owners, you are hiring a team of supportive people that work here full time, year-round, and enjoy a compensation plan that they support their families with.

We pay living wages and ensure that you (and them) are covered by proper insurances, and see our painters as integral and critical to our mission – to offer our customers beautiful, lasting results. We get that this is a transaction and at the end of the day, everyone has to watch what they spend. If you hire the lower estimates, you are hiring 1 person, maybe their helper too, who usually don’t know how to run a business but can sometimes produce a decent paint job. 9 out of 10 painters run their business this way and charge so little for their service but you are rolling the dice. For some this is okay, but for others who want all of the benefits explained above, trust that the price you are paying isn’t gouging, it’s a fair price for what is being offered!