Finding a high quality joinery company can be a searching task because of the absence of genuinely skilled joiners in the UK. It seems that everyone who can fit two pieces of wood together calls themselves a joiner. However, a real joiner can effortlessly put together a beautiful and unique piece of furniture or hang doors so perfectly that seeing light between the door and frame is virtually impossible. It is hard to find an exceptional joinery company amongst the high level of conmen and charlatans but below are a few tips that can help you make the right choice.
Go Online
The days of thumbing through your local newspaper and finding a true craftsman are long gone. Print advertising is extremely expensive and is beyond the scope of most small joinery companies. However, they use online advertising via a website because it is inexpensive and opens them up to potentially millions of people. If you are looking for something unique like hardwood window frames, you will find specialists online.
Review
Once you have found suitable candidates, it’s now time to compare. Your first step should be to analyse the customer reviews as these are a great indicator of a company’s competence. Although one or two reviews are easily falsified, a joinery company with several positive reviews can be trusted to do a good job. A recent survey showed that some 77% of people who purchased a product or service online looked at customer reviews before making their decision. This shows that the power has shifted from company to consumer.
Of course, if you’re looking for a local joiner, it’s just as easy to ask around and find out how good or bad a company is from the horse’s mouth. If a company has done a particularly bad job, people are usually pretty quick to speak out about it. If more than one person has had a poor experience with a company, tread carefully.
Quotes
There will probably be several joinery companies that interest you after this process. By now, it’s time to start comparing by price. Contact each joinery in turn and ask for a quote. Remind them that you are looking at the services of other companies too. This will keep them in check and make them more likely to offer an honest quote. Once they know that you’re also interested in a competitor, they will be on their best behaviour. Make sure that you receive quotes from at least three different companies.
Incidentally, after having work performed by a joinery company, you need to do your bit for your fellow customers. Take a few minutes out of your day to give an honest review on the joinery company’s website (if they have one). If they did an excellent job, don’t be afraid to extol their virtues. In the event that the job was badly performed, it is your duty to inform fellow consumers to make sure it doesn’t happen to them and that the company doesn’t get away with its low standard of work.