Hanging Holiday Lights, How Do I Address This Concern?

Sometimes we need something done in our houses that we can’t do ourselves — that’s the time we bring in external contractors. That means bringing strangers into our home — and that’s something most homeowners are not comfortable with.

I completely understand this concern and can relate to it. Our homes are a place of comfort and security. You are going to be hiring a service provider that you possibly never met before and they are going to be walking around your home and they are going to be up on ladders, up on your roof. It is scary to think about trusting somebody that you’ve just never met or only met once or twice before, to do these services for you.

There are going to be a few things that you will want to do to make hiring a holiday lighting installation company and other external contractors an easy process for you and something that you can feel secure about throughout the entire process.

First, check out the company that you are thinking about hiring.

Check online reviews of the company. We can’t always trust every review that is out there. Go through the good, go through the bad, ask for references from family members, friends, and neighbors, and then you are going to pick 3-5 companies. Don’t just choose 1 -2, choose at least 3-5 and then you are going to want to meet with those companies in person. You are going to want to have a representative come out. You are going to want to shake their hands, meet them face to face, look them in the eye. You want to get that first impression from them because if you are not getting a good vibe right off the bat, you are just feeling like a negative vibe, somebody that you can’t trust, there’s no reason for that person to be in your home. So you could just say, “Okay, thanks. Nice to meet you,” and just move on to that next company because then you would have two to four companies to meet with. Don’t limit yourself by just picking the first company that you pull up on an online search. Call quite a few. Have them come out to your home and meet with you face to face to give you that estimate.

Second, ask for the company’s insurance information.

So after you have that meeting, you should be receiving some estimates from these companies. They should be emailing you a firm price. It should be in writing and you should then be able to ask them, reply to that email and say, “Okay, thank you for that estimate. Thank you for meeting with me. Can you please provide me with your insurance information? I want to make sure that before you come on to my property, you are fully insured with liability and workers’ compensation.” Never ever allow a company, a service provider, a contractor on your property without making sure that they have this proof in writing to you.