8 things that make a great plumbing and heating contractor
If you’re looking for a plumbing and heating contractor in Scotland, there’s lots of choice. That’s the good news. The bad news is that making the right selection isn’t always as easy as it may seem. At Precise we’re often contacted by developers who’ve made the wrong choice and had their fingers burnt at some point on site.
At best, the wrong choice of contractor means delays. At worst, it can mean poor quality workmanship, disastrous inter-trade relations and the whole site grinding to a halt. When contracts go wrong to the point the site grinds to a halt, it’s hard to recover trust and get your reputation back. That’s why it’s essential to avoid that situation at all costs.
At Precise, we’re often asked to replace another plumbing and heating contractor who’s let the client down. While this is never easy, we’re known as a company who can do that sensitively and effectively. This is largely down to our calm, structured approach to work and our firm grasp of realism – what’s possible and what isn’t. When it comes to the contract jobs we take on from scratch, here are just some of the things our clients tell us about their experience and what, for them, makes a great plumbing and heating contractor.
- Understanding.
At Precise, we believe that one of the biggest factors in the success of a great contracting relationship is understanding. If both parties fully understand each other and appreciate the overall objectives of the project and the potential threats to the success of the project, everyone can work together to achieve the best outcome all round.
- Good communication skills.
With the best will in the world, things go wrong on contracts. It would be naïve to think otherwise. But our view is that when things go wrong there’s nothing to be gained in burying your head in the sand and disappearing off the face of the earth. We’ve seen both all too often. For us, the key to keeping things on track is great communication. And that goes both ways.
- An ability to see the big picture.
On any contract job, there are invariably lots of trades, all working away towards a common goal – each with their own timeline. The big issues come when one trade falls behind and the knock-on effect that has on all (or at least some) of the others. Our ability to see the big picture and understand the flow of work required to succeed means that we can often predict bottlenecks before they happen. The great thing about that, combined with good communication and cooperation means that we help find workarounds that help avoid potentially costly delays.
- Experience.
It may sound clichéd, but being a great contractor comes with experience. It also comes with a wise mind. Listening, working closely with the project owner and sharing their vision is a great way to develop both. At Precise, we pride ourselves on our ability to listen, learn from our experiences and to find new and innovative ways to do things when required as well as getting creative when needs must. This has built us a reputation as a team with experience that rolls up its sleeves for the good of all.
- Reputation.
At Precise, a large proportion of our contract work comes from word of mouth. Of course we must tender, of course our price and proposals need to be right, but the thing that really helps us is the word-of-mouth approval and recommendations we get. The construction world is small in Scotland and news travels fast. Thankfully, for us, it’s generally good news – so it really helps us on our way.
- The right people.
We’re passionate about people at Precise. We love nothing more than when a team really bonds and gets along. It makes work a pleasure for everyone, and we believe that’s essential to great results. We do all we can to make sure relations in the teams are good and we have an open approach to communication so people feel that no matter what, they can come to us if there’s an issue. We published an article recently about some of the good things about working at Precise. You can check it out here.
- Infrastructure.
Having the right ‘back office’ processes and procedures is an integral part of success on the front line – particularly when it comes to contract work. There needs to be back up for the people on site, so they are constantly up to date with where they need to be and what they need to be doing. They also need to have the confidence that they will have all the tools they need to do their job. Our office team is second to none and provides great support to the teams on site, as well as superb customer service.
- The right tech.
When it comes to technology, we embrace it at Precise, for everything from financial to job management. To make sure work gets done smartly, we use a job management system called Simpro. It enables us to manage jobs from quotation right through to completion and invoicing. Our engineers carry PDA’s which link to the office so we can give our customers real time reports, documentation and updates about their jobs on site or when we’re out and about. You can read all about our use of tech right here.
If you’re looking for a plumbing and heating contractor with these qualities (and a whole lot more), let’s have a chat. We may be able to help.
