14
Florida Pool Pro
sm
• March 2015
Dangers of using unlicensed contractors
By Rick Myers, AquaCal AutoPilot /
Every day, consumers make decisions to have repairs or remodeling done
on their home, which often times includes the pool, pool equipment and patio.
As most of us are ourselves homeowners, the total price and hiring the most
affordable contractor makes sense. But what happens when the lowest price
is not always the best value, or worse, problems develop because a consumer
buying decision is based solely on the cheapest price? I know in Broward we
see on the news “helpline” where a consumer reaches out for help to one of
these stations, and the first thing they do is reach out to our chapter to see
“what we can do for these people.” The fact is the homeowner in question
probably called one or more of our members and did not use them because
they felt the price was too high. This merry-go-round happens all of the time,
and members who are properly licensed and insured to do the work are asked
to lower their bid to match another bid from a company who is neither of the
above.
How do we prevent th i s f rom
happening? The simple fact is that
there are certain people in the world that
practice to deceive and will never change.
Whether it is a homeowner who always
has and always will take the lowest price,
regardless of the contractor’s ability to
do the work, or the contractor who has
no interest in doing things the right way,
these people have always been, and will
always be around. As professionals, we
can only hope that we are smart enough
not to get involved with these people, or
that our radar is keen enough to weed
out these people before getting involved
THE SCOOP ON SERVICE
