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This week on Talk Up Tuesday, Rob talks about Harding’s commitment to it’s clients with Free Estimates. Free estimates should be the norm in the Painting and Home Improvement/Maintenance industry, yet it doesn’t seem to be. It used to be a marketing ploy, now its just good business. If your small contractor is charging for your estimate, walk away and find someone who does not charge for them. Talk you your local Better Business Bureau, trade publications or friends. Find the right company for you by not choosing one that is not charging to meet you. Your BBB: https://www.bbb.org/ Harding’s Blog: https://hardingsservices.com/news/ When is Free Estimate, not free: https://www.angieslist.com/articles/w…

This week on Talk Up Tuesday, I talk about my two year anniversary with Harding’s – Your Improvement Company and some of the changes we’ve made to take Harding’s into the future of Franchising the brand.

When I first transitioned into Harding’s I was taken back by the division we had among our group. There was changes that were needed immediately and we all got to work recognizing them and adjusting our going forward strategy. The ownership jumped on board with the vision and we started at making the necessary changes in branding, culture and operations to get us ready for Franchising.

We’ve implemented new CRM databases that combine seamlessly with our estimating and workflow software, we’ve completely changed the branding to be more modern, efficient and franchise friendly. We’ve made huge strides in how we work and interact with our team, made the changes required to make our company lean, mean and ready for the growth we want.

We’ve changed our online marketing strategies and adjusted our SEO along with our Adword strategies, taking our organic rankings far passed where we were.

We’ve added our first License outside the City of Calgary in the Okanagan Valley as well as three additional Licenses for Cleaning, Painting and Renovations in Airdrie, Cochrane and Calgary. .

I am very proud of the adjustments our team has made in their workflow practices and services levels in order to take us from great to fabulous. I say ‘we’ a lot because even though I may be in the drivers seat implementing these changes, we can not do it with out the buy in and actions of our team. They mean the world to me and how we operate, ensuring the level of service our clients deserve.

Here is to many more years to come!

 

Rob Hilditch, President and Managing Partner

Harding’s – Your Improvement Company

Talk Up Tuesday – Jedi Stucco Exterior Specialists

Jedi Stucco has been installing beautiful stucco and stone exteriors for over a decade. Specializing in EIFS wall systems, conventional stucco, all types of stone installation and any repairs your project may require. We can also apply custom designed stucco finishes, textures and solutions for any of your cementatious needs.
Residential or Commercial

Big or small, they’ve done it all! Their finished product is their business card. www.jedistucco.ca. #exteriors #exteriordesign #wallsystems #stucco #stone #installation #repair #addsomecolor #colormatch #jedi #yycnow #yycliving #yycbuzz #yyctoday #yycsmallbusiness #yyclocal #calgary #calgarybusiness #bbb #okotoks #airdrie #dewinton #calgarylife #calgaryliving #calgaryhomes #realestate #calgaryrealestate #yycrealestate #homeimprovement

It has been almost 6 months since I started with Harding’s. It’s been an adventure so far and a learning curve to some aspects of our business. I love a challenge and have tackled it head on but what I expected to be a challenge, forging relationships with our team, hasn’t been a challenge at all! Our team has made me so comfortable, it’s been like going home for Christmas.

We just had our Christmas Party this last Friday. I had the opportunity to get back to my roots and make all the food for our team. It was a ton of work and a ton of fun. We have a great group of people that make up the greatest Residential and Commercial Improvement Company in Calgary.

Congratulations to Lazslo Szabo on winning Rookie of the Year, Beatrix Lucza and Rony Mosstou for winning Craftsmen of the Year, Roberto Morales for Winning the Customer Choice Award and to the partnership or Matt Whiteley and Matt Rachul for slaughtering the Business Builder of the Year Award.

Matt Rachul, Rob Hilditch, Matt Whiteley

Rony Mosstou

Laszlo Szabo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTING | CLEANING | EXTERIOR HOME CLEANING | CEILING TEXTURE | RENOVATIONS | HANDYMAN

Consumer Reports News:

Most homeowners hire a contractor to repaint the exterior of their home. Follow our advice to help ensure a high-quality job, whether you’ll have your house painted this fall or next spring.

Meet the pros. Call in at least three different painting contractors for your job. (Friends and family are good reference sources.) And be home for the initial meeting with them. That way, you’ll know how much time each contractor took to assess the condition of your home. The longer he takes, the more realistic the estimate you’ll get. Even an experienced painter will need more than a quick walk around your house.
Also ask each contractor about the size of his crew and the members’ experience level.

State your expectations. The number of coats a painter applies isn’t the only factor in determining the quality—and price—of the project. Preparation is also key. If you want a surface that’s free of unevenness from past paint jobs, tell the contractors—and be prepared to pay extra. But if you can live with some imperfections, agree on what level of prep is acceptable and what isn’t.

Get estimates. Seek a written estimate from each painting contractor. It should include a breakdown of labor, material costs, the number of coats of primer and paint, the brand and model of materials, and a detailed description of the amount of surface preparation that will be done.

Check references and past work. Get a list of references from each contractor and call them to find about their experience with the pro. A history of positive references is a good sign. Also examine jobs the painters did several years ago to see how their work is holding up. Use recent projects to check the skill of their current crews.

Painting Contractor Calgary

Harding’s – Calgary Painting Company

Consider credentials. Before you hire someone, consider his credentials. Membership in a trade or local business group, for example, isn’t a guarantee of quality work, but it shows a level of commitment and reliability on his part. Also verify whether the pro has the appropriate license(s). Also check with the Better Business Bureau,  or a local consumer-affairs agency to learn whether the contractor has a history of unresolved complaints.

Obtain a complete contract. The contract should include all the contractor’s key information: name, address, office and cell numbers, and license number, plus whatever details were in the estimate. Make sure the contract clearly states what is and is not included in the job.
Get a copy of the painter’s liability and workers’ compensation insurance certificates. If he doesn’t have coverage, you could be on the hook if, for example, the crew drops a ladder on your neighbor’s car or a crew member gets hurt on the job.

Ask for a guarantee. The painter should promise to correct any chipping, peeling, blistering, flaking, or excessive fading or chalking that occurs within two years after the job is done at no or little cost. If he tells you the paint itself has a warranty, remember that doesn’t include labor, which is a far more costly proposition than material.

Choose the paint yourself. Your painter might try to talk you into a paint he prefers, but use the finish you want. Just remember that your painter won;t be able to warranty owner supplied paint.

Look for lead. If your home was built before 1978, older coats of paint could contain lead. That means the painter might need to take extra precautions to avoid any hazards. .

Hold out. Finally, don’t make a large down payment and withhold the final payment, typically 10 to 15 percent, until you are fully satisfied with the job.

Check out our own video on Hiring A Painting Contractor.

It’s been a fun few months at Harding’s, rethinking what we are and how we adapt to an ever changing market along with the needs and requirements of our clients.

With that in mind we’ve made some big changes! First, the name, we are now Harding’s – Your Improvement Company with all of our same great services and a few more added for fun! Second, the logo has changed to reflect our new name. A simple, direct approach to let you know exactly what we are at a first glance. The new logo will be rolled out digitally as soon as possible and over the coming months on static materials. 

We look forward to continuing to serve the Calgary area, not only as Calgary’s premiere painting company but as your choice in all home and commercial improvement projects, as well as all of your cleaning requirements.

​​Window cleaning, pressure washing, snow removal, Handyman, renovations

 

 

I am coming up on 3 months in my new role at Harding’s. It has been a learning curve, a sharp one sometimes. When I left my previous employment, I had a mourning period, a period where the family we had created there was no longer my ‘family’. I didn’t think that I’d find that so quickly with my new colleagues and new friends with Harding’s.

Over the last couple of weeks as things start to fall into place and relationships are forged,  the one thing I thought wouldn’t happen so quickly, has happened. The group is starting to feel like family. It’s the people, it’s always the people. We have a great group of them, a great group of licensees that care about their clients needs and wants, their dreams and ideas for their homes and their improvement projects.

As ‘we’ take Harding’s into the chapter, this is the group that I have faith in to stand by me and our clients to make this company not only Calgary’s total home maintenance and improvement choice but soon, Canada’s home maintenance and improvement choice. When you choose a Harding’s division and licensee, you’re making a choice about perfection, caring and integrity. ‘We got this’ for you!

Sincerely,

Rob Hilditch, proud manager guy.

Every once in awhile you come across someone or a group that is so passionate for their craft, that you just have to share it. This is the one of the many things like I enjoy about my new position as President at Harding’s. Our entire team of Licensee’s has a passionate dedication to their craft and to our clients experience.

After 16 years in the franchise business, I chose to tackle a different realm altogether. I think my previous role(s) have prepped me perfectly for this job. My passion for my own craft and the mastery of it drove me to find a role where like minded people could collaborate together to build upon a great foundation like Harding’s. Harding’s started in Midnapore, Calgary in 1996 by Dalton Harding. Dalton grew the business to include many painters that were passionate about the mastery of their own craft. Today we have grown to 9 residential painters, a commercial painting division, a cleaning division, an exterior cleaning/maintenance division along with ceiling texturing, renovations and a professional handyman service.

Many of the painters that started with Dalton have stayed “on board” (haha, a little joke about my past) and bought into the business that they now task me to operate. I look forward to many years of growing and learning the Home Improvement businesses we have established.

Check out one of our licensee’s talk about his passion here.

Rob Hilditch, President of Harding’s