The more expensive the house, the grungier you should look. Rich people are cheap...(how do you think they got rich?)
If it's not too far, you should show up on a bicycle...and not a new one.

 

If I was a HO and had someone stopping by to give an estimate during their workday, I would expect them to be wearing presentable work clothes...not a business suit. I would be expecting a contractor....not a salesman. I would want to meet who is actually going to be working in my home. If they were wearing a business suit...I would think that I was going to be paying for it...lol

 

I remember some years back there was a particular Victorian house in our city every painter I knew wanted to paint, but the owner was very fussy.

Well one day I get the call to go by and give him a estimate, I happened to be spraying that day forgot about his estimate until the last minute.

I showed up on time but spray sock still on my head brush hanging out of back pocket, first thing he says , finally a working man shows up at my house...............when can you start........:blink:

Turned out to be a great customer over the years...........

To answer your question all depends on the customer, but I usually go looking neat and clean, act polite and try to listen to customer what they are looking for in a painting contractor.

 

I have always showed up in my work clothes, Carhart painter pants, t shirt, work boots. Almost every estimate I go on, I get asked "Are you going to be doing the work or do you have a crew your going to send?" I am always on the job working I tell them, which makes them happy to know, I have run into other painters and drywall guys on estimates and I always get a kick out of the guy who shows up looking like he should be selling cars or working at Best Buy:whistling They may look nice and neat but can they work I know when a contractor is a worker or he's just there to sell, you can tell with a hand shake, if their hands are soft like a girls they don't work other then with a pen or pencil:laughing:

www.frankawitz.net

 

$200.00 shoes, $20 to $60.00 lettered color collar shirt, new Blue Jeans and my salesman case.

Since I started dressing like that for estimates I sign way more deals, I don't look like just a guy and a truck anymore.

 

$200.00 shoes, $20 to $60.00 lettered color collar shirt, new Blue Jeans and my salesman case.

what color is lettered?

I usually wear the same. Company logoed blue collard shirt, Jeans but only 80$ shoes.

 

I have red, light blue, light green, white, dark blue, dark green, Yellow collared shirts. I think my red and light blue have a higher closing percentage,lol.

 

Depends.
I prefer nicer than work whites, but I am a working man and sometimes it shows.

 

Depends.
I prefer nicer than work whites, but I am a working man and sometimes it shows.

Same here

 

typically, i bid jobs after work so am usually in my whites. i never seem to have a problem sealing the deal.

however, i prefer business casual. nice jeans or khakis (not suit/ dress slacks) and a collared shirt.

i have learned that you don't want to project that you are living too large or have too much overhead.

i was working in a flip house once and a conteactor showed up to bid on the windows, siding, and roof. he rang the doorbell and the HO took one look at him and told him no thanks. the confused contractor inquired as to why he didn;t even want to hear entertain his bid.

**the HO looked him up and down observing his "overly professional" appearence with his laptop and Gucci shoes. the HO then looked at his brand new RAM 3500 dually diesal truck with matching 24 ft equipment trailer and said this.... "I am not interested in paying for your fancy outfit, computer, or $70,000 rig sitting in front of my house...no thanks"

so, I show up clean even if in whites, with a clipboard, and talk like I know what i am talking about.

 

typically, i bid jobs after work so am usually in my whites. i never seem to have a problem sealing the deal.

however, i prefer business casual. nice jeans or khakis (not suit/ dress slacks) and a collared shirt.

i have learned that you don't want to project that you are living too large or have too much overhead.

i was working in a flip house once and a conteactor showed up to bid on the windows, siding, and roof. he rang the doorbell and the HO took one look at him and told him no thanks. the confused contractor inquired as to why he didn;t even want to hear entertain his bid.

**the HO looked him up and down observing his "overly professional" appearence with his laptop and Gucci shoes. the HO then looked at his brand new RAM 3500 dually diesal truck with matching 24 ft equipment trailer and said this.... "I am not interested in paying for your fancy outfit, computer, or $70,000 rig sitting in front of my house...no thanks"

so, I show up clean even if in whites, with a clipboard, and talk like I know what i am talking about.

That HO is a fool, I get some of my best bids out of a sub who owns a 2 million dollar house and drives new rigs, etc, etc. He also runs twenty crews.

 

i have learned that you don't want to project that you are living too large or have too much overhead.

You have found a system that you feel more comfortable with and it works for you, most painters out bidding jobs don't have someone like me coming in behind them and closing the deal being I am 80% of the time the first and only estimate. Trust me these customers are more at ease with someone in a collar shirt that has a company logo on it. It does add value and value should add cost.:thumbup:

 

i don't think that a polo shirt with a company logo on it is too fancy. if i had one, i would prefer to wear it over my whites.

for me, it depends on the customer and situation.

you're right too, it all depends on what works for the individual.

 

I will show up in a tux with a top hat and steal everyones work.

 

i will show up in a tux with a top hat and steal everyones work.

 

Hi I want to put paint for your home!

:blink:

 

Hi I want to put paint for your home!

:blink:

........................:laughing::laughing::laughing: First thing in the morning, good laugh Thanks ..............

 

Sports coat over my Silvertree dress shirt, newer jeans and good shoes.
Try not to show up in work clothes, if I'm coming from the field I will have a change of clothes hanging in the truck.
In cool weather a silk scarf, I'm showing up pimped:thumbsup:

 

Actually I try to show up to do estimates in nicer clothes, but I have shown up in whites, sometimes pretty shabby whites. My wife doesnt understand why I refuse to ever let her and the kids ride along on an estimate and stay in the van. Nothing says professional like a van full of screaming kids .......... aint gonna happen.

 

This reminds me of a painter I saw on a new construction job that was stopping by to measure up and give a price. When he opened the driver's door, about 5 pounds of paperwork, 6 pop cans, and 3 empty cigarette packages fell out onto the driveway. He got the work, and actually did a really nice job, but I'm not sure I'd have had the guts to hire the guy myself.

 

Before reading this thread, I was thinking about getting a decent suit for when I give estimates, but now, I'm thinking a logo'd polo (yet to create a logo) and jeans.

I would definitely not hire a decked out business man with a laptop, nor would I hire a guy who had cans, paperwork, and cigarette packs fall out of his car. If he can't keep his truck clean, or even half-way decent, what makes me think he would be able to keep a job organized?

 

Before reading this thread, I was thinking about getting a decent suit for when I give estimates

Aren't you the guy in the last thread I read that don't know how to paint yet?

If you showed up in a suit for the estimate, and get the job...and then don't know how to paint anything on the first day...

those customers are gonna think they're on Candid Camera or something.



To the OP..

I wear my whites for estimates, and I always have. If I'm not working that day, I put my whites on before I leave home.
Client's gonna see me in whites everyday, they might as well start getting used to it.

 

Always wear whites. Just wear your new whites,shoes,hat,etc. Cover tatoos and remove piercings. Only one chance for first inpression

 

My painters don't even wear whites, so I most def don't wear them. I wear a collared polo with co name and a fleece with the same. Nice jeans and a pair of boots. I don't paint, so I don't wear whites. We have our logo's on everything that we have.

 

I sent a guy home for not wearing his whites after we'd discussed it once before.

 

My painters don't even wear whites

Wow!:laughing:

 

They wear tan colored Carharts or carpenter pants.
Painter whites are the most uncomfortable pants made.

 

My helpers and I are painters, we wear whites.

 

Buck Nakid

Nothing like painting and estimating in the nude. Frees a man up to express himself.

 

That HO is a fool, I get some of my best bids out of a sub who owns a 2 million dollar house and drives new rigs, etc, etc. He also runs twenty crews.

I don't feel that the HO is the norm, not maybe a fool but stuck in bad ways and that is causing them possibly to miss out on a very good if not the best paint job. The home owners I think I deal with would rather see me in my estimating gear than whites, it feels much more organized and professional to me than when I was wearing whites back in the days and that makes me feel in charge, = contracts.:w00t: