Maintaining customer satisfaction is a crucial aspect of any business, but it’s even more important for painting contractors that have earned the prestigious Diamond Certified award. For Stanford Painting, Inc., the most effective way to maintain a base of satisfied customers is to provide a better value and higher level of service than they’re accustomed to receiving. “Our clients understand that they’re getting a lot more from our services than other painting companies,” affirms CEO Jay Furlong. “They know that whenever they need anything from us, we’ll be there.”

Stanford Painting has been providing interior and exterior painting services for residential and commercial clients throughout Santa Clara County since 1988. The family-owned and operated company has the in-house capabilities to handle every aspect of the painting process (including preparation and post-project inspections), and it’s also qualified to stain and refinish cabinets.

Unlike less experienced painting contractors that strive to complete projects as quickly as possible and sacrifice quality as a result, Stanford Painting takes the time to make sure its clients are completely satisfied with every phase of its work. “We build a bridge with each customer from the first point of contact, and we have multiple layers of quality control,” says Mr. Furlong. “Before the job starts, we’ll walk around the house with the homeowner and go over the scope of the job so everyone is on the same page. Then the superintendent visits the job once a day to walk around with the foreman, talk about progress and discuss any issues. That happens every day until the end, when the foreman and the superintendent do a full inspection.”

Another distinguishing feature of Stanford Painting is its unique position as a community-based company. “We’ve painted thousands of houses in our community,” explains Mr. Furlong. “We see our clients at the store, and we’ve coached their kids in softball and basketball. Since we’ve formed these relationships with them, they trust us to handle their painting projects and are happy to invite us into their homes. Our company family has become part of the larger family of our community, and that means so much to us.”

When it comes to hiring a painting contractor, it’s important to focus on value and quality.
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if you’re getting the value you expected from a painter. New paint may look great at first, but there can be hidden signs of cut corners. According to Jay Furlong, CEO of Stanford Painting, Inc. in Mountain View, you shouldn’t feel bad about double-checking your contractor’s work. “Get on the ladder and take a look—did they paint the trim around the tops of the windows?” he advises. “Did they prep and paint underneath the windows? It may not seem like a big problem because you never see the top of a window, but that’s the most vulnerable part. The water will go right into the wall if it’s not sealed. That attention to detail can tell you a lot about a contractor’s overall worth ethic.”

Preparation can be another weak spot for painting companies. In fact, many don’t approach jobs with a high level of commitment, particularly when it comes to preparation. “Paint stripping is time-consuming and takes a lot of elbow grease,” says Mr. Furlong. “Preparation is based on how badly the current paint layer has failed. The quick way to do it is to knock off the loose stuff and paint over it. The problem is, paint flakes are actually separated from the wall a couple of inches farther up, but you can’t see it. If you pull off the flakes but leave the rest and paint over it, it’s going to flake again within a year or two.” He says the answer is for painters to get aggressive with flaking paint by hand scraping, power sanding and removing every place that has separated from the substrate.

Quality control is another important factor. Mr. Furlong says painting companies should have a multilayered approach to quality and assign several people to check the work before it’s considered complete. “Before the job starts, there should be a walkthrough with the homeowner and the superintendent or foreman that covers the scope of the job so everyone is on the same page. Then, after the work has started, there should be daily visits from the foreman or superintendent. At the end of the job, there should be a full inspection to make sure it was done right.”

Q: How long will it take to complete my painting project?
A: We can give you that information during or after the initial walkthrough. Once we’ve calculated our estimated hours, we’ll add that to the bid. We’ll also let you know how many workers will be on the crew.

Q: Who will be on my jobsite each day?
A: Along with the painters who do the work, our superintendent visits the jobsite every day, and you’ll have his phone number in case you have any questions or concerns. Our foreman is also onsite every day, and he has his finger on the pulse of everything that’s going on.

Q: Will you give me a written bid or contract?
A: After we do a walkthrough and take notes about the job, we’ll show you the two forms that constitute the bid. One is the addendum that goes through all of the particulars, including the preparation work, the brand of paint and the product line. It gets very specific. On the front page, there’s a line that includes the price for the work, the deposit required and the payment details. The deposit is 10 percent of the total cost or $1,000, whichever is lower.

Q: Why are your prices higher than average?
A: We do much more extensive preparation and finish work, and we also use high-quality materials. It’s important to understand that most painting companies pay the same wages for qualified labor, because if you don’t pay your crew members, they’re going to leave. And if we use high-quality materials, we’re going to have a similar material rate. So, the difference comes down to how much time is spent on the job, and that’s a big indicator of the overall quality.

Q: Can you help me choose colors for my painting project?
A: Yes, we’ll go through the entire custom deck of paint colors and help you choose. One of our best guidance points is to spend the weekend driving around and looking at houses with paint colors that you really like. We can go to those houses, match the colors, get samples and put them on your house. We can also match your home’s current color or the color on a paint chip. Our color consultation process is part of the overall price, so there are no extra fees.

Q: Is one brand of paint better than the others?
A: You have to be careful when you hear that one brand is better than another. Some brands certainly excel over others, but each brand has multiple grades of paint. For example, if you get the bottom grade of Benjamin Moore paint, it’ll be lousy. You should be willing to pay a little more to get a better paint because it will last longer.