12 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Local Service Provider
Hiring someone to work on your home, your event or your business is a leap of faith. You are trusting a stranger with your money, your time and sometimes your safety. Most problems between customers and service providers do not come from dishonesty; they come from assumptions that nobody wrote down. A short conversation before you agree to anything prevents most of them.
These twelve questions work for almost any service, from plumbers and painters to photographers, tutors, caterers and software developers. You will not need all of them every time, but the more money involved, the more of them you should ask.
About the business
1. How long have you been doing this kind of work?
Experience is not everything, but it matters. Ask specifically about jobs like yours. A builder with twenty years of house extensions may have little experience with commercial kitchens. A newer business can still be a great choice, especially if they are open about it and price accordingly.
2. Are you licensed, registered or certified?
For electrical, gas, plumbing, medical, legal, financial and structural work, a licence is usually a legal requirement, not a nice extra. Ask for the registration number and check it with the relevant body yourself. It takes a couple of minutes and it is the most important check on this list.
3. Do you have insurance?
If a contractor damages your property or someone is injured on the job, insurance determines who pays. Ask whether they carry public liability insurance and, for larger jobs, ask to see the certificate.
4. Can I see examples or speak to past customers?
Good providers are happy to share photos of recent work and put you in touch with a previous customer. Ask for a job similar in size and type to yours, and ideally one finished a few months ago, so you hear how the work has held up.
About the job
5. What exactly is included in the quote?
This is where most disputes start. Ask for a written quote that lists the work, the materials and their quality, and anything excluded. For a painter: how many coats, which brand of paint, whether they move furniture and clean up afterwards. For a web developer: how many pages, how many rounds of revisions, whether hosting and content are included.
6. What could make the price change?
Some jobs uncover surprises, such as rotten wood behind a wall or a guest list that grows. Ask how unexpected work is handled. The best answer is that they will stop, explain the problem and agree on a price with you before doing anything extra.
7. Who will actually do the work?
The person who quotes is not always the person who turns up. Ask whether the work will be done by the owner, by employees or by subcontractors, and who to contact if something goes wrong.
8. How long will it take, and when can you start?
Ask for a realistic start date and duration, and what happens if it overruns. For events and time-sensitive projects, agree on a firm deadline in writing.
About money and paperwork
9. What is the payment schedule?
A reasonable deposit followed by payments linked to progress is normal for larger jobs. Be cautious about paying most of the money before work begins. Ask which payment methods they accept and whether you will receive a proper invoice or receipt.
10. Is there a guarantee or warranty?
Ask what happens if something fails after the job is finished, how long any guarantee lasts, and whether it covers both parts and labour. Get the answer in writing.
11. Will we have a written agreement?
For anything beyond a small, one-off job, a written agreement protects both sides. It does not need to be a lawyer’s contract; an email that sets out the scope, price, timeline and payment terms, which both of you confirm, is far better than nothing.
12. How do you handle complaints?
This question tells you a lot about a business. A good provider will explain calmly how they deal with problems, who to contact and how quickly they respond. If the question makes them defensive, take note.
Comparing quotes fairly
Get at least two or three quotes for any significant job, and ask every provider the same questions so you can compare like with like. The cheapest quote is not automatically the worst, and the most expensive is not automatically the best. Look at what is included, the quality of materials, the guarantee and how clearly each provider communicated. Clear communication before the job is usually a good predictor of clear communication during it.
Red flags
- Pressure to decide on the spot, or a discount that disappears if you wait a day.
- A request for full payment, or a large cash payment, before any work starts.
- No written quote, or a quote with no detail.
- Reluctance to share a licence number, insurance details or references.
- No fixed address or landline, and a phone that is rarely answered.
Finding providers to ask
You can browse local service providers by category and city on BioneersLive. Every listing is reviewed by a person before it goes live, and our listing guidelines explain what we check. Review is a first filter rather than a guarantee, so use these twelve questions with anyone you are thinking of hiring, wherever you found them.