Finding a flooring store that ticks all the boxes when it comes to flooring products is challenging. So reside to the supply company that checks out most of the key issues in flooring projects. However, do not be fixated on saving money that you obtain underhand materials simply because of the proximity of the flooring store to the building project. The most significant bit of a flooring project is the final look of the floors, the maintenance that comes with it and the durability. Keep in mind these few factors when starting your flooring project, but do not compromise too much with an aim to save on cost at the expense of good flooring.

Free delivery

Having your flooring store nearby your building project saves on time and cost of taking up the flooring project. As a homeowner or a building manager, going for a flooring store that is nearby is a great move, especially if you need a few small materials. However, at times you may need to transport a few materials back and fro the supplying company. A company that offers free delivery to their frequent customers is a huge save on flooring budget.

A good supply company not only knows the basics of where to deliver but when. You and the supplier can stipulate the time of delivery of your products that is convenient enough to maintain the building schedule. A qualified and experienced flooring store will check on all external factors before doing any delivery. Flooring materials are quickly affected by the surroundings- temperature and humidity. A supply company will take extra precautions when doing a delivery of flooring materials to any building project. Factors such as weather and transport should be factored in by the company.

Delivering flooring materials during the rainy season can prove to be a challenging as the flooring might expand and contract before the arrival on the job site. It is mundane to keep the flooring materials in the original form for the building project to avoid losses or additional costs. The flooring store should also overlook the loading of all the purchased flooring materials at the job site and ensure they are adequately protected from damage.

Always ensure that you stipulate the time of delivery to the flooring store or supply company. Clear communication will save you a lot of setbacks when it comes to delivery. Wrong timing when it comes to supplying flooring materials can cause a ripple effect of problems. Delivering too early can cause storage problems and waste labor and time over where to keep the flooring materials. Whereas delivering the flooring materials too late may cause a delay in the schedule set up for the construction, leading to delay of the crew in the whole construction process, cost you extra money and time.

A good supply company will always work with your given timeline. They deliver the relevant materials to your job site according to the agreed time and also ensure that they have delivered all the products that were on request. This shows that they value you as a potential client and intend to build a good working relationship for the long run. A flooring store that is qualified and equipped will bring you what you want and deliver the products when needed without having any qualms. Choosing a good flooring store will save you a lot of money and back time of the building project.

Reliability

Find a flooring store that is stable ad consistent in their standard practice. A supply company that is timely follows procedure and provides safe storage for you flooring materials will make your building project easy and keep it within the building schedule confines. If you want to establish how reliable a flooring store or company is, consult its previous clients. You can ask the supply company for their client list or simply ask contractors who have previous interaction with the enterprise. If you get a bad feedback from two enterprises, then that is your cue to find another supply company. Check on the average time they take to complete a delivery. If you agree that the flooring materials should be delivered at 8 am Monday, and they arrive at 12 afternoons, that raises the alarm of scheduling. An oversight of delivery time b minutes can be overlooked but if the company trudges you on for hours then consider seeking a new company before your construction or installation is delayed on further. Nevertheless, if the flooring store is key on detailing and can keep time when it comes to delivering orders, then you can charge them with more responsibility.

Range of products

Choose a flooring store that offers a wide range of flooring products which are branded is a plus. Established or even upcoming flooring stores that associate with relevant brands are always a good choice. Association with top brands show you that they are serious when it comes to flooring and also value quality products. Flooring stores at times may have products that are branded but are not up to standard. You can always check online for logo description to be able to tell a fake product from a real one before going ahead and purchasing the wrong product.

Exceptional customer service

You may find that some project delays are not as a result of laborers or the building manager slacking but the supply company. You need to choose the right flooring store that has proper work ethic and policy. Go for retail companies that sell you the right product, the right way. Excellent customer service providers will end up saving you on costs and delays. Supply companies who value their clients and hold them in high regard tend to offer better services. Companies that cherish such values are always time conscious, pat attention to the product safekeeping and delivery. Good supply companies are easy to contact and accessible to their clients at any given time. They are quick to their feet in the occurrence of any issue and ease the work of the client for the flooring project.

A good supplier of flooring material will keep several considerations in mind. In cases whereby you have bought heavy material, you may need to have certain equipment to get the materials to the site. A good flooring store will help you to deliver the compact materials in a good state and on time. The supply company can provide you with equipment such as a forklift to deliver the flooring materials in stories that are high up in the building. 

Good condition

When purchasing flooring materials for your commercial building, office or even household, you expect to get the products in the very similar condition you saw it in in the beginning. During a flooring project, you may not have the time to check on the materials frequently especially if they were ordered a long while back. A good supplier ensures that your floors are safely stored, carefully loaded and unloaded and delivered in the original condition. In some cases, however, accidents happen and the flooring material purchased gets damaged or rendered useless. It is in these cases that you can gauge the work ethic of a flooring store supply and establish whether it is going to be a long working relationship or it ends there. The ability of a supply company to handle a mess of a situation is very mundane for any building projects. Having to work with difficult and uncooperative supply flooring companies can be a burden and source of stress. Therefore understand the work dynamics of the flooring store you have chosen before any purchases- look into their return policy in case of damages during transportation or offloading. The immediate reaction of supply companies to any problematic situation during the building process should be taken into account as this depicts whether the company wants to create a relationship with the client.

When buying from established flooring stores versus purchasing flooring materials from upcoming supply companies is quite different at times. Established flooring stores have little regard for new clients but have set up great offers and services for already established working relationships with their loyal return customer. Some upcoming new flooring flooring stores are also conversant to their loyal clients as compared to new clients. They always go an extra mile to impress and ensure that their client returns and is always satisfied with their service.

CHOOSING A FLOORING STORE

Planning a major household renovation subtle improvements in the house will require you to select a reliable supply company for your materials. You may feel the need to save on cost and opt for the cheapest products offered on the market; this is an odd mistake. Buying cheap flooring materials with poor quality will result in more expenses regarding maintenance and frequency of replacement. Finding a supplier who offers quality material is mundane for any construction process. A good supplier will work efficiently and reduce on production delays during the whole installation process making it smooth and pleasant.

Getting the right supplier for your flooring materials can be a bit challenging given the manufacturers over flux in the market. These tips will help you choose accredited and reliable flooring store for the construction:

installing flooring materials

Distance

Before you settle on buying those beautiful flooring tiles from overseas, take a trip downtown and see what is available. You might be surprised to find the flooring materials that suit your taste just nearby saving you on extra shipping costs and breakages. Check on the quality of the floors you intend to purchase weighing against the pricing. There is no point of traveling for long hours to get the product you need when you can get the same product nearby at times for less expense. Contractors of commercial flooring projects that are rather extensive go for supply companies that are within the building vicinity. However, do not settle for a manufacturing flooring company just because it is in a nearby location, consider all factors.

ISO certified

When choosing a flooring store, check for ISO certifications. If the supply company is not ISO certified, do not engage in any negotiations. Always go for supply companies whose standards are important to them as they are to you as a buyer. Going for supply companies that are ISO certified gives you the assurance that the flooring quality you are buying is the best quality in the market. Thus, worrying less of installing cheap materials of low quality.

Experience

Great supply companies have a defined framework that determines the criteria used for employment. Most established or qualified flooring companies or stores have employees with an array of skills and experience when it comes to building construction. The supply company should provide you with the desired flooring materials and personnel with expertise for their installation. You will get an all rounded view of the flooring you want to install, the pros, the cons and the areas proper for the installation. Go to a flooring store that does not only sell you flooring materials but that which sells you the ideas, the precautions and the tips for installation. A good flooring store will give you a great building experience and can even save you on costs.

Loyalty scheme

Choose a flooring store that has offers or rewards for loyal clients. This is another way of saving money on the purchase of flooring items. Different suppliers have different policies for retaining their customers for a long time. Some suppliers give their customers a discount card after spending a certain amount of money on buying flooring materials. Other flooring stores offer free flooring materials to customers that have bulk orders from them. You may find suppliers who even take an initiative to notify the loyal clients of new and improved flooring products in the market. The most loyal clients are usually the first to know of new arrivals in the store. Always opt for a flooring store that has offers, discounts, and giveaways for their customers.

If you are a service provider then there is need for you to know how clients look for services. Knowing these methods will enable you to apply them in your business and attract more clients.

Referrals. Research showed that 85 per cent of buyers used referrals to locate service providers. This is a significant percentage of buyers that use referrals to identify and learn about their chosen provider. Given this information, service firms should dedicate more time and investment to the development and execution of referral programs.

Brand awareness driven by content. The second most common way for buyers to identify and learn about their service provider comes from content marketing. From blog posts and podcasts, to website descriptions and webinars, there’s an endless number of options for the types of content available. We did, however, ask respondents what content was the most influential and found case studies and white papers at the top of the list.

Sourced from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-money/the-three-most-common-ways-buyers-find-service-providers/article20823920/

Nowadays more and more services providers are sought online. Outsourcing is the new face of service providers. This however is only for those who have proven that they can deliver good quality. There are questions that clients ask to evaluate if a service provider is up to the task or not.

Do you have a proven track record of service commitment?

The best way to evaluate a prospective service provider is to examine their service track record from multiple perspectives. Find out about their customer service and get to know if their service has followed an upward trajectory. Ask the provider’s existing customers if they were happy with the service provided. Be sure to ask the vendor if they offer help desk support after the completion of the project. You must also find out if the provider’s SLA (Service Level Agreement) is backed by financial guarantees and follows customer service standards and operational metrics.

How do you plan to manage my account?

Finding out how your business account will be managed is a critical aspect of the outsourcing project. Ask the service provider if they follow a clearly defined account management process. Find out if a dedicated individual will be handling your day–to–day functions and how frequently you would need to interact with that person. Ask the vendor if you can meet your future account manager and other staff before the onset of the outsourcing project.

Sourced from: https://www.outsource2india.com/india/questions-ask-before-outsource.asp

Researchers have been battling with the issue of how to measure the quality of a service. Currently all over the world there are five dimensions that are used to measure service quality regardless of the industry.

Service Quality Measurements

• Tangibles: appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials;
• Reliability: ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately;
• Responsiveness: willingness to help customers and provide prompt service;
• Assurance: knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence; and
• Empathy: the caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers.

Sourced from: http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/how-to-measure-service-quality/

Real estate is an industry that is within the large property industry. It is inclusive of buildings, land and even natural resources. This industry is categorized into three namely residential, commercial and industrial.

DEFINITION of ‘Real Estate’

Property comprised of land and the buildings on it as well as the natural resources of the land including uncultivated flora and fauna, farmed crops and livestock, water and minerals. Although media often refers to the “real estate market” from the perspective of residential living, real estate can be grouped into three broad categories based on its use: residential, commercial and industrial. Examples of residential real estate include undeveloped land, houses, condominiums and townhomes; examples of commercial real estate are office buildings, warehouses and retail store buildings; and examples of industrial real estate are factories, mines and farms.

Sourced from: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/realestate.asp

As the economy continues to grow in countries such as the United States, most of their cities experience a boom in real estate. Before any project is embarked upon there is need to understand insurance coverage and if it is enough.

While most developers have a commercial general liability policy, such liability policies, even though broad in scope, may not fully protect a developer against all of the risks it may face during development. For example, commercial general liability policies respond to claims involving bodily injury and property damage to third parties, but often do not provide coverage for damage to the developer’s own property.

Below are four types of insurance every real estate developer should consider before beginning a new development project:

Real Estate Development Professional Liability Insurance

Large and small real estate developments can take months or even years to plan. Often there are several officers, directors, and employees involved in the inception, negotiation, and implementation of these projects. Real estate development professional liability insurance is unique in that it insures against those usual services and transactions conducted by real estate developers. More specifically, a real estate development professional liability insurance policy can provide coverage for “wrongful acts”[1] committed by a developer during the preparation, negotiation, transmittal, and awarding of design and construction bid packages; while obtaining proper permits, variances, consents, and easements; related to management, supervision, and coordination of design and construction; and regarding other issues with real estate agents, title companies, and property managers.

Environmental Insurance

In many major cities, residential and commercial real estate developers have turned to redeveloping abandoned industrial spaces as a way to transform cities and command large returns on investment. (An example of this type of project is Washington, DC’s soccer stadium slated for Buzzard Point in the Southwest quadrant of the city.) The EPA has labeled many of these sites brownfields. Not only do these unused and underperforming lots require special remediation, but the EPA imposes additional demands aimed at safeguarding the environment when developing these projects.

The risks for brownfield sites are unique and numerous, such as: the risk of finding unknown environmental contamination that requires clean-up; the risk of being found liable for damage to natural resources; the risk that contaminants may be inadvertently released from the site during the clean-up process; the risk of cost overruns due to unforeseen contaminants or an ineffective remediation plan; plus government regulation that adds or requires additional remediation.

Sourced from: http://www.policyholderinformer.com/2015/09/03/what-real-estate-developers-need-to-know-about-insurance-coverage/?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original

It is important that real estate developers purchase errors and omissions insurance. This is to ensure the balance sheet is alright and lowers the costs of anything unexpected.

The downside of not buying insurance is simply exposing the balance sheet and ultimately the return to investors. Insurance acts as a smoothing vehicle and lends greater predictability to financial performance by minimizing the unexpected costs of periodic litigation. The amount of coverage a real estate professional requires should be determined by the nature of the firm’s operations, and whether the risk is primarily ‘operational’ (meaning management related) or ‘financial’ (meaning investment related). The size of the transactions and the financial complexity will be important considerations as well.

A claim under an E&O policy must allege negligence in either the performance of or failure to perform professional services. Errors and omissions insurance policies have a specific limit of liability and usually include both defense cost and damage awards or settlements within the limit of liability. Keep in mind that almost all E&O policies will not cover intentional, fraudulent or illegal activities but they will defend against these allegations until they are proven in a court of law.

Sourced from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140527193121-13380468-common-mistakes-made-with-real-estate-errors-and-omissions-insurance