"Scott McDaniel" wrote in message
...
But ... any references you get would come from the contractor, and you can
BET they're not gonna give you the job where they were 3 weeks late and
laid
the wrong color shingles ... so you're gonna get a rosy red picture from
every one of them, and you'll be no further along than when you started.

You're doing the right thing in getting multiple bids. Unless this is an
emergency, take your time and do some follow up. Use the internet to do
some
searches on the companies (if they're small local outfits you probably
won't
find much), and ask around to friends, relatives, co-workers etc for
recommendations or horror stories. Those are your best sources of
information. Ask to see jobs they've done - again, you'll probably get
their
best ones, but you can at least look at craftsmanship and such.

--
Scott McDaniel
InfoTrakker Software

Also make sure their contractor's license is valid and current. I've
recently had contractors give me bids only to find out their license had
expired months earlier. One guy gave us some ranch fresh eggs and offered
to give my daughters free riding lessons. Nice, but I still won't hire him.

If they don't offer references I would probably stop talking to them unless
someone you know and trust recommended them. And as it's already been said
they are not going to give you any BAD references so that kind of makes it a
moot point whether or not to call any of them.



"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message
...
I'm new to this to the tune that I've never hired a contractor. But I've
been thinking about it and doing some homework. I watched the BBB's
video "Hiring a Home Contractor" a couple of times and they make the
point that you should always get references and check them out. They
also say you should get at least 3 bids before making a decision.
There's a lot of other things they advise, including checking the the
BBB and licensing agencies and trade organizations for feedback about
specific contractors.

Well, I've called 3 contractors I have some reason to believe may be
reliable, but I sure don't have any proof. They appeared in a Good
Service Guide from a few years back and they are still in business. One
was recommended by a friend. That contractor sent a guy by today who
looked at my roof and took enough information to work up an estimate and
he said I'd get a letter next week. I went to their website but couldn't
find any references listed there. I went to the BBB's site, both
nationally and locally and when I put in the company's name or address
the search came up with nothing whatsoever - no company found.

I'm wondering how I should go about getting references from these
people. Should I ask for references even before an estimator comes out -
just call and ask the office person for references right off that bat?
Should I ask the estimator? Or should I call the office after the
estimator comes out and ask then?

Thanks for any guidance.

Dan