CertaPro Painters The Charles Group Subcontracts out ALL jobs at only 50% without telling property owners Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
I worked as a "subcontractor" for CertaPro Painters Milwaukee, WI from May, 2009 to May, 2010. All that time, they had only 1 or 2 actual employees and had about seven (7) subcontractor crews like myself. They subcontract out about 98% of all their jobs. They pay their subcontractors only 50% of the contracted price, and that is for both labor AND materials. This is by far the lowest pay for a subcontractor I have ever heard of after sixteen (16) years in the business. No wonder they had warranty work already after being in Milwaukee only two years when I started - and quite a bit of it at that. I finally realized that some of their subcontractors only did as much as what they got paid for rather than doing all that was in the contract.
But the real kicker is that they never tell the property owner that they are subcontracting out what they themselves had been contracted to do. I believe this is dishonest of them and that it may actually be illegal in the State of Wisconsin. The owner of the local franchise comes across as a nice enough and knowledgable guy and he talks the talk of a slick salesman, but if he were up front and honest with their customers and told them prior to contracting that he was going to sub out the job to who-knows-who and only pay them 50% of the contract for both labor AND materials, how many jobs do you think he would actually get? Next to none? And rightly so!!!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
DisgruntledSub
Milwaukee,Wisconsin,
United States of America
But the FACTS Remain, So Why Ever Hire Him?
#3Author of original report
Sat, June 12, 2010
As I said, this guy comes across as knowledgable enough, but then don't all slick salesmen? The FACTS REMAIN: He subcontracts out the great bulk of all of his jobs to any subcontractor that will work for his rediculously low 50% of the contract (for both labor AND materials), and he does not tell the homeowners that he is doing this. He has not denied this because this is factual and this is true. SO MY QUESTION TO YOU REMAINS: IF he were completely honest and upfront with you , and if he told you before you signed a contract with him that he was going to turn around and give your job over to some joe-blow subcontractor - rather than for CertaPro Painters to do the job themselves as you were led to believe - and that he was only going to pay that sub 50% of the total of your contract to provide all the labor and all the materials, WOULD YOU HAVE HIRED HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE? I think most honest home owners would say "No!" But if so, then maybe you will be lucky enough to get one of his sucontractors that will actually do all that he is contracted to do (rather than only what he is actually being paid to do). But do you really want to take that chance, especially when there are plenty of other painting contractors out there that do NOT subcontract work out in this manner as CertaPro Painters does???
CertaPro Painters
Wauwatosa,Wisconsin,
United States of America
Take the pain out of painting, call CertaPro Painters
#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, May 25, 2010
CertaPro Painters would like to respond to the "disgruntal subcontractor" by stating a few clarifications:
1.) CertaPro Painters does not and has never violated any local, state or federal laws and posses all the required local and state licenses required for paint contracting.
2.) We are proud to report CertaPro Painters' customer referral rating hit its highest point in history in 2009 with a 99.4% refferal rating (customer satisfaction rating). We will work hard in 2010 to please 100% of everyone we come in contact with, but we also admit we are not perfect. We are strong members of the Better Business Bureau, Service Magic, NARI, and MBA just to name a few and encourage you to check us out yourself. We have painted for 2000+ customers since 2007 and look forward to satisfying many more customers.
3.) We do utilize some subcontractors to cover our peak production periods in order to keep overhead costs down and to pass along the savings to our customers. Although we do utilize some subcontractors in addition to our employee teams we hold all of our paint crews to the highest quality standards. The "disgruntled subcontractor" which filed this report is no longer performing work for our company due to his recent quality performance. Despite the "disgruntled subcontractor" creating a negative campaign in an attempt to take contracted work away from my business including stealing company information and writing slanderous letters to my customers, I will take the high road and not mention his company's name as I do wish him the best.
4.) I do not feel it is proper to comment on our compensation with our subcontractors, but I will comment that the complaint's statements are false.
At CertaPro Painters, our reputation is based on Certainty your Certainty of a job well done. We focus on the details of every project interior and exterior and we focus on you, our client.
We recognize that painting is not an everyday occurrence for you. There is education and preparation that needs to occur to ensure your project goes smoothly and according to your expectations. We do this through a process of communication and education so we can co-create the best possible painting experience with you. We call this the Certainty Service System.
Give us a try for yourself! Mention this rebutal and you will recieve a free powerwashing or interior color consultation with our interior designer.
CertaPro Painters
1-800-GO-CERTA
www.certapro.com