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Regional Accounts:

Have you seen one of our new “Informational” Yellow Page Advertisements?

We have designed this web page to help consumers and property managers be able to better “pre-qualify” their prospective pavement maintenance contractors. Unfortunately, most people do not realize that they have been ripped off by an unscrupulous pavement maintenance contractor until after the project has been completed and the contractor has been paid in full. When dealing with unscrupulous contractors, It is not uncommon to find deficiencies in your workmanship 2 months to 1 year later. Usually when you call the contractor to inquire about their “concrete” guarantee you will find out that either their telephone number has been disconnected or their concrete guarantee expires the second they leave your concrete sidewalk with their payment in full!

Unscrupulous contractors typically target elderly persons and perform door to door scams such as “we just paved a driveway and have enough material left over to pave your driveway.” They prefer this However, it is not uncommon for these contractors to also “infiltrate” into the corporate market and start to target commercial properties, even larger National Corporations.

If you are currently collecting bids for your pavement maintenance projects, do they look similar to this?

Would you ever sign a contract that looks like this?

• No telephone number, only a pager number
• The contractor only accepts cash or a check made payable to their personal name
• Hand written
• Misspellings
• No specifications or description of work processes

This is what this contract is missing:

• Type format. NEVER accept a “hand written” contract
• Exact and complete contact information and physical location of the project.
• Work Proposed along with Scope Of Work
• Detailed specifications
• Quantities of work proposed. How many square feet of seal coating, how many lineal feet of cracks, how many lines etc.
• Warranty
• Disclaimers
• Insurance Information
• Terms & Conditions
• Precise and “Legal” Payment Terms. If you sign a contract under a business name you are NOT required by law to make the check payable to a person’s name or pay a contractor in cash.
• Is sales tax being paid separately or is it included in the price.

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Contractor pre-qualification check list:

DO NOT SIGN A CONTRACT OR GIVE A CONTRACTOR A DEPOSIT UNTIL YOU READ THE INFORMATION BELOW:

1. Can you verify that the contractor is truly a “Local” contractor? Be very cautious with contractors whom have no “land line” telephone number and only use 800# voicemails, pager numbers, cell phone numbers. You can verify that a company has a landline telephone number by doing a simple search online on anywho.com, or any other web site that uses a reverse directory search. You can also verify this information by contacting directory assistance from your local telephone company.
2. Does the contractor have a verifiable address listed? Is the contractor hiding behind a “PO Box”, trailer park address or using a local motel to base their operations from. All of these locations provide an unscrupulous contractor an easy “exit strategy” if they begin to create attention from their poor business practices.
3. Does the contractor have a written guarantee?
4. Does the contractor have any negative public records?
5. Does the contractor rent / own their personal residence?
6. When you met with the contractor, did they arrive in company lettered pick-up trucks that clearly display their company name, telephone number, city / state, Federal DOT Number, Home Improvement License #? Did you notice if they had out of state license plates? Do you wonder why a contractor with Texas license plates is paving parking lots and driveway in New Jersey? Did their truck have their company name on it or did it just say “Asphalt Paving” “Seal Coating” etc with a telephone number?
7. Does it look as if the contractor is performing estimates in the same truck they use every day to work in?
8. Can the contractor provide proof of insurance? Remember, if a contractor is working on your property and causes damage, if they skip town without insurance, you will be held liable.
9. Is the contractor rated with Dun & Bradstreet?
10. Can the contractor provide trade and bank references?
11. Will the contractor allow you to see their work in progress on another project before you sign the contract so you can see their workmanship in person?

Don’t Fall Victim To High Pressure Sales Tactics

1. If a contractor comes knocking on your door and tells you that they have just enough material left over from the last job to seal pave your driveway. The questions I would ask myself is, “How does a competent contractor over purchase 100 tons of asphalt on a residential driveway?” You will most likely find out that they have just used the same “canned sales pitch” for every home in your development.
2. Big discounts if you sign and give a deposit today. If you have not collected other bids, do not sign a contract or give a deposit to a contractor unless they have submitted a detailed proposal and you feel comfortable. If the contractor wants the work bad enough (Most residential contractors I have ever met are starving for work so bad that they are literally one day away from Bankruptcy) they will give you the fair price they gave you originally. Most unscrupulous contractors put a “huge” mark-up in a job and then immediately drop the price several thousands of dollars so you perceive that you are getting a discount. This is usually not the case. But they “fear-of-loss” people and bully them into signing the contract.
3. Frivolous Change Orders. This to some unscrupulous contractors is how they make all of their money. They bid the job with a very low price. You feel that you are getting a deal. They start the job, usually block off the entrance to your parking lot etc, and then come to you with a change order for $5,000.00 - $10,000.00 and tell you that they have encountered a problem. They state if you don’t sign the change order they can’t continue to work. Now you are looking at your parking lot entrance blocked off and piles of asphalt scattered throughout your parking lot. They have now backed you into a corner. Understandably, surprises come up on jobs. You may saw cut asphalt to replace it and discover that the base needs to be replaced; a storm drain may collapse while it is being excavated etc. Some of these incidental occurrences cannot be factored in when bidding a job. However, if you have received a very “low” bid for your parking lot and have a contractor attempt to pull this type of “get rich quick” move, you have to use your own judgment. Commercial projects do have their share of surprises; however, if a contractor attempted to do this on a residential project, I would throw the contractor off the job if you feel that their change order is frivolous, especially if they do not have a deposit.

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National Accounts:

Are you having difficulty deciding which type of organization to contract with to perform your national pavement maintenance projects? There are currently three types of organizations that service pavement maintenance projects:

• Single Service Local Contractor
• National Service Provider (Broker / Middleman)
• Full Service Pavement Maintenance & Management Firm “Sorry We Are Only The Jack Of One Trade”

I am quite confident that you are most likely bombarded every week with advertisements from paving and seal coating companies. I am sure that National Service Providers (NSP’s) are probably telling you how they are going to solve all of your facility management nightmares and how outsourcing to them is the most logical solution. There are even plenty of NSP’s out there that offer the same services that we do, along with 60 other trades they “supposedly” offer “in-house” and self perform. Don’t be fooled though… National Service Providers, also referred to as NSP’s and what we like to call Paper Companies rarely achieve the desired results that the Facility Manager has in mind.

This is how it works:

You have 40 seal coating, crack sealing, asphalt repair and line striping projects spread across 8 different states. You are looking at an Excel spread sheet, saying to yourself, “How am I going to get all of this done by the end of the year?”

You go onto Google and start searching for contractors in the different regions you have properties.

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The single service Local Contractor:

Pavey Davie Paving Co.- You call the telephone number for Pavey Davie and a very helpful 6 yr old child answers the telephone. After her mother picks up the other phone upstairs and starts yelling at the child to please hang up, you have a chance to introduce yourself. You explain to Mrs. Davie that you have several projects in their area and some a few counties away and would like to receive an estimate and ask if you could email or fax over the property address’s. Mrs. Davie lets you know that her husband does all the pricing and he is out working mostly, and doesn’t have that much time to measure jobs, so it may be 2 weeks or so until she can get something over to you. An also, they don’t like to drive too far for work. As for email, she doesn’t even know how to turn the computer on or even get to that world wide web thing that everyone talks about. However, she does have a fax, you just have to call back the same number and wait for her to switch the machine on.

Have you reached for the Pepto-Bismol yet?

You continue to search under Google… and now your prayers have been answered. You have found a side bar add for a National Service Provider; “Jack-Of-All Trades Facility Services”

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The National Service Provider:

Jack-Of-All Trades Facility Services- You call the 800# and a beautiful young voice answers the telephone

NSP: (Receptionist) Thank you for calling Jack Of All Trades Facility Services, how may I direct your call?

YOU: Can I speak to someone about seal coating some projects I have in several different states?

NSP: (Receptionist) Certainly, I am going to transfer your call to one of our Sales Reps.

NSP: (Sales Rep) Hello, it is a beautiful day in Texas, how can I help you.

YOU: I would like to receive a quote for seal coating about 40 projects that I have in 8 different states.

NSP: (Sales Rep) Absolutely, we do a ton of seal coating for our customers all the time. Lets see, I can offer you a national contract for $0.14 sq ft.

YOU: Don’t you need to look at the jobs, develop a scope of work, see where they are located?

NSP: (Sales Rep) Yes, we are going to dispatch one of our estimators today. Our service is as easy as a click of the mouse. We do hundreds of seal coating jobs every year, we have like 10 crews that travel all over.

YOU: So then the work is being done “in-house”, you aren’t using sub contractors?

NSP: (Sales Rep) No, not at all, we self perform everything.

YOU: Alright, can I email you the addresses and my contact info.

NSP: (SALES REP) Yes, send it to Bob@jack-of-all-trades.com

Now you get off the phone and chug what is left of the Pepto-Bismol. You are thinking to yourself, “That seemed pretty shady”

Here is where the problem starts.

The NSP Sales Rep you just spoke to goes onto Google or Internet Yellow Pages and start looking for seal coating contractors in the same areas where the work is located. Bingo: AAA Cheapest Sealcoating & Paving Co.

NSP: (Sales Rep) Hi, I noticed you guys do seal coating.

AAA: Yes, shur do, we pave, we seal, we stripe.

NSP: (Sales Rep) I have 6 parking lots in your area I need seal coated, would you be interested in going out to measure them for us and give us a price?

AAA: Shur

A week later, AAA Seal Coating contacts the NSP Sales Rep.

AAA: “I looked at them jobs, some are pretty busted up, mite even need repavin’”

NSP: (Sales Rep) Well, the customer just wants them seal coated.

AAA: Well, I could seal em’ for 10 cents a square foot.

NSP: (Sales Rep) Wow, that’s pretty expensive. I have other companies in your area that are quoting us around $0.05 sq ft. We are only charging the customer $0.07 sq ft and we have to make some money as well.

AAA: How many coats?

NSP: (Sales Rep) Coats of what?

AAA: Sealer, one or two coats?

NSP: (Sales Rep) I don’t know, one I guess, just make it black.

AAA: Well, I guess if all them jobs is fetchin’ just a nickel a square, then I can do them for you for a nickel. Is someone going to be out watching the jobs get done?

NSP: (Sales Rep) No, just get them done and send us a bill. Don’t discuss pricing with the manager and make sure you don’t have your company name on every piece of equipment you have there.

How long do you think the coat of sealer is going to last on your property?

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Here is your SOLUTION:

BRAHNEY PAVEMENT SOLUTIONS: we will put an end to your stress, pepto-bismol, fearing that you may lose your job when your boss finds out that the NSP you recently hired has just contracted with a “convicted felon” to seal coat / stripe all of your projects, and the jobs look like they were seal coated and striped with the Helen Keller Pavement Maintenance Manual.

Full Service Pavement Maintenance & Management Firm “Sorry We Are Only The Jack Of One Trade”

1. We are focused on Pavement Maintenance & Pavement Management exclusively.
2. 80% of our work in our Target Market (Entire East Coast West To The Mississippi River) is self performed in house.
   • We only rely on subcontractors for specific tasks that we do not perform enough to warrant the capital expense of acquiring the equipment to perform the service or for stray jobs where mobilization would not be cost effective.
   • In the event that work is subcontracted, we work with a pre-qualified list of contractors who have adequate liability insurance and a proven track record.
   • Any work performed by a subcontractor is supervised by a company representative during the entire course of the project to insure that the contractor adheres to our company’s strict safety policy and the project manager acts in the capacity as a production supervisor and quality control superintendent. The project manager is there from start to finish- NO EXCEPTIONS.
   • Subcontractors work on an “install basis” or a “Time Basis” similar to how Home Depot and Lowes Installations services work for home improvement projects. All direct materials are purchased by our company to insure that the material yield is not compromised and that all industry standards are followed.
   • All subcontractors are required to sign a contract and provide proof of insurance prior to starting any project and to provide executed lien waivers upon completion.
3. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT: We embrace the principles of TQM in all facets of our company.
4. ACTive Pavement Management: We have designed a software program that manages and analyzes your asphalt parking lots by assigning a numerical point value called a PCI (Pavement Condition Index) which was designed by the Army Corp. Of Engineers to manage their roads, parking lots and airport runways. This program will assist you with both long and short term budgeting and forecasting to insure that you make corrective maintenance as needed and start a preventative maintenance program as early as possible to prevent any future damage to your parking lots.
5. Most Technologically Advanced Pavement Management Services Available.
6. e are on the cutting edge of field technology, constantly testing new products and introducing them to our customers.
7. We go to great lengths to understand our customers operations to develop a plan that has the least impact on their business during our operations.
8. Certified Applicators
9. Our Unique Business Model is experiencing exceptional growth, assuring us a long-term future as we continue to break new ground and find more technological and progressive methods to help our clients manage their pavements while having the luxury of only having to deal with one company.
10. Unlike National Service Providers and Large Companies, we are not concerned with the quantity of work we sell, but rather the personal relationship involved. By dealing with our firm, you will receive more personal attention to your properties with a company where the President / CEO is as much involved with growing the company as he is with ensuring long lasting relationship and “Total Satisfaction- GUARANTEED.” Your account is not just another logo for our website, it is a piece of the puzzle which is what makes our organization great. If your piece is missing from our puzzle, we are failing to hold up our end of the bargain.

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