Whether you’re planning a loft conversion, or looking for a walker for your dogs at the weekend – hiring a someone to work for you is a big deal. You need to be confident you can pick the best pro for the job, and if you’ve never done it before it can be hard to know where to begin.
Luckily, with Bark you can use the same simple steps to find great local pros for just about anything. Here’s our foolproof guide to hiring great local professionals for whatever you need.
Check out each pro’s Bark profile
Once we’ve tracked down a shortlist of local pros who are eager to help you, the next step is to pick your favourite. To make this process quick and easy, we ask all of our pros to set up their own Bark profile with everything you need to decide if you want to hire them.
Take a look at each’s pros profile page to discover more about them, taking care to consider questions like: Have they done the sort of work you’re asking for before? Do they have the best portfolio of previous work? And do they have the best references?
Most importantly, pay close attention to the reviews each pro has received from other Bark customers, as these give the best indication as to the quality of their work. These reviews will be highlighted with a green “verified” badge.
Agree the price in advance
We understand that budget will often be a key factor when it comes to deciding which of our pros you want to hire. That’s why we make sure each of them can send you a rough estimate when they introduce themselves to you in the Bark Messenger.
In the majority of categories, our budget estimator tool will then show you how that price compares with what other Bark users have been quoted for similar services in the past.
But whether you’re looking for someone to mow your lawn, to plan your wedding or anything else – the most important thing is to agree the price you’ll pay in advance. So when you find someone you want to hire, always be sure to ask for an exact quote before they start work.
Consider staged payments
For jobs where materials are needed, it’s reasonable for your pro to expect part-payment before completion to cover the costs. But note that this is not the same as asking for money upfront, which you should always avoid.
We recommend offering to provide payment in instalments as different project milestones are reached. This gives your pro an added incentive to get the work done quickly, and helps ensure you’re not out of pocket if something happens that means they’re not able to complete the job.
For example, if you were having an extension built onto your house you might agree to pay for the materials when the work begins, then pay the rest upon completion.
Confirm the details in writing
The last step before the work begins is to agree the key details of the job you want doing in writing. This is especially important for larger projects, especially when they involve construction work.
Getting a written quote will be a big help in the unlikely event that you have to deal with some kind of dispute further down the line. Make sure your quote spells out exactly what work will be done, when it should be completed by and who will supply the necessary materials.
Review your pro to help other Bark users
Once you’ve hammered out the details, you’re ready to hire your pro! But before you wrap things up, there is one more thing we ask you to do.
You see, we’re proud of the community we’re creating here at Bark. People using our service can draw on the experiences of hundreds of thousands of other users to find the right pro for them – and that wouldn’t be possible without ordinary people like yourself.
So after the work has been done, we strongly encourage you to leave a review about your experiences on your chosen pro’s Bark profile. That way, we can continue improving Bark so it’s even easier to find great local pros the next time you use our service.