How to Identify an Excavation Company that Isn’t Worth Hiring

In excavation, there’s a lot that goes into ensuring the job is done safely, efficiently, and up to expectation. Hiring the wrong company who does not come through on what you’re expecting for your excavation, it can be very problematic for a project.

As a Toronto excavation company ourselves, we’ve seen others put up a lot of red flags when it comes to how they do business. Before you hire any excavation company, you should know the risks. Cover your bases. Hire excavation professionals you know and trust. Interview and get to know the company you want to hire. Here are a few of the red flags we’ve identified in bad excavation contractors.

The first place to start in your search to verify the contractor you’re talking to is being honest, transparent, and straightforward is to ask for references. Do your research and don’t hire anyone based on face value alone. If an excavation company’s unwilling to provide references, it’s because they probably don’t have any or have failed at past projects. This may be a sign to ask another excavation company for services and to come on.

Now, let’s say you have a short list of references provided by the excavation company. Ask the references details about the project, what the experience of working with them was like, if the excavation company abided by all terms of the contract, if the project was completed to their satisfaction and on time, if they were easy to communicate with, and anything else you may deem pertinent. Based off these answers, you can make an informed decision on whether it’s worth it to continue negotiating with said excavation company.

Outside of a lack of or poor quality references, the next area where you can identify why you wouldn’t want to hire an excavation companies come in the form of the contract. If you don’t get your excavation company services defined in writing, you could be making a huge mistake. Before hiring, you want to ensure a legally binding contract that is clear and not vague is successfully negotiated and ready to be signed. Here are some of the more basic details to include in an excavation contractor contract:

 Description of the excavation project, including scope, materials or equipment to be used, and personnel who are expected to be at the job site and in what role.
 Project start date and estimated date of completion for the excavation.
 A protocol for handling schedule changes such as new work orders, unforeseen safety issues, or cancellations.
 A defined budget and payment schedule, including a clear-set schedule for payment.

If any of these details are foggy or if a contract isn’t something your excavation contractor in Toronto is willing to agree to, move on.

The right excavation company for you will be open discussing all these details, provide competitive rates, and be clear about terms of payment. A contractor’s reputation says a lot about them. If their references come through or a reputation of any kind is non-existent, experienced excavation companies are out there and ready to help. Reliable, working on schedule, delivering on time, and providing good quality work every step of the way, THAT’s the excavation company you want!