In brief
A reference should help you understand how a provider behaves inside an occupied property. Photographs of finished work do not reveal communication, protection, or defect handling.
Useful reference questions for home-service companies
A reference should help you understand how a provider behaves inside an occupied property. Photographs of finished work do not reveal communication, protection, or defect handling.
What to do
- Ask whether the previous job involved a similar property and scope.
- Discuss changes to price or timing and how they were agreed.
- Ask what happened when the customer reported an issue after completion.
Ask about a concrete past event
With the reference’s agreement, keep a short record of the assignment discussed and the context of the answers. Ask what happened, how the provider responded, and what the buyer had to do. Separate first-hand experience from opinion about work the reference did not observe. Avoid asking for confidential commercial information that is unnecessary to your decision.
Compare the account with the current proposal and note any differences in team, location, volume, or scope. A positive reference is useful evidence for a comparable situation, not a guarantee of future performance. Resolve the most important mismatch directly with the candidate.
Illustrative buying situation
Consider this hypothetical example.
A customer reference praises a bathroom refurbishment, but your requirement is recurring maintenance in an occupied apartment. Ask about the working conditions, communication, and follow-up rather than assuming the scopes are equivalent. A useful reference describes a specific defect and how the company corrected it. If the proposed team or service model differs, note the limitation and test that part separately through a small first assignment.
Your next decision
Use references to examine the working process as well as the appearance of the result.
Related buying guides
Reference-check guideUAE supplier guides