Gas dealership is one of the riskiest businesses. This is because the station is always at risk of catching fire at any time due to high inflammability of the product especially if it is not properly constructed. As such, you will need to hire a very competent contractor if you are interested in starting such a business and this is where the problem lies. Below are a few guidelines to help you find a reputable gas station contractor.
You are probably not the first person in the area who is thinking of opening such a business; there are other operators who were there before you. If you think they are trustworthy enough, you can always seek referrals from them. However, because you are planning to set up a competing business, you must thoroughly vet the recommended contractors before making a choice.
The contractor you choose must also have a wealth of experience in this type of construction. This is completely different from other constructions like that of roads and buildings. So you should not hire someone with several years in roads or railway construction thinking that he will deliver, he may fail you. The experience you are looking for should be relevant to gas station construction.
Before signing a contract with the expert, it would be important to ascertain that he is a genuine contractor with valid license of operation. The only way to ascertain this is to ask the expert for his license of operation. Look when the license was issued and its expiry date. If it was issued in the recent past; chances are that this is inexperienced contractor.
You must also be mindful of construction fee. Though should not be your priority, you should also not be overcharged for the construction work. The only way you can achieve this is by price comparison and choose an expert who is affordable. After all, hiring the most expensive contractors around is never a guarantee of quality work.
You will also need an expert who can offer you after construction service to help maintain the station. If he can do it for a period of time free of charge under warranty, the better. However, you should expect that after the warranty window elapses, you start paying for the maintenance services. Still this is better than hiring an expert who will do the construction and disappear without knowing who will service it.
Due to the high risk involved in this, the contractor you settle on must also have liability as well as personal injury insurance covers. These are just to caution you from losses and extra expenses should anything go wrong during the construction. For instance, the contractor may injure himself working for you, if he does not have personal injury cover, then you will be forced to cater for his medical bills. This is an extra expense that you can easily avoid by hiring a contractor with insurance cover.
Choosing a good gas station contractor is not something you will achieve overnight. It will take you days or even months. As such, it is always important to start the search early when you are still under no pressure.
You are probably not the first person in the area who is thinking of opening such a business; there are other operators who were there before you. If you think they are trustworthy enough, you can always seek referrals from them. However, because you are planning to set up a competing business, you must thoroughly vet the recommended contractors before making a choice.
The contractor you choose must also have a wealth of experience in this type of construction. This is completely different from other constructions like that of roads and buildings. So you should not hire someone with several years in roads or railway construction thinking that he will deliver, he may fail you. The experience you are looking for should be relevant to gas station construction.
Before signing a contract with the expert, it would be important to ascertain that he is a genuine contractor with valid license of operation. The only way to ascertain this is to ask the expert for his license of operation. Look when the license was issued and its expiry date. If it was issued in the recent past; chances are that this is inexperienced contractor.
You must also be mindful of construction fee. Though should not be your priority, you should also not be overcharged for the construction work. The only way you can achieve this is by price comparison and choose an expert who is affordable. After all, hiring the most expensive contractors around is never a guarantee of quality work.
You will also need an expert who can offer you after construction service to help maintain the station. If he can do it for a period of time free of charge under warranty, the better. However, you should expect that after the warranty window elapses, you start paying for the maintenance services. Still this is better than hiring an expert who will do the construction and disappear without knowing who will service it.
Due to the high risk involved in this, the contractor you settle on must also have liability as well as personal injury insurance covers. These are just to caution you from losses and extra expenses should anything go wrong during the construction. For instance, the contractor may injure himself working for you, if he does not have personal injury cover, then you will be forced to cater for his medical bills. This is an extra expense that you can easily avoid by hiring a contractor with insurance cover.
Choosing a good gas station contractor is not something you will achieve overnight. It will take you days or even months. As such, it is always important to start the search early when you are still under no pressure.
