(photo courtesy of aTanguay on flickr)
An old client of mine called me up several days ago and asked me about insurance, which I thought was an excellent question. His new client was concerned about what happened if we cause damages to his home, such as accidentally scratching hardwood floors, etc.
What you should ask in an interview of hiring stager:
- Are you insured? (Note: NOT bonded, insured)
- What happens if something [insert your own occasion here] happened?
Then ask these follow-up screening questions:
- What is your background in staging? (Accreditations, certifications, etc.)
- How long have you done this AND how many homes have you staged? (People can be in the biz for a long long time but work occasionally. It’s sad, but true.)
- Can you see their past portfolio? (Make sure you ask: “are these your own work?” to make sure they are not stock photos. And “tell me the story about this one.” If it’s their work, they should know the stories)
- In the proposal, make sure you ask questions that you don’t understand about the proposal. And make sure they list out key info such as what is included in the price, how they price your job and how they work as professionals.
- (Your homework at home: googling their companies on the internet to see there are open complaints, terrible reviews, etc. Also read their blogs if they have one to see if they know what they are talking about. There are no regulations in the industry, so make sure you are hiring a reputable stager.)
In another follow up post, I will tell you what insurance means.
In the meanwhile, do you have any other questions that you ask when you hire a stager? If so, feel free to share at the comment area below! 