How many times have you played this game? You have scheduled your parking lot maintenance. You sent emails. You called tenants. And even though nothing changed in the project schedule, you received complaints from people. It’s not the kind of game anyone wants to play. Fortunately, hiring a paving contractor who will partner with you and knows how to minimize disruptions can help reduce tenant complaints. In this blog post, we will talk about what you should expect from your paving contractor that will help you during the paving process.

Your contractor should: 

Help you plan. A contractor should want to be included in your planning phase. Open communication with your paving company will help to alleviate the difficulties you might face due to closing some or all of your lot. If they know ahead of time how each area is used, and when the busiest times are in each area, your paving partner can work with their scheduling department to coordinate your project around those times. If your lot is large, the contractor may also work in phases to minimize the disruption. 

Help you prepare. Once you have collaborated with your contractor on a plan, it’s important to prepare your tenants for disruption. We find that despite notifying tenants, all too often, they “forget” when the day comes. And then you have to deal with finding who parked in your construction zone to ask them to move. Your contractor can help prevent delays by blocking off areas, putting up signage, and setting up the day or night before so the lot will be ready when the crew arrives.

Be effective and efficient. Weather delays are forgivable. Showing up late or unprepared is not. Your contractor should be ready to do the job they promised. They should also be thoroughly equipped for the project. Lacking proper equipment for the scope of the job can cause delays that seriously interrupt your schedule. And messy job sites can bring a lot of warranted complaints. Your paving contractor should pay attention to detail.

A paving contractor that is sensitive to your needs, equipped and prepared, can help to reduce complaints. For a deeper dive into having a smoother experience on a paving project, download our eBook, 5 Tips to Minimize Disruptions During Your Paving Project.