As a flooring contractor, your first instinct might be to get in and out as quickly as possible because you want to tackle the next job as soon as you can. 

This is understandable since the more quickly you can get through a job, the better your bottom line. But if you want to set yourself apart from your competitors, as part of offering the highest quality service, don’t neglect the finishing touches. 

Here are some tips to making sure that the finishing touches don’t get looked over and that you ultimately receive more word-of-mouth referrals: 

Make sure that the vents, moldings, and trim look good. It’s easy to forget about the little things when you’re installing or refinishing an entire hardwood floor. But the little details matter too.

Using caulk where necessary can go a long way to making your trim looks professional. This includes making sure there’s no gaps showing around the quarter rounds. Fill in any gaps around the quarter rounds with a caulk gun, and do the same where two pieces of molding meet in the corners. Wipe up excess caulk with a damp rag. Use wood putty to cover up nail holes, then use sandpaper to smooth it out before finishing it with the same products you used on the floor. 

Use drop-in vents and finish them with the same product you used to finish the rest of the floor in order to give the job a professional, complete look.

Clean up. This is a simple step and can seem pretty obvious, but horror stories abound about contractors from various trades who leave jobsites in shambles after completing a job (or worse yet, not completing a job at all and “ghosting” the client). Make sure you clean up as much as possible (if you use a dustless sanding process, you’re already halfway there!) and do a thorough search before packing up for good to ensure that you haven’t left scrap wood, tools, or anything else behind.

Leave your clients with good information. Give your clients a couple of parting gifts in the form of education on how to care for their new or newly refinished floors. Some good ideas include floor care guides including information about the right cleaning products to use, information about relative humidity and its effect on flooring, and guidelines about how long until they can move their furniture back onto the floors.

Even printing out or emailing them a simple document with bullet points is much better than leaving your clients with verbal instructions that they’ll likely forget. If you’d really like to step up your game, could even leave them with a product like the Bona Pro hardwood floor care kit to ensure they start off on the right foot.

Sometimes paying attention to the small details can make a big difference. Putting effort into the finishing touches on your jobsites can really set you apart from your competitors and get you more word-of-mouth referrals in the long run!