Ask for references from communities like yours, then call them and ask questions that cannot be answered with "good." How long have they been with you? What went wrong, and how was it handled? Have they ever missed a visit? Boards ask for references and then never call, because the calls feel awkward and the company obviously handed you people who will say nice things. A real client will still tell you things a sales pitch never will.
Ask for the right references, not just any references
The references a company volunteers are its happiest clients. That is fine as a starting point. Be specific about what you want:
- Communities like yours. Similar size, similar services, ideally nearby. Ask each reference to describe their community. Unit count, amenities, acreage, and how often the team comes. Then your board can judge whether that job resembles yours.
- A client of a year or more. Anyone is great in month one. You want someone who has seen a full cycle, including a problem.
- A recently departed client, if you can get one. Ask, "Is there a community that left you in the last year, and can I speak with them?" A company confident in its work will have an answer. A refusal tells you something.
Make the calls
A reference in writing is worth very little, because people are candid on the phone in ways they never are on paper. Call two or three for any company you are seriously considering; ten minutes each is plenty. If you have time for exactly one diligence step this month, make it this one.
Ask questions that can't be answered with "good"
Open-ended, specific questions get you past the reflexive praise. Try:
- How long have you worked with them, and why did you choose them?
- Do they show up when they are supposed to? Reliability is the whole game.
- How do they communicate? Do you reach a person, and how fast?
- Tell me about a time something went wrong. What happened, and how did they handle it? This is the most revealing question you can ask. Every company has a bad day. The good ones own it and fix it.
- How do they handle billing? Any surprise charges?
- Did their price change, and how did they tell you?
- Would you hire them again? Listen for the pause as much as the answer.
Listen for what isn't said
References rarely trash a company outright, so pay attention to hesitation and hedging. "They're... generally pretty responsive" is not the same as "they always call me back." A long pause before "would you hire them again" says more than the eventual yes. If a reference volunteers a caveat unprompted, take it seriously. People minimize problems on these calls, so a stated concern usually points to a bigger one.
Verify the reference is real
Occasionally a "reference" is a friend or a relative rather than a real client. A few questions settle it. How many units? What services, exactly? How are they billed? Someone who works with the company answers instantly and in detail. Vague, generic answers are a flag about the reference, and about the company that supplied it.
Look beyond the company's own list
The references a company gives you are hand-picked by design, so add an independent check:
- Ask nearby communities and your management company who they use, and who they have dropped.
- Check state licensing boards for complaints or disciplinary actions.
- Read online reviews for repetition rather than for verdicts. Decide up front what would move your board. The same specific complaint from several unrelated customers would qualify. Then hold the reviews to that.
- If the work is licensed, confirm the license is active and in good standing.
The most valuable references are the ones the company did not pick. One name from a neighboring board is worth three from a brochure.
Write down what you learn
Keep short notes from each call and file them with the proposals. If the board later debates the choice, or a future board wonders why this company was hired, the record shows the decision was made carefully. It also builds a small library of reputations your board can draw on next time.
Where VendoRFP fits
Reference calls tell you about fit and temperament, which is the half no document carries. The other half runs the other way: whether a credential is real and current, and whether the policy still exists this morning, is document work, and it is done before a company can propose at your community. Three documents decide it: general liability, workers' compensation, and the credential its trade requires. A person here opens each certificate and verifies the limits and the expiration date against what your community requires. Insurance is held to a 30-day renewal window; a trade credential has none. Once that window closes, the vendor cannot propose on new work, or be awarded any, until it is current again. Business registration is verified too, alongside the three that decide. A company's work history then sits in the same place as its proposals, so a future board can see who was considered and who was chosen.
VendoRFP is where a board runs the rest of it. You post the work, local vendors propose on it, and your board reads the proposals side by side before it picks one. The contract is between your community and the vendor it picked. Invoicing stays with the vendors: each sends its own, and every one lands beside the visit records it covers.
Then make the calls. Ten minutes on the phone with a real client tells you the thing no document carries. What this company is like on the day something goes wrong.