The biggest red flags in a commercial floor care bid are a price far below the rest, a vague scope with no coats or product named, no proof of insurance, a large upfront deposit, and a refusal to put the work in writing. Any one of these is a reason to slow down. Two or more, and you are looking at a job that ends in a peeling floor and a second invoice.
A strip and wax bid is a promise about work you cannot see while it happens, usually overnight in an empty building. The bid is your only real protection, so the warning signs hide in what it does and does not say.
The Red Flags in a Commercial Floor Care Bid to Watch For
Some show up in the price, others in the fine print, and others in how the contractor behaves. Each one below comes with what to do about it.
A Price Far Below Everyone Else
When one bid comes in dramatically under the others, that is not a deal. It is a tell.
A lowball number almost always means the savings came from somewhere you will feel later: thinner stripper, too few coats, rushed cure time, or inexperienced labor. Sometimes the low price is bait, and the extras get added once the crew is on site.
What to do: get at least three bids so you know the real range, then ask the cheap one exactly what was left out. A contractor who cannot explain why they are half the price of everyone else is telling you something. For a sense of what the work actually costs, here is what drives the price of a commercial strip and wax.
A Vague Scope With No Real Detail
A serious bid spells out the work. A risky one hides behind general language so nobody can hold it to anything.
Watch for a quote that does not say:
- Whether the job is a full strip and wax or a lighter scrub and recoat
- How many coats of finish go down
- What product or finish is being used
- The square footage being treated
- The cure time and the schedule
What to do: insist on an itemized, written scope. If the contractor resists putting details on paper, assume the vagueness is the point. Our guide to reading a commercial floor care quote line by line shows you exactly what each line should contain.
No Proof of Insurance
A floor crew works with caustic stripper and leaves wet, slick floors behind. If someone is hurt or your building is damaged and the contractor is not insured, that becomes your problem.
A legitimate contractor provides proof without being chased. A risky one dodges, delays, or tells you it is not necessary.
What to do: ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly from their insurer, showing general liability (ideally $1 million or more) and workers’ compensation, with your facility named. No certificate, no contract.
A Large Deposit Demanded Up Front
Some deposit on a large commercial job can be normal. A demand for a big share of the total before any work begins is not.
A contractor asking for most of the money up front may be using your deposit to fund another job, or may not have the working capital a stable company has. In the worst case, the deposit is the scam.
What to do: be wary of any request for more than a modest percentage up front, and never pay in full before the work is done. Tie payments to the work, with the balance due on completion and your approval.
Verbal Promises With Nothing in Writing
“We’ll take care of you” is not a contract. If the important terms live only in a conversation, they do not exist the day something goes wrong.
A bid that stays verbal, or a contractor reluctant to sign a written agreement, leaves you with no scope to enforce, no price to hold them to, and no warranty to call on.
What to do: get the scope, the price, the schedule, and the guarantee in one written document, signed, before the crew shows up. A professional expects this.
No Cure Time or Schedule
Finish needs time to cure, and a real plan accounts for it. A bid that says nothing about when the work happens or how long the floor is unusable has not been thought through, or is hiding a rushed job.
Rushing cure time is one of the most common reasons a fresh finish fails. The floor looks fine on day one, then scuffs, peels, or goes cloudy within weeks.
What to do: ask exactly how long each area will be out of service and when the crew works. A contractor who works nights and weekends and gives you real cure windows is planning around your operation.
No Written Warranty
Even good crews occasionally leave a streak or a patch that cures slowly. What separates a pro is whether they stand behind the work in writing.
A bid with no guarantee, or a contractor who will only promise to “make it right” verbally, gives you nothing to enforce when a finish fails.
What to do: get the warranty terms in writing, including what is covered and for how long. A contractor confident in their work will put free fixes on paper.
High Pressure Tactics and Vanishing Discounts
“This price is only good today” is a sales trick, not a business practice. Pressure to sign on the spot exists to stop you from comparing bids or checking references.
The same goes for a discount that suddenly appears if you commit right now. A fair price is a fair price next week too.
What to do: take the time to compare, check references, and verify insurance. Any contractor who will not let you do that is not one you want in your building.
They Will Not Say Who Does the Work
If the bid comes from a company that cannot or will not tell you whether their own crew or a subcontractor performs the job, you do not actually know who you are hiring.
Undisclosed subcontractors mean the training, the accountability, and the quality are all unknowns. The polished salesperson is not the person stripping your floor at 2 a.m.
What to do: ask directly who performs the work and who your point of contact is. The questions to ask before hiring a floor care contractor are built to surface exactly this.
What a Trustworthy Bid Looks Like Instead
Flip every red flag and you have the profile of a bid worth signing:
- A price in line with the other quotes, with the scope to justify it
- An itemized written proposal: strip or scrub, coats, product, square footage, cure time
- Proof of insurance sent straight from the insurer
- Reasonable payment terms tied to milestones
- A schedule that works around your hours
- A written warranty with clear terms
- A straight answer on who does the work
If you want the full vetting process behind these signals, our guide on how to choose a commercial floor stripping and waxing contractor walks through it step by step.
Frequently Asked Questions
How low is too low for a floor stripping quote?
There is no fixed number, which is why you compare at least three bids. When one comes in well below the cluster, treat the gap as the warning, not the bargain. Ask what was cut: the number of coats, the product grade, the cure time, or the experience of the crew. A price far under the market usually reappears later as a failed finish or a surprise charge.
How much of a deposit should a floor care contractor ask for?
Some deposit on a large commercial job can be reasonable, but a demand for a large share of the total before any work begins is a warning sign. Tie payments to the work, keep the balance due on completion and your approval, and never pay in full up front.
Should a commercial floor care quote always be in writing?
Yes. A written, itemized quote is the only thing you can actually hold a contractor to. It should name the scope, the coats and product, the square footage, the schedule and cure time, who performs the work, and the warranty. A verbal estimate gives you nothing to enforce when something goes wrong.
What should a floor waxing quote include?
It should spell out whether the job is a strip and wax or a scrub and recoat, the square footage, the number of finish coats and the product, the schedule and cure time, who does the work, the warranty, and any extras like furniture moving or cleanup. A single flat number with no breakdown makes it impossible to compare bids fairly.
Excellence Janitorial Services has stripped and waxed commercial floors across Northeastern Pennsylvania for more than ten years. We are family owned, registered, and fully insured in the state, and every job starts with an on-site walkthrough and a written, itemized proposal, no vague numbers and no pressure. If you want a straight, detailed bid for your facility in the Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, or Kingston area, call us at (800) 851-0806.