How do you rate a subcontractor?
Rate subcontractors by tracking three things: whether they show up on time, whether the work passes inspection, and whether they charge what they quoted. Beyond that, you need a system to record those ratings so you can actually use them when hiring. Here's how.
Track what actually matters on every job
Don't rate someone on personality. Rate them on: Did they arrive when scheduled? Did they complete the work on the date promised? Did the work pass your inspection on the first pass? Did they stay within the quoted price? Those four data points tell you everything about reliability and competence. When a subcontractor finishes a job, take two minutes to record yes or no on each. A plumber who shows up late twice in six months but never fails inspection is different from one who arrives early but leaves gaps in caulk work. You need to see the pattern, not trust your memory. After 20 jobs with five different subs, you won't remember which one had the callback issue.
Get references and check them yourself
Ask for three recent jobs. Call the homeowners. Ask: Did the work get done on time? Did it hold up? Would you hire them again? Listen for hesitation in the answer — sometimes a homeowner will say yes but their tone says something else. Ask the subcontractor directly about their last failed inspection or callback. If they say they've never had one, they're lying or haven't been doing the work long enough. Good subs know their weak spots and can explain what they learned. Someone who gets defensive is a red flag.
Look at photos and talk to past customers
Before hiring someone new, ask for photos of completed work. Look at the details: grout lines, caulk joints, paint edges, material transitions. Sloppy details in photos mean sloppy on-site work. If they can't show you photos from three recent jobs, that's a sign they don't take documentation seriously. When you call references, ask specific questions about the work. Not 'Was he good?' but 'Did the grout lines stay clean' or 'Did the paint line at the trim come out straight.' References who get specific are telling you the truth. Vague praise is often noncommittal.
Keep a simple running record
Write it down somewhere you'll actually look at it. A notebook, a spreadsheet, or a job tracking system. The format doesn't matter as much as having it in one place where you can see patterns over time. When you're deciding between two subs for a job, pull up their last five jobs and see the scores. One sub might be cheaper but have a callback rate of 20 percent. Another costs more but comes in on time 100 percent of the time. For some jobs, speed matters more. For others, quality does. The data tells you who to call.
Bottom line
Rate subcontractors on concrete outcomes: on-time arrival, first-pass quality, schedule adherence, and price accuracy. Record the results so you can actually see the pattern when you need to hire someone.