Why are so many tradesmen so unreliable ? And how do you avoid them ?

[Justin Smith]

Why are so many tradesmen so bleedin` unreliable and have such an unprofessional attitude ? Even the ones I use regularly are no paragons of virtue in this regard. Almost all tradesmen regularly fail to answer the phone and /or fail to phone you back. The worst of them just fail to turn up to do the job. The latest example being a certain landscape gardeners who not once but twice just didn`t turn up on the day. He failed to answer the phone and then (when I used a different phone line) just fobbed me off saying they`d be there "later".

How can you avoid the worst of them ? Recommendation is not necessarily effective (the landscape gardener was recommended to me on SF ! ), and naming and shaming would probably just result in removal, hence the fact I haven`t named the less than professional landscape gardeners I`ve just been dealing with.

One piece of advice I`ve got : if the tradesmen is hard to get hold of in the first place (i.e. before you`ve even asked him to do an estimate) that`s a bad sign, he`s unlikely to get any easier to contact and it strongly hints at an unprofessional attitude.

Has anyone else got any hints ?

Edited September 4, 2015 by Justin Smith

[Lobos]

Like this aerial guy I called all I wanted was my aerial tweaking and I was willing to pay a tenner for his trouble,I've even got a step ladder in the shed he could have borrowed, never showed up very unprofessional, I could do it myself but I don't have one of those special thingy majig machines you need to set it up, never mind big Dave in the pub said he is going to come over and do it for me this afternoon, he better do I've already bought him six pints on account ...

[froger]

I made appointments with four different tradesmen to come and give a quote for a conservatory roof ( all from SF) not one of them turned up.

[Justin Smith]

Like this aerial guy I called all I wanted was my aerial tweaking and I was willing to pay a tenner for his trouble,I've even got a step ladder in the shed he could have borrowed, never showed up very unprofessional, I could do it myself but I don't have one of those special thingy majig machines you need to set it up, never mind big Dave in the pub said he is going to come over and do it for me this afternoon, he better do I've already bought him six pints on account ...

 

You`ve hit a nail on the head here.

Speaking as someone who used to employ aerial installers I can tell you that £10 is not worth it for his time, we used to charge a minimum £35 call out fee and I can tell you we weren`t driving round in Jaguars.... Not that I`m actually bothered about cars, but you know what I mean.

BUT ! If any tradesmen agrees to do a job for a price he should do it ! If he doesn`t want the job he should just quote high (and then one assumes he would want it) or be honest and say he doesn`t want it. Saying he does want the job then just not turning up is so bleedin` unprofessional and, let`s face it, discourteous.

 

PS you really don`t need an RF meter for most aerial jobs, and this really this is something I know quite a bit about, see link below.....

[mrcharlie]

Probably because all the decent ones have got out of it!

 

I used to be a subby (joiner- shop fitter). I took a ridiculous amount of pride in my work, but the recession came and prospective customers knew we were struggling for work, so typically played us off to other tradesmen..." Well I can get it done for this much...blah blah, either match it or I'll take the other quote..blah blah"

Needless to say I and most of the guys I worked with have long since downed our tools and moved on.

Sorry, but believe me when I say it. It's gonna get far far worse than this. This new crowd all want £120 a day minimum...turn up at 8, breakfast at 9, dinner at 12, wash off at 3 and **** off at 4 and still cut corners if they think they can get away with it.

Edited September 3, 2015 by mrcharlie

[Berberis]

I remember Jeremy Hardy lamenting on Radio 4 about this. He said he had some Polish builders sorting his extension and they had called him one weekend to ask if they could work on the following Bank Holiday Monday. He was shocked buy their hardworking attitude compared to his experience with British (take a tea break every hour) builders.

 

When presented with the argument "These foreigners are coming over here and stealing our jobs" his reply is; "No they are doing your jobs."

[Mister M]

I think Age Concern produce a list of trustworthy tradesmen. I'm unclear as to how they get approved by Age Concern, but I think it's a good idea for the elderly.

[Margarita Ma]

Why are so many tradesmen so bleedin` unreliable and have such an unprofessional attitude ? Even the ones I use regularly are no paragons of virtue in this regard. Almost all tradesmen regularly fail to answer the phone and /or fail to phone you back. The worst of them just fail to turn up to do the job. The latest example being a certain landscape gardeners who not once but twice just didn`t turn up on the day. He failed to answer the phone and then (when I used a different phone line) just fobbed me off saying they`d be there "later".

How can you avoid the worst of them ? Recommendation is not necessarily effective (the landscape gardener was recommended to me on SF ! ), and naming and shaming would probably just result in removal, hence the fact I haven`t named the totally unprofessional landscape gardeners I`ve just been dealing with (if you PM me I`ll tell you though ! ). One piece of advice I`ve got : if the tradesmen is hard to get hold of in the first place (i.e. before you`ve even asked him to do an estimate) that`s a bad sign, he`s unlikely to get any easier to contact and it strongly hints at an unprofessional attitude.

Has anyone else got any hints ?

HINT:

Good tradesmen rarely have vacant slots in their work, unless they are just starting out on their own, so you have to be prepared to wait a while and not want the job doing last week like most people do. Some tradesmen, generally the good ones prefer to get on with the job they are doing rather than be constantly answering a mobile phone (there is nothing more irritating than paying someone for their time while they are taking a half hour phone call from someone who thinks they can explain a job over the phone and get a quote). HINT. Try phoning when they are likely to be taking a lunch break or in the early evening you are more likely to get an answer and they may even be near a notebook so they can take down your address.

HINT: Good workmen of any kind who use a lot of energy in their work need to be well hydrated make sure you have the kettle on regularly or cold drinks in hot weather. Just take them out to them and let them get on with it Metal teapot a big bowl of sugar and some milk or bottles of cold drinks and BBQ tumblers. they will break off at a convenient point in what they are doing. Or you could just tell them to come in to the kitchen when they need a drink. It works wonders when you treat people like human beings.

Plumbers Electricians and Gas Fitters, will get emergency calls that throw out their schedules and so do people who deal with trees and shrubs. HINT: Try try calling them the day before they are due to come to see if they are on schedule, sometimes even the best planned job has something unforeseen crop up.

 

HINT: Get recommendations from real people, Friends, Relatives, Neighbours, Work Colleagues. not people you have never met and would not recognise in the street. Failing that, try asking people you see working in your neighbourhood.

[GerryBooth]

MrCharlie has hit the nail on the head! So right!

 

But what people do not realise that this is summer and as for outdoor trades everybody wants us in summer. So if you are savvy you book us in Spring or winter for summer. I am and always have been booked up for summer by April. I am now bookedup up until December although there will be be the odd ones that cancel at short notice when itturns nippy, not that they will get me back next year.

 

As for unreliable that is wrong simple as. But regarding not answering the phone? Well I now for the first year ever do not answer my phone either to a un- recognised number. Not even the house phone. Why? Because I do not need the work as said so I do not need to have my so precios private time wasted looking at jobs I cannot do if the customer even wanted me to. But saying no, sorry I cannot quote is not that easy. Some people demand it! So it is easier to not answer the phone than get into an argument.

 

As for over pricing not to get the job, that is not for me and you still might get the job. Telling someone you don't want their work is insulting so simply dont answer the phone until you need the work.

 

This is going to get worse. He demand is there but not the supply. 7 years of low prices have seen most tradesmen go to other employment.

[Hots on]

I remember Jeremy Hardy lamenting on Radio 4 about this. He said he had some Polish builders sorting his extension and they had called him one weekend to ask if they could work on the following Bank Holiday Monday. He was shocked buy their hardworking attitude compared to his experience with British (take a tea break every hour) builders.

 

When presented with the argument "These foreigners are coming over here and stealing our jobs" his reply is; "No they are doing your jobs."

 

Foreigners such as the Polish tend to be more motivated because they often take/send money home, where it goes much further than here in rip off Britain.