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Original poster

Getting tradespeople to turn up..

82 replies

NotMyCat · 29/10/2021 23:01

Any tips on this?!
So I had someone out to quote for a thermostat, tiling and flooring. All fine. He said the thermostat would be this week and he would quote the flooring. That was 2 weeks ago and he's AWOL

I book people and they either don't quote, don't turn up, or vanish. Is it just me?! And no, not since covid, it's always happening Confused
I need work doing on my kitchen - the tiling and floor, it can be done any time, I provide drinks and biscuits and make myself scarce, pay them and that's it
Just find it so frustrating if I take a day off work and they just don't bloody turn up Angry

OP posts:
CremeEggThief · 30/10/2021 17:54

Unless they're scaffolders! Then they turn up at your neighbour's house before 8 a.m. on a wet Saturday morning!Grin

RockaLock · 30/10/2021 17:59

It is a nightmare at the moment. They all must have so much work on, that they feel like they can just piss off as many people as they like and it won't matter.

One day, though, the work will start to dry up, and then when we want something doing, we will remember who the unprofessional ones were...

thinkningaboutit · 30/10/2021 18:12

It's the invoicing too. I had a bathroom fitted six weeks ago, have chased numerous times and still nothing. I owe him thousands of pounds.

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Original poster
NotMyCat · 30/10/2021 18:13

@RockaLock

It is a nightmare at the moment. They all must have so much work on, that they feel like they can just piss off as many people as they like and it won't matter.

One day, though, the work will start to dry up, and then when we want something doing, we will remember who the unprofessional ones were...

Yeah my dad is "have you rung them?" And I'm well why should I? They agreed to be here on X day and X time and they're not, so why would I be chasing them!?
OP posts:
Original poster
NotMyCat · 30/10/2021 18:14

@TSSDNCOP

I have had very good experience through Check a Trader, but after in two things:

Be realistic with timeframes
Be realistic with price: MN price vs real world not the same

I got the quote for floor and tiling from one, was perfectly happy, all agreed and... vanished Confused And that was a recommendation from a friend as well! Bins friend
OP posts:
Ihaventgottimeforthis · 30/10/2021 18:19

It happens so much that I am now highly suspicious of the quality of the ones who DO send a reasonable quote and say they can stay in a few weeks. If they're cheap and available they probably aren't any good...

BetterCare · 30/10/2021 18:23

This is an ongoing frustration for me from gas service to gardening to general maintenance it drives me insane.

I really wish more women would learn these trades or set up businesses to manage tradespeople (men). I am 100% sure a woman could drop the kids off at school, wallpaper a room perfectly, and finish in time to pick them up.

I am even more sure a group of women could build a house perfectly in school hours and term times only.

I know this doesn't answer your question. I think also what is causing further problems for certain trades getting supplies is really difficult and Brexit is not helping.

The biggest problem though is no one seems to have taught these people how to communicate. So they simply don't respond to messages or fail to turn up.

Now I am on a rant. I wish you the best of luck but know you are not alone.

DismantledKing · 30/10/2021 18:27

Now that the good Eastern European workmen have generally gone home, shit British tradesmen have reverted to type.

Original poster
NotMyCat · 30/10/2021 18:27

I'm glad it's not just me! I leave reviews too if they're good
Today I rang a customer to say "sorry, I haven't got the answer yet" and they sounded stunned I had rung them Confused
Think if there's communication you're a bit more forgiving if they're a day late/forget something but totally awol is so annoying

OP posts:
Whywhywhy48 · 30/10/2021 18:35

Honestly don't get me started on tradesmen. Bloody nightmare!!

Caspianberg · 30/10/2021 19:16

The electric company rang ME last week, to tell me they needed to come try to read meter as an issue with smart meter apparently. Ok fine. 9am apparently.

Like hell did they turn up. I called them, to be told, oh actually they are busy now, they will come another day?! Why bother calling me in the first place

Roselilly36 · 30/10/2021 19:22

An age old question OP 😂 trades are a law unto themselves, especially in these times when they can pick & chose jobs.

Jason118 · 30/10/2021 19:34

We don't have enough tradespeople, that's the problem. We don't train enough and Brexit robbed us of too many. Until we (as a country) have a joined up training plan, it'll carry on being this bad.

FlyingWhistle · 30/10/2021 19:39

Everyone wants work doing and there aren't enough good tradesmen to go round.

PinkCheetah · 30/10/2021 21:49

I could write a play about my hell on earth experience with tradesmen. The good ones are like pixie dust. One plumber actually had the balls to call me and say he won't be turning up for the job that day, because he got trashed on beer the night before and he's too hung over. And that's after ALREADY being two weeks late in starting! The absolute cheek they must be inundated with work to pull this rubbish off.

VanGoghsDog · 30/10/2021 23:43

@thinkningaboutit

It's the invoicing too. I had a bathroom fitted six weeks ago, have chased numerous times and still nothing. I owe him thousands of pounds.
God, I hate that too. I had a job that was covered mostly my insurance but I couldn't claim until I had the invoice, plumber took months to send it, insurance co was calling me twice a week, I was calling plumber twice a week. Insurance co were threatening to close the claim. It was stressful.
Annabelle69 · 30/10/2021 23:49

I need guttering, fascias and soffits replacing. After a couple of no shows / no quotes, I went straight to a Checkatrade national firm that specialises in that and will do a professional job with guarantees. Rep turned up on time (early in fact) , measured up, quoted on the spot and booked us in for 3 months time. I've probably paid 50% more, but I don't care, I don't need the hassle of timewasters.

I found the most amazing Electrician by joining my local community FB page and taking recommendations from people that actually used his services. My Plumber is a friend, and I've been waiting 2 months for a quote on my bathroom, I'm fed up waiting, but he'll get upset if I ask someone else. We'll just quote then! Confused

Leavisite · 30/10/2021 23:55

We have a long-established local builder whose mother plays poker with DH’s mother, so he couldn’t shaft us, or she’d kill him.
Grin

Now he knows and likes us — we’ve had so much work done this past year on our wreck that he’s nearly a member of the family — and other trades show up so as not to piss him off.

TeeTotaller1 · 30/10/2021 23:59

@Linnet

I’ve been trying to get my hall painted. I phoned 3 decorators, The first one admitted he was fully booked for months, fair enough. The second the receptionist said he’d get back to me, but he didn’t. The third said he’d come round two days later to give me a quote and never turned up!

It makes me so mad, they must not need the money.

I don't know where you are but my decorator is bloody amazing and is available
Roselilly36 · 31/10/2021 07:25

@Annabelle69

I need guttering, fascias and soffits replacing. After a couple of no shows / no quotes, I went straight to a Checkatrade national firm that specialises in that and will do a professional job with guarantees. Rep turned up on time (early in fact) , measured up, quoted on the spot and booked us in for 3 months time. I've probably paid 50% more, but I don't care, I don't need the hassle of timewasters.

I found the most amazing Electrician by joining my local community FB page and taking recommendations from people that actually used his services. My Plumber is a friend, and I've been waiting 2 months for a quote on my bathroom, I'm fed up waiting, but he'll get upset if I ask someone else. We'll just quote then! Confused

If it was Anglian, you would definitely have paid over the top, we had them quote on our old house, fair enough, very large detached house, and before COVID etc, their quote was £18,500. Had a local firm around, that had already updated the soffits, gutters & barge boards, at some local addresses, so we had seen their work, their quote was £3,200!
blink1eight2 · 31/10/2021 07:30

We need a tiler at the moment. People aren't even bothering to call us back.

What's going on?!

mum2jakie · 31/10/2021 07:37

We need a whole new bathroom fitting, have the money ready - budget not an issue. Can't get anyone even willing to give us a quote!! And we started trying last year so thought it was Covid related then but clearly no better now. And yes, people arrange to come out and just don't turn up!!

AllTheCakes · 31/10/2021 07:43

I hate this, seems to be happening more and more.

I’ve had some luck in the past posting jobs on My Builder. It gives trades the option to reach out to you for jobs rather than the other way round so at least you know they are interested.

changeyourname11111 · 31/10/2021 07:53

Same issues.

Had a bathroom done recently except it isn’t finished and there are a couple of small leaks (plus an unexplained wet wall directly underneath the bathroom) - they aren’t coming back despite my asking repeatedly (I have given up now). I think the two people working together had a bust up.

Then the builder from the duo contacted me to say he could do the shower room (which they had been going to do after the bathroom but they vanished instead) - he no longer works with his partner. I said would he first finish
the outstanding jobs in the bathroom (including the leaks where he fitted wastes), and he said no I should go to his ex partner for that. So I can’t have him for the shower room if upstairs is not finished.

Now I am at the stage that I am asking other people for quotes - for finishing the bathroom and for the shower room. One person came to look 4 days ago but no sign of a quote yet, I emailed someone else details of the job (he did our kitchen two years ago so he would be a good contender) on the same day but he hasn’t got back to me (despite the fact that he asked for details about the job), someone else was supposed to come and look and didn’t turn up - I am tired of it all.

The people who did (most of) my bathroom were saying that it has never been more difficult to get good contractors - and the skilled ones want a lot of money.

Badbadbunny · 31/10/2021 08:07

@CheesecakeAddict

The best way of getting people, I have found, is via other tradespeople. So my plasterer knew a roofer who he asked to get in touch with me. My window fitter got a tiler and a plumber in for me. My plumber knew a kitchen fitter. We have tradesmen around here taking bookings for 2023.
Yep, that's how we do it now. The decent ones simply don't advertise as they don't need to, no website, no Facebook page, etc. We've got an electrician, plumber, joiner, plasterer, window fitter, decorator and odd job man, all referred via eachother, all who call on eachother when needed. None of them even have a sign written van - you'd never get hold of them or even know what they did if it weren't for their little referral network. For smaller jobs we don't even ask for quotes etc as we trust them and none have ever let us down. Ironically, they don't overcharge either, just genuine hard working honest guys.

The only people we struggle with are roofers and scaffolders - even our "trusted" tradesmen have trouble with them and regard them as wild west cowboys, so tread very carefully themselves and have basically been through all the local firms and have been let down/ripped off by them all, so they use the "least worse" of them!