Why are trades people so incredibly unreliable?!

[motherofkevinnotperry]

I need someone to explain why. What's so difficult with "I'm sorry, I'm not able to do that" or "I'm going to be late", "I'm fully booked", "I need to reschedule" etc etc. How long do you give them before moving on and finding someone else?

I have had more than my fair share of trades just not turning up, making false promises on work then not fulfilling it. They're all so unorganised and terrible communicators. It's so infuriating. Just tell me!

I feel you! Took me 10 months to get a simple side extension finished when the contract was a four month job to plastered finish. Because they kept not showing up or kept pissing off in the middle of the day

But why? What's wrong with them? I don't understand, surely it's easier to be upfront and not be chased by people. Just not turning up means hassle, doesn't it?

Ugh tell me about it. I'm trying to get a quote for a large project at the moment. So far, despite contacting over a dozen companies, I’ve had one price back. One! I’m not a difficult person to deal with. The job is straightforward enough. No issues with location or anything. Three times I’ve made an appointment for an initial site visit with a contractor and they’ve just not shown up, no text or call and never heard from them again.

Must be an insane market for them to be able to just ghost a prospective client who has a 4-5 month job on offer. But even if that’s the case, I still don’t get the lack of basic courtesy and professionalism. These are local companies and times won’t always be so great. Seems crazy to trash your reputation with a portion of your local market just because you’re busy right now.

I think it's a range of things- firstly those that go into trade are rarely academically great in school, and go straight into labouring- therefore administrative skills are limited as no further education nor office work has developed it. What's more apprenticeship and training focus solely on the work and not the admin, with the larger companies that take apprentices having a separate office and then those apprentices qualifying and setting up their own small business without that aspect.

Secondly the nature of the role is that time scales aren't fixed. The job could be estimated at two days but end up 5 days through no fault of the trades person but just what turns up once you've started ( taken floorboards up to reveal horrors etc). And those jobs can be consuming and appeasing/ dealing with just that customer can be enough- meaning it's easy to forget the next one.

Thirdly they do not need you. There's so much work and so few trades that they've got a captured audience so to speak.

A good friend of mine is in property development, he has the same problem, basically because decent tradespeople are hard to come by they can pick and choose their work, so if they're in the middle of a job but they're offered another that's a 'nice little earner' they think nothing of just buggering off for a few days then coming back.

It just astounds me. I don't understand and they're all equally useless. Even the ones with years and years of experience. The ones who appear decent and intelligent, all been a let down. Just say you can't do it, or can't come. It's not difficult! God they must be a nightmare to live with. Imagine how unreliable they're going to be as dads and partners.

My DP is a trade and I've repeatedly told him that regardless of whether he wants the job or not, he has to quote if he said he will because we've had a nightmare getting trades round.

He is SO busy and quoting means working until 11pm / 12 at night every night and it definitely falls down the list of priorities. I think most conclude they need to work a 4-day week to fit the quoting and admin in.

I will use this post to remind him AGAIN to quote regardless or at least say no.

Wow. I don't know where to start unlocking that. Tradespeople can earn a fortune, are highly skilled, and massively in demand, that's why they can pick and chose the jobs they turn up to.

Take a chippie for example, maths. Science, bit of engineering in there. Self employed. Pricing, tax returns etc. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Jesus Christ.

Yeah my DP is an illiterate moron and is too stupid to quote.

They just don’t need you. there are too few of them and too many jobs to do.

It's the managing expectations that's been the issue. I can get quotes easily and I understand timescales aren't set and have to move. Just tell me, I don't bite, I'm not unreasonable. Where they've all fall down is turning up on time, telling me if they're going to be late or can't make it at all. Taking on jobs which they can't/don't finish because "something comes up".

If you can't do the job say so rather than keeping customers waiting and holding on. Don't make excuses like I forgot, I'm not well followed by, but I will do it 🙄. Then nothing for days, weeks. In the past year I have had every trade do this to me😢

The number of people who've quoted, said they can do the work, give me a start date but then never turn up, start but then go off half way through. Take a deposit but don't turn up and I'm sending messages "are you coming today?" Etc is just painful and exhausting. It makes their job harder because they'll have people double booking trades to get work done.

Lol not really but thanks anyway.

Yes it’s this most of the time. They’ll disappear to do something that will bring in more money quickly, or they’ll drop you to accommodate a regular customer that they value more than your job, or to take on a more profitable job.
I will usually be upfront with tradesmen and ask them outright if they will commit to doing the job, and tell them I’m asking this because it’s so common for tradesmen to let small customers down. DH on the other hand is extremely soft and lets them take the piss endlessly.

We have basically given up on dealing with individual tradesmen. Just can't deal with being constantly let down.

Even for the £90k extension we did, we had builders done round and then fail to turn in a quote. It's not even about big job Vs small job, it's just chronic incompetence.

We now just use fantastic services for bigger jobs and taskrabbit for smaller jobs. You can book online and someone actually turns up

Most of the tradesmen I’ve known (family & friends) have ADHD, the career suits many with ADHD (not too many classroom hours/tests, boss is hands off and let’s you get on with the job/self employed and thus can feel flaky or unreliable- I say this as I also have ADHD and when in between jobs have been a labourer for tradesmen.

As I say- this is only a personal reflection. It’s rarely that they’re lazy or incapable, just that it’s not our nature to keep track or get back to people or time keep. Many’s tradesmen I’ve encountered are also very black and white and literal also which can come across as rude/abrupt/unreliable.

I currently have a half finished job in my house. Tradesman started , got half way through and said he'd be back tomorrow because he needed more materials. That was last week. He left his tools here though, so I'll be sure to give him the run around the get them back

It's the type of people they are. Few good eggs but most of them act like they were born in a barn.

Oh yes. I live next door to one. Loudmouthed, teeth missing, drags his children up with zero manners. Nasty.

The people I've met have all been really sharp and on the ball actually. Well recommended and the ones who've done work have been really good.

It's their ability to time and expectation manage where it's extremely been frustrating. After 4 weeks of waiting for a job to be done and giving the person the opportunity to step away they're still insisting they can come. I'm obviously looking for someone else in the meantime.

A very good question.

Had one chap round to give me a quote for a bathroom refit. Firstly he slagged off the company we'd bought the toilet and sink from , and then failed to come back with a quote.
Presumably he decided it was too small a job and he couldn't be bothered.

Surely it's not too hard to say 'sorry I'm too busy at the moment so I can't take on new work '

Seems unfair. As said they've all been really professional nice people just very unreliable.

This! Exactly this, just tell us how it is 🙄

I'm sat here waiting for a tradesman who insisted he had to come at 9am today, Tuesday. Re-jigged work and other commitments to suit. It's now 15.23 no tradesman, no response to texts and calls. This is about the 3rd-4th time so that's it. Will be trying to find someone else. Although I sometimes think it would be quicker to re-train in that particular trade......

I'm currently tearing my hair out over a builder who paid for the lead on mybuilder to quote for replacing a door and repairing the brickwork. He agreed to do the job, came and took more detailed measurements so he could place the order - then went quiet. Replies to messages to give me bullshit excuses but doesn't actually commit. Drives me insane!

OTOH there's a father/son duo who do bits and pieces of joinery and odd jobs etc who turn up when they say and then charge so little that I feel guilty. I would pay them double just because they're so reliable!