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!

🤣🤣🤣🤣

My chippie cannot do maths at all - you should see him try to add up double digits, he had to ask someone for help - and definitely would not describe himself as highly skilled. And, judging by all the doors that keep falling off their hinges since he worked on my house, neither would I.

Sure there are probably some fantastic craftsmen out there, but almost all of the tradesmen I’ve hired have been incredibly dim and none capable of arriving on time.

OP they’re unreliable because reliable people tend to get a better job.

My DP is an electrician and I would say that time management is really difficult. Im a lawyer and can't get my head around how best to do it. That is because he is involved at the start of a job - setting up temporary electrics for example, he then goes away and comes back to do a first fix, he is then reliant on other trades doing what they're meant to be doing before he can go back and second fix. That will be the case for multiple jobs he's got going on at the same time. Totally reliant on other people and having to work around them.

He then plans to fit in smaller jobs in between the larger jobs. The smaller jobs can take longer than expected - he loses money. The larger job is delayed - he loses money. He is now telling people it's going to be at least 4 weeks before he can do the job. He doesn't want to lose the work but he is in a position where hr doesn't need to accept every job. He has actually now brought in someone else because he is worried he's on the verge of over committing.

He went to a better school than I did. Got better a level results than I did, doesn't have ADHD and is probably a better parent than I am.

The worst thing about having a tradesman as a partner is that you probably live in a house or flat that is never quite finished.

So, what I've taken from this thread is that people who leave school and go straight into work/don't pursue further education are really dumb. I guess that explains why it tends to be the middle class/middle aged who are the absolute worst customers in hospitality/retail, they quite literally think they are better.

Disclaimer: no, not all middle class, middle aged people are dicks

But my current frustrating trades person is actually really clever, good at his job and knows his stuff. I've known him a while and he's never been flakey, until now 🙄.

Like I've said before. Just tell your customers and keep them informed. We're not psychic and be honest with us. If you can't do it tell us. If you're too busy tell us. If you've been held up tell us!

Not sure if illiterate moron is worse than unable to properly manage a business/keep his word/respect other people’s time.

Don't forget they've also all got ADHD. And are terrible parents.

With no teeth

@kirinm I think a lot of the answer is not being a sole trader - small groups of tradesmen working together could a) sequence the work better and b) afford to pay someone to answer the phone and do admin

I don't know why there seems to be an aversion to this and instead for everyone to be a one man band

Your DH seems to have come to this conclusion by hiring someone

There’s a MASSIVE shortage of trades people right now. We can’t get anyone for love nor money. People come to price work and we never hear from them again. Young people can’t afford the shitty apprenticeship rates so don’t bother anymore, and now the knock on effect is this. It’s so crap, we’ve literally got the cash waiting and no one wants to do our plastering!

My luck has recently improved with tradespeople and I think it’s because jobs are slowly down and they are starting to remember that customers will go elsewhere if you don’t quote or turn up when you say will. If there was a big national company that supplied tradespeople with the strap line “We keep our word” I would absolutely go for them to avoid ever having to deal with individual tradespeople again!

@Mumsanetta there's no excuse for poor communication.

But suggesting trades aren't properly educated, have ADHD or make for bad partners and parents is fuck all to do with poor communication and is just mumsnetters being dicks.

Hiring other people is expensive. Electricians in London can charge £350+ a day. I guess (with my DP) he was worried he might not have enough work to justify getting someone else involved / the costs of someone else. That has proved incorrect.

He does need someone to sort admin - I'm too busy to help with it. But only he can do the quoting - unless he actually sets up in business with another person.

High demand, low supply. They can pick and choose what they do for their benefit.

he is then reliant on other trades doing what they're meant to be doing before he can go back and second fix. That will be the case for multiple jobs he's got going on at the same time. Totally reliant on other people and having to work around them.

This plus equipment and materials turning up on time plus unexpected horrors or bad weather can also cause delays.

When FIL was running own building company he had 2 years work stretching out head and -next door doing the same has said the same - so they aren't short of work.

Last house when we did all the windows - wanted 6 quotes only a local one got back to us several not even turning up- so we had to go with him which was frustrating as it was a big job and a lot of money for us. He was good though as we paid immediately with a bank transfer - when we later had doors problems and a replacement needed he came straight away he said he prioritizing us over a new job as we paid straight away with no fuss and no chasing needed.

This is it ^

They can pick and choose.

I think if you behave like a dick you don’t get to argue that other people are responding like dicks to you.

I was going to say delays with materials is an issue. Having to order and plan materials for each and every job knowing that you can't be sure when the materials will actually arrive. He often spends the first part of the morning driving to wholesalers to pick up things that haven't been delivered or arrived when they're meant to have been.

@Mumsanetta you're tedious.

@Mumsanetta maybe. I’m also married to someone who is honest to a fault and would rather let a job go than mess people around.

@kirinm the above was a response to you.

My lovely, intelligent, skilled husband has a very successful home improvements business and I am a strategy manager with a masters degree. He is not thick, does his admin, gets a lot of repeat business , pays his taxes, keeps customers informed, quotes when he says he will and does not hop from job to job. He has great reviews on fb and a (currently 9 month) queue of customers waiting, some of whom have become good friends. You’re snobbish entitled ‘I’m better than you’ attitude, ( even, here, slagging off their abilities as husbands and partners and thereby offending a huge chunk of people on MN!) may be very obvious to them , and EXACTLY the reason none of them want to work for you. DH can sniff clients like you a mile off and tells them that he cannot do the work. You sound awful OP. Good luck, you’ll only get disloyalty and poor quality work with an approach like that.

Oh, and I know it is ‘your’ not ‘you’re’ - spellcheck did that .

There is so much work out there that it's hard to believe you would be taking much of a risk

But what I had in mind was more being in partnership with one or more people rather than hiring them to work for you - as then you share the profits rather than just delegate

There's a real aversion amongst trades to actually pay someone to do admin and instead to default to just not doing it which is short sighted IMO

In London, we are definitely starting to see bigger companies like Pimlico plumbers or fantastic services or aspect more and more - I think people have finally reached the point where they will pay the premium to deal with a bigger company who will actually turn up

This

We’d had a plumber booked in for weeks who didn’t bother to turn up. His ‘admin’ said he knocked on the door but didn’t answer, this was bollocks as my husband waited in all day and the doorcam proved he was a liar. It was obvious he’d had a better offer and wanted to do that instead.

Wouldn’t have killed him to just tell us that though so my partner could have gone to work and not lost pay hanging around. It’s incredibly disrespectful and not the first time a tradesperson has so blatantly let us down. I guess they’re not bothered about losing trade, cash & reputation…