To think Asian name may put off customers

[Stcatherine]

I'm prepared to be flamed for posting this. My dp is Asian and is trying to get jobs as a handyman but nobody is responding to him. Do you think that when people see a Asian name in his profile that it puts them off. He is very experienced and skilled. By the way I'm not trying to say that everybody is racist but have been aware from past experience that some people think along these lines.

It wouldn't put me off, but sadly I think you're right that it would put off some

You’re not based in Leics are you? We’ll employ him if you are.

I found a handyman on Facebook, & his company name is just another word for fast - like Speedy Handyman Services.
He does now include there a link to his website, which is his actual name, but I'm pretty sure it didn't when I first looked. (He is white British as it happens).
His FB page shows photos from various jobs he's been working on.

I think it would help if OP's DP could use a neutral company name, & also if poss includes some reviews & photos on his page so there's a bit of background. It's pretty clear from posts on here that there is a national shortage of good handymen!

You shouldn’t have to change but presumably you just want to earn a living rather than take a stand. I think short names that are easy to say, some good reviews, a local presence and a decent Facebook page all help - my own biases are for things like men with pictures of their family, no unsavoury “jokes” on their fb etc. Unlike a previous poster I’m sorry to say I wouldn’t be happy with not being able to speak English to the handyman, too much room for things not being translated correctly and ending up with the wrong job done.

I am quite surprised his name would put them off.... I engaged a team of gardeners in the summer, south Indian, they were brilliant, and really handsome. Ahem

I have an Asian friend, who once a few years ago applied to the same job with 2 different names on the same cv!! Her real, Asian name, and a typical white British name was used.

She was called in for an interview with the white British name!

It wouldn’t put me off & I found a chap on local information site who is South Indian he is excellent & very obliging also fair prices.
Yy Checkatrade now that is full of dodgy firms & is not a reliable source of information in my experience sadly, the best way I find is either word of mouth or local pages.

We have just bought a house that needs work doing in all sorts of areas and so many different types of tradespeople. When I decide who to contact initially the only thing I discriminate on is reviews.

That said, IN MY EXPERIENCE the replies I have had from people with non-english names are generally shit (poor grammar, don't make sense, don't understand a basic ask). This is when I then whittle it down.

So to me, no the name alone doesn't put me off. The quality of the reply does.

DH had a similar problem but in a different industry. Yes, people are less likely to give you a call if you are not white.

How depressing!

I don't think I have ever looked at someone's name when looking for a tradesperson. I just go by the reviews.

Yes he could be xx trading as ...

Still a depressing thought though - I am British and unfortunately not super surprised. People are weird 🤷🏼‍♀️

I don’t think it’s limited to white people either sadly - my uncle is a decorator and handyman and lives in an very Asian area. His clients are almost exclusively Asian, and he’s always been rushed off his feet with work. Now he’s winding down towards retirement, he has started recommending one or two others in the area if he can’t take the work. His recommendation is always met with “oh no, we don’t want an ASIAN doing it, we’ll wait.” My uncle says it’s really sad - the two guys he usually recommends instead are great and really desperate for work.

My friend’s DH is Eastern European and set up as a handyman a few years ago. His business name is a sort of English spin on his first name. I don’t think he did this deliberately to cover up his foreign sounding name btw, but he’s always got loads of work and has done really well.

Sorry to say OP but yes if he advrtises as "Jay" rather "Jahil" yes he will get tons more enquiries.

It shouldn't be this way, but it is. If you are caucasian and answer his calls for him, it will be another boost to business.

Ugh this makes me really sad OP. It wouldn't put me off, but I live in a diverse part of London so it's hard to say whether that's representative. We've had a lot of work done recently and what I've really valued are personal recommendations - not necessarily people I know, but genuine recommendations on our local Facebook group. It's been easy to tell which ones are genuine. We also used Which? Trusted traders - we felt like they'd be more reliable. Also - everyone I've used has asked me to write a review so I think this is how people get their work these days.

in parts of Britain there is a very strong bias for local people because if something goes wrong they'll fix it rather than lose their reputation. That can appear racist when actually the white "incomer" faces the same problem.

A business name might help but so would details of any qualifications and experience, including photos of past work. Perhaps some examples of what people were charged for the work would help, provided his rate is reasonable. When I have to employ someone without a recommendation I give preference to people who act in a business like way. So a number I can contact easily, turn up on time to assess the work, supply a quote quickly in writing and if for any reason there is a delay contact me and explain. I'm afraid speaking understandable English is part of the requirement, I need to be able to explain what I want done. Too many people either dont turn up, arrive an hour late without explanation or then decide they dont like the look of the job so dont quote at all. Getting someone decent to do a small job can sometimes be harder than doing the work yourself.

We dont employ anyone who comes round to the door - how is he looking for work?

I used to work for one of the recommended tradespeople sites and whilst not Asian specific we had a lot of e.g. Polish tradesmen who operated under an anglicised name for similar reasons.

Funny world isn’t it - I think people just expect handymen to be called Bob or Andy and accountants and doctors to have your husbands name.

Yes it can. Same situation here. Dh middleeastern and people seem to trust less. Our kids have English middle names to give them freedom of choice for this very reason

Sorry op, you're right to be wary.

I have an Arab surname but look and sound very white, and my first name is unisex. I was once asked, in rather a patronising tone, why exactly I had my photo on my CV. I told them it was so people would be able to immediately see that I wasn't an Arab man, whom employers might be more prejudiced against. Funnily enough they had no answer other than a very sheepish expression.....

For me, I would entirely go by friends' recommendations. I also give recommendations to firms who I've had excellent work.So maybe if he can get more work he'll find it increases rapidly.

I am genuinely confused about something. I'm reading talk on here from PPs and they are insinuating Asians and Indians are the same? Aren't Asians and Indians completely different races?

Th eone I used just before Christmas had a very English sounding name so I was surprised when he turned up but he has lived here for years and his English aw good. That is the main issue for me - if I am explaining complex things time after time I have had big problems with people who don't speak English, even with cleaners too. So it is not racism. I couldn't care less where people are from - but the ability to communicate well in English is all that matters to me. They can be Tom, Dick or Harish as long as they have excellent English and are never late.

Also OP says her DH as an Asian name (in my mind, that conjures up names like Wing, Wong, Phuong), where as Pakistan would be Arabic names. Not even remotely in the same country, let alone town let alone ballpark, surely?

Sadly I think so. We use a fab tradesman on a fairly regular basis who is originally from overseas and has a very stereotypical name from his country. He goes by a very English nickname (think Dave) and explained it's a very normal think to do here. Made me a bit ashamed of my country to be honest.

All I can tell you is from my personal experience of construction.

I have a very foreign sounding name despite being British. I could not get any responses to my CV after graduation despite the profession I had qualified in being highly sought after at that time. My peers were all snapped up. I had a better degree classification than many of them but couldn't even get an interview.

A friend gently suggested that it could be down to racism. As a result I added my very English middle name to my CV, used my husband's very obviously English surname (i kept my maiden name) and the job interviews just rolled on in.

Come to think of it, despite living in a very multicultural area I don't recall working with a single tradesperson of Asian origin. Make of that what you will.

Stereotyping will come into play eg I would expect:

my doctor, pharmacist, accountant to be of Indian origin.
my sparkie, plumber, chippie to be called Dave, Steve, Trevor
any nurse this side of London to be called Precious, Blessings, Darling
but on the other side of London to be called Naimah, Aoife, Eithne

What we do have though is a large rise in Sikh builders, through London and Kent and yes they really do have 'You've tried the cowboys etc ' on their vans, and they work on everyone's houses, not just other Asians.

But this thread is about trades folks, and one of the big Brexit issues was jobs going to foreign nationals. I can only talk about the South, trades on building sites are earning less than they were 25 years ago. It wasn't uncommon to be earning the thick end of £500 a day as a roofer, now they're lucky to get £250-£300 a day. My boy only gets £120 a day as an apprentice stone mason. In my experience most trades get their work through word of mouth and in the pub.

When I had my kitchen replaced, the fitter apologised the tiler was Polish, did I mind? No, so long as the does the job properly and cleans up.