Tradesmen- what am I doing wrong

[iswhois]

Trying to organise tradesman for various bits of work around the house

Experience is that 70% don't even respond to inquiry

Of those that do, some say they will come round do so quote and never do

Some come round then vanish off the face of the earth

Some give quote which I agree and then I never hear from them again

Been trying for the last 2 months to sort out someone to fit a bathroom. Same story. I just want to get this work done now so I can sell the house but it's becoming impossible.

What am I doing wrong?!?!

it's the way it is. perfectly normal. unfortunately.

Doesn’t sound like you’re doing anything wrong. It can be hard to find people to do work.

Only things which have helped me:-

• ask for recommendations and let tradesperson know they were recommended by x when you contact them. People want to maintain their reputation and also know you sort of have a recommendation or social link

• be clear about money upfront and never be difficult or slow about paying. This is how I’ve built up ongoing solid relationships.

I'm having this exact problem.
If you can wait til spring, apparently they will be more available - anyone with any plumbing skills is currently repairing or replacing boilers at this time of the year.

You aren’t doing anything wrong. Most of them are an utter waste of space as far as customer service is concerned. If you have the money then approach a bigger firm that has a number of tradesmen; they tend to be a lot more expensive than one man bands but more consistent as well.

Depending on what the problem is you could consider having a go at it yourself. There may be courses you can take locally that will get you started. I’ve renovated three houses in my time and probably saved myself about £200k over the years; more importantly I haven’t wasted time waiting for some clown with a city&guilds to decide whether he’ll rock up today.

Oh and let’s get more women into the building trade. I’d trust a woman not to piss me about a lot more than a man.