"I'll be there around 2pm"

[ReyFinn]

If a workman was attending for a quote and said he'd be there 'around 2pm' what bracket of time is acceptable to you?

Anytime before 4pm. I had a tradesman booked for 10am yesterday. He turned up at 11:15 but he did an excellent job, cleaned after himself and he was reasonably priced.

I'm ok with that

Sadly, experience suggests sometime around never.

Have you ever met a workman? 😂

Honestly it could mean anytime.

I have one guy who does various jobs for me and he is always early. Not even that, but he often doesn't say a time, but will mention a date, and I have learned from pyjama-clad experience that he will turn up very early doors (not complaining).

In terms of quotes, it could be any time and will take in the spectrum of 'not coming at all but just saying something to get you off the phone' to 'will be there at 2 and will call you if running late'.

4.35 today

1.30 - 2.30 ideally

1 - 3 in practice - very possibly later, but I'd expect them to call if so

From my experience this past year, could be any time at all! So frustrating. I wish I could set arbitrary times to meet in my job, keep people hanging around for hours with no updates, and still have everyone just be really grateful that I turned up at all. This is why I am trying to learn how to do as many things myself as I can, so I don't have to deal with this crap as often

Do you live rurally by any chance? I find the same I think they don’t want to spend money driving out.

There is such a shortage of good trades men they can come when they please provided that someone is at home.

Tradesmen work in different units of time that have no earthly relevance to the time of normal people

1:45-2:10

Nope... Outskirts of a capital city, so they don't even have that excuse! 😂 Sorry you've had similar, it's a real pain. If I was that late/ uncommunicative in my job I'd be unemployed.

Whatever time he feels like in my experience.

I no longer have any expectations about the arrival time of any trade now. It seems to have got worse in the last few years. Even when they're half way through a job and coming back the next day and I ask them what time they'll be here they still turn up whenever they feel like it. I usually call them out on it but always get some excuse such as "we had to drop XYZ off somewhere first" or "had to pop and finish a quick job in Y town". I make a point of telling them they've inconvenienced me by not letting me know as I could also have gone to do something else but didn't because I was waiting for them.

Last time we had a contractor it meant 9am the next morning. In his defence had had apparently ran over his dog. Not that he dropped a message or anything.

1-3 or never. For one job I called over 12 people, only actually managed to get one to turn up and quote.

I think tradie time like husband pints numbers.

They are magical mythological numbers that mean nothing. Like chicken maths.

In my experience who can say? I've long ago given up assuming "around 2pm" means between 1.55pm-2.05pm.

If it really doesn't matter that much, ie. I or someone else is going to be in all afternoon I probably won't worry. But if I'm going to be out or it's inconvenient or for whatever reason I know I'm going to be annoyed hanging on after, say 2.30pm, then I will say so from the outset so that they know they will be wasting their time coming to a locked up house. Time is money for tradespeople so that should make a difference. Often people have rung to say they are running late/have got lost etc and that is fine.

I don't know what it is with us particularly but often it's the other way around and they arrive too early, ie 8.30am for a 9am arrangement when we're still in the shower/PJs/finishing breakfast etc!

Depending on how far you are from his current job, I’d expect him to turn up shortly after 4pm. That’s the time most trades down tools for the day.

2pm is shorthand for afternoon.

This.

Anywhere between 1:30 - 4.30.

Because if I tell someone I'll be there for a home visit 'around 2pm' bitter experience has taught me that the actual time will bear no resemblance to 2pm however hard I try.

That's ridiculous.

If you had an appointment at 2pm you wouldn't turn up after 4pm.

I arrange tradesman visits at work and it’s very difficult to give exact times due to the unpredictable nature of the job. For that reason I give a window of say 2-4. But will always call if it’s going to be outside of that. when they go rogue and arrange stuff for themselves… I get phone calls of ‘where is he, he said he’d be here at 10’. He should have called you if he was going to be much much later than he said.

1.30 - 2.30

Dreckly my dear. Dreckly... Haha, my step-dad is Cornish, it's all I ever hear "I'll do it Dreckly my lover"

This, 2.30 at the absolute latest