Why is it so hard to....

[CanSomeoneExplainThisPlease]

get tradespeople to commit to a day and time to turn up to give a quote or do work????

I bought my home a few months ago and it needed a lot of work. Some of it I've done myself but for some things I've needed a tradesperson. I've searched for tradespeople online, I've asked neighbours for references, I've used the local trades ads in the parish magazine and on FB and any other way I can think to try to find someone. And no matter how I found the person it never fails I always get the same response.

Me: Hello I would like to see if you could give me a quote for (specific job). I live in (very specific area, nearby very specific small landmark). Do you have availability in the next 2-3 weeks to come out to give me a quote?

Them: Text me your full address and post code and I'll come out. (No questions asked about the job or what I'm wanting or needing done or anything about the actual work, they just say this one sentence about me texting them my address.)

Me: Actually I need a booked appointment please because I'm out during the week with work. If I knew what day and time you were coming then I'll be sure to be home.

Them: Just text me your full address and I'll let you know if I can come out.

I've called someone local and they know within 2-3 roads where I live, why do they need my house number to know if they are available to give a quote? At first I would send my full address and await response. They would either A: never respond, and I was getting uncomfortable providing my name, address and phone number to so many people or B: randomly turn up when I wasn't home or when I was working from home, and expect me to be available to accommodate them at that moment. I've already said I work during the week and I need a booked appointment. If I'm not at home I'm not leaving work to drive over an hour home right that second to meet you at my house. If I'm working from home I can't stop a pre-booked online meeting with a client to say 'Oh sorry a tradesperson's decided to turn up right now so I need to prioritise them and call you back'. No I say to the tradesperson 'I'm sorry I'm working right now, I did say I needed you to book an appointment.' Then they get mad and say they've wasted THEIR time and storm off like I've done something wrong. Needless to say I don't contact them again. It was causing so much disruption that I stopped giving out my address unless they booked an appointment with me.

(continued from above)

Me: Sorry no, I'm not comfortable providing my address unless you're prepared to book an appointment with me.

Them: (either hang up on me or say) I can be there Friday morning.

Me: Ok fine I'll be here Friday morning waiting for you. My address is....

Me: Rearranging my schedule and waiting at home with no planned meetings all Friday morning.

Them: Never turn up.

Why does every single tradesperson ask for my full address especially if they don't seem to have any intention of turning up? Why do the ones that do turn up refuse to book a day and time and think I'm sitting at home every single day all day long waiting for them to arrive?

I had to phone 26 electricians before I finally found one that would book an appointment, then he turned up nearly 2 hours late. I had to phone nearly the same number of tilers, plumbers, locksmiths, handymen and fencers. I still haven't yet found a fencer.

AIBU to think if you are asking someone to come to your home they need to book an agreed day and time? Am I missing something here?

My husband is a builder. He never commits to even going to see the prospective client until he knows what kind of job they want doing so he knows whether he can/wants to do it.

If he does say he'll go round to chat and view obviously he will need their full address.

On occasion he has to change the appointment date and time because something has gone wrong /differently on his current job.

Sometimes he ends up calling the prospective client to say that actually he won't be able to do it in their time frames after all, giving them the option to find someone else if they don't want to wait for him.

My husband gets all of his word via recommendations and word of mouth, and he is always extremely busy, booking months in advance.

Totally agree. We've had this issue too. Half the time they don't turn up, they're late, they don't reply to you. How do they get any work?? How are they always booked up with work if they make it so difficult to actually arrange anything?

I’m guessing you haven’t tried to find a gardener yet? Oh my, they take it to another level.

Last year I found an amazing plumbing firm who make appointments they keep, text when they are on the way and do all the things you’d expect as standard. I have recommended them to anyone I meet.

I hear you. 2 weeks ago on the local FB group- 'can anyone recommend a tree surgeon'. Several recommendations for the same person so i text them as anticipating they would be up a tree.
Reply- give me your address.
My reply- sure but are you interested?
Reply- yes
Me- provides address, chases and nothing.

Man across the road on the local FB group 2 days ago- 'can anyone recommend a tree surgeon'. Same recommendation but apparently 'cheers mate all sorted'.

Assume he's driven past and doesn't want my work but could have let me know!

Because some people ask tradespeople for quotes without any regard to their proximity to them. Best to get that established first before wasting their time.

There’s a reason some people are self-employed. Before you all jump on me I said SOME.

@Desecratedcoconut I can completely understand they want to know if I'm in their catchment area which is why I look for someone local and I start off the conversation with 'I'm looking for a quote for an electric oven installation. I live in (tiny village) near the war memorial (narrows down to about 3 streets as it's a prominent thing anyone within 50 miles would know).' If they have further questions about the type of oven or my time expectations or access or whatever they just need to ask me and I'm happy to discuss this before they book an appointment with me so no one wastes their time. I can't see why they need my house number before they will quote a price (such as I charge X amount per hour or that type of work usually ranges from between £XXX to £XXXX) or to set a date to come to my house to give me a quote. Even if they said 'I'm booked out for 3 months, I can be with you on 10th June, fine that gives me the chance to say no I don't want to wait to have an oven until June or ok I'll see you on 10th June. What's frustrating is you wait 3 months and book half a day of annual leave for 10th June and then the electrician never turns up.

Even if I wasn't giving an indication of where I live and I just said 'Hi I need a fence' they could say 'Where do you live? What type of fence do you want? When do you need this fence?' They can decided if they want the work and if they don't then they say they're not interested and no one's time is wasted.

Like the other pp said I'm astonished tradespeople manage to make a living turning down so many jobs but if they're so overloaded with work then instead of telling me to 'text me your address' why not just say 'I can't take on anymore work right now'.

Yeah, I can see how that is frustrating but I was just answering your more general question of why all tradesmen do this.

Another thing might be because a lot of the accounting software that tradesmen use, that generates quotes and invoices and whatnot, use an address, including a postcode, from the outset. So it might be more of an admin thing that comes across as a being deliberately difficult thing.

But I know some areas of the UK really do struggle with a dearth of skilled labour and it means that they get a generally poorer service. So you might just be in a crappy spot.