To tell you to do this when hiring a builder/trader

[trekking1]

Have your husband/partner do the hiring and communicating or if you do not have one, pretend you are a man 😂

The reason for this is because a lot of them charge more if hired by a woman. My brother-in-law is a builder and told us he charges women twice as much because apparently women are demanding and change their mind all the time 🙄

You brother in law is a nasty person.

ah surely not? Jesus this is like going back to the 90's & having your boyfriend or whatever bringing your car into the garage otherwise the little lady would get ripped off 🙄

Depressing that there are people like that out there

Your brother in law is a sexist prick.

I don't have a partner.

This is not normal

Super depressing that you think it's funny and clever

Well your BIL is a c*nt. Hope you told him so.

'Pretend to be a man'

🙄🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

ignoring all the other nonsense, ho do you propose. I do that? Plastic facial surgery? Vocal surgery? Boobs removed?

Invest in a false moustache. They'll never twig.

You've got to pretend to be a man!

Because OPs BIL is a sexist prick!

It's like the door to door salesman that wants to see the man of the house to discuss replacement windows. I thought they had died in the 1980s but clearly I'm wrong.

Your BIL is sexist. But yes the ’potentially annoying’ tax does exist. We apply it potentially annoying prospective clients of both sexes.

So maybe the take home is try to present your best least annoying self?

Ha? Where did I say it was funny and clever. It's not, it's depressing as hell. I just think people should be aware of it because it could save them some money

@trekking1 the laughing emoji indicated you thought it was amusing?

It's not!

😂I probably should have explained how because it sounds ridiculous in my op.

When I was hiring an electrician I did it by posting an ad online under a man's name and having all communication with the electrician on there. When they showed up to do the job and found me opening the door I just lied that it was my partner who hired them online, but they are at work right now.

The emoji was in reference to pretending to be a man

@trekking1 which isn't funny in this context. So your BIL preys on lone females to rip them off?

If by preys you mean he seeks out women specifically to work for, no. But if a woman wants to hire him he gives a quote that is twice as much as what he would charge a man for the same job, yes. I told him that is a horrible thing to do and he just laughed 🙄

He's a scammer. As a widow, I hope I don't come across a scammer like him.

He's probably scared of scamming men but thinks he could intimidate a woman if they realised they were being scammed

Really? I've renovated properties to sell on as well as my own. I'm not an idiot. I know the day rates. The one property I did with my husband - well, even though he was a lawyer who handled multi million dollar negotiations he was crap at dealing with tradies.
I'd warn anyone against hiring your BIL - he's pathetic and I hope you told him so.
It is true I have dealt with tradesmen who just don't hear me - one issue was a change in floor levels between rooms. Builder, chippie and even the electrician was there to give an opinion. I was there with my (female) tenant. I suggested they just use a threshold that angled slightly differently each side. They talked about the issue for five minutes, then one of the guys said: 'hey, let's just slope the edges slightly different'. They thought great idea! I looked at my tenant, she looked at me. The problem is not women, it's the men. But you know, ultimately I'm the bank. If they don't understand what I want and how I want to do it and how much I want to pay - there's the door.

One utter scum bag does not represent a whole industry. Rather than advising people to pretend they are male advise them to grt multiple quotes. That soon exposes abnormalities within quotes.

The sad thing is that this does go on, and that many posters on here have already said they hire, pretending to be a man, ti get round it.

I get the postcode tax too and the black tax. It’s what it is.

I hope some pps can convince me my prejudice is unfounded (if their relations are builders), but I don't like builders.

I find them intimidating and yes, I often feel they look down on me as a woman and take advantage financially. I'm afraid I've never come across a professional attitude in builders - the ones I've had haven't treated me or my home with respect, and I've had to ask them not to play their music in my house. You'd think that would be obvious - it's my HOME! And because they like to play music, they then have to shout to each other. But very few are courteous and considerate. They also trash the areas of your home they're not actually working on, and basically take over so that you feel your home isn't your own. Some even call out and say 'Put the kettle on!'. I normally show them where the kettle is and leave stuff out and tell them to help themselves, but some of them clearly think you're there to wait on them.

I often see a sign on building sites saying 'We are considerate builders' and I wonder if they actually are. Of course I realise there must be civilised builders out there, but sadly I've never encountered one.

Yep I'm sure this exists and I've had it myself. Infact DH and I accidentally contacted the same tradesman and got two different quotes for the same job. You can guess which one was higher!