Aibu to say most tradespeople are chancesr?

[Unseasonablywarm999]

Just been shafted again by a trade who did a bad job, didn't listen to what i needed, making excuses etc. Ill end up paying again to get it fixed (plumbing repair). 20 years of home ownership and i could count on one hand the decent guys. Aibu to say they're mostly cowboys ? Or how do you get a good one? I've tried recommendations, Google, friends, social media, recommended sites Google reviews... nothing works

Hundred percent agree. I can't wait until AI takes over the jobs of competent people in other roles and they start doing trades and immediately outcompete the chancers who rip you off and can't be bothered to reply or turn up when they say they will. It's going to be great.

I use people recommended by friends - they've generally used the same people for years. There are chancers of course, but usually if tradespeople know they've been engaged through recommendation they're prepared to do a good job.

Completely agree i always ask around when I need someone i would never trust a random name on facebook. I've never had issues

I’ve honestly never had this issue. DH works in the trades so he knows who to avoid, but even before I met him, I’ve never had anyone do a bad job or cause a problem.

I've tried personal recommendations twice , still a disaster. Starting to think its me

Did you pay for work you were unhappy with?

There’s a lot of rubbish tradesmen out there, but I’ve built up a small stable of contacts over the years. The common thread is none are great at communication (too busy I think!) and all have to be booked months in advance. Having said that, in an emergency (leak, etc) they all pull through so I think they’re just selective in how they deal with urgent/ non urgent queries.

i am learning the hard way that it may have been better to wait for one that couldn’t do the job until the new year rather than go for the one with immediate availability.
i was given the impression the one with immediate availability is a bigger company and has several teams of people he can deploy.

got a contract drawn up and checked references etc. 6 weeks into the 2 week renovation I conclude they don’t have the skills to do the job to a high standard of finish. So just battling if we just get them out now and get someone else in to finish fhe job

So true.

Tradespeople should be regulated imo, like doctors 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I think that is pretty unreasonable OP. I come from a family of people who work in trades and they are all decent and hard working people. Some of them struggle with being organised lots of guys who do trades are bright but perhaps have dyslexia or ADHD I find and so that part doesn't come easy to them also they are constantly asked to do jobs for people and I know a lot of them are totally overwhelmed.

The chancers are people going with the cheapest quote by a handyman or man with a van. If you go with established businesses and pay them properly you don't get cowboys. I've owned multiple properties, hired many many tradespeople and never had a single bad job.

Absolutely not true. I've used recommendations of proper registered companies, and a lot have done really shoddy jobs. It's just not always apparent immediately e.g. roofers. And they definitely weren't the cheapest option!

Haven't paid for work i was unhappy with on the spot but medium term problems tend to show up , like the roof still leaking next time there is heavy rain or a new radiator leaking 6 months down the line. I just wish there was a regulated place i could call and say I need this job, eg new toilet put in, how much is it and when ? Rather than approximate times and prices and no shows. I dont go for cheapest either, im happy to pay for quality.

Agree. We always try to get a recommendation but it isn’t always possible. Also in a small town your options may be limited. We used one guy who had done a great job for our neighbours and he made an absolute mess of ours. He overreached and took on a job he wasn’t competent to do.

It’s very hit and miss, we have struck lucky and found some really good people and also some awful chancers. I am really, really nice to trades, some appreciate that and want to do a good job and some it seems see it as weakness and an opportunity to take advantage.

Yeah I got someone who a neighbour swore was brilliant... disaster. Took on a job he couldn't do. I tried being nice ... didn't work. Going to unleash my menopausal anger next

They should come back, repeatedly if necessary, until the work is right. I had some garage doors made and fitted. They swelled in the rain and the lock wouldn't line up. The person who did the work was really apologetic and returned several times to get it sorted, free of charge of course.

YABU to say 'most' tradesmen are.

YWNBU to say it is an area that attracts quite a lot of inexperienced, untrained and unqualified people chancing their arm and thinking they can earn good money 'giving it a go'.

I'm lucky enough to mostly have used people who have been employed by people I know well, who have recommended them. Generally you have to wait for them, and generally they don't ever need to advertise as they get all their work by word of mouth recommendations.
Obviously that must be tricky if you move to a new area not knowing anyone to recommend people.

Have tried recommended ones, well regarded ones. They are largely shit. And they all have the qualifications. They are just generally crap. No need to try as they can get business easily.

Actually now I think about it, isnt this what useless partners think too? They dont bother putting into the relationship as they'll find another sucker easily enough. But their mums always luv themmmmm

I think its difficult because although there are a lot of dodgy traders out there, there are also a lot of dodgy customers who want a difficult job doing for next to nothing and are surprised when they get a crap result.

Part of the problem though is these days it feels like the correlation between cost for a job and quality of result is broken. And it gets hard on that basis to figure out how to ensure that you will get a job completed to a quality that you are satisfied with.

A lot of the issue is the pattern of going for the cheaper quote then expecting high quality work. Something has got to give. You wouldn't go for the cheapest dentist or even hairdresser.

I fine the unreliability inexcusable though. I recently had a man who confirmed the day weeks in advance, texted to confirm the day before, texted on the day to say earlier job was bigger than expected and he would be a bit later etc. It was a pleasure to deal with him but also not a difficult thing to learn. Especially in this day and age when you can do speak to text while driving etc.

Roofers are the absolute worst.

I honestly think it's a lack of people with the required skills. Most of the builders round here are approaching retirement. The younger ones just don't seem to have the skills or experience. You never hear young people saying they want to go into construction anymore. None of them want hard physical graft in all weathers. It's not an easy job. I don't know how you get round that? And you don't often get an "old school" attitude, where they take a pride in their work and WANT to do a great job for their customer.

I've heard it's easier in a village or rural community to get a decent builder. My mum lives in a village where everyone knows everyone so any tradesman with a shit reputation just won't get work. All the good ones are known about. It's easy for shit tradesmen to hide in a city. And lots of people moving in for work from other areas who don't know any locals to get recommendations from.

Wow, that's so frustrating, it really is a nightmare finding good trades.
What me and the wife have found that works for us is to ask friends and family about who they've used in the past. Then, you can also check out their work. I totally avoid using platforms, because 1, they don't really care, and 2, they are just there for the money of the tradesman to sign up. I have come across quite a few bad tradesmen on those platforms.

Hope you get it sorted without too much more hassle.

Pick and choose my clients after 40years doing it now
you need to understand that you are not dealing with Cambridge graduates but rather guys that fell into this as they were never going to university
good communication is key , mistakes happen and it’s how you deal with them that counts
I have 2 years work in front of me and don’t advertise

Yup, but often first impression gives it away. You can tell by how they behaved as soon as they come into your house to quote you. We definitely dodged the bullet few times