The secret lives of tradesmen - or where's my quote?

[evrybuddy]

Recently we've been getting lots of tradespeople round to quote for various building projects - anything from conservatory to new windows, driveway, patio, drains work, roof repairs.... the whole bloody lot!!!

We've had all types of firms from large companies to one-man bands.

Mostly, they've been 1-3 skilled trades/owners plus 1 or 2 apprentices/juniors.

What staggers me is how many come to quote for jobs and then despite us getting on well - the quote never arrives! Why?

I've given up making follow-up calls. I think it's just giving them the sense I'm a soft touch and they'll take the piss if I then give them the job.

I take the view now, that if you don't provide a quote you've had your shot, you're not interested.

But it really perplexes me why they don't provide the quotes.
There were two specific instances - for a £300 x 3 hour roofing repair - the job was his, all he had to do was quote. He never bothered.
Another, a £6k driveway. Liked him, job would have been his - quote never came. Won't be his 6 grand now.

But sometimes when I've phoned for these quotes, these blokes wives answer and make the appointment.
Now, they must have some idea of the jobs their husbands are quoting on and the money involved - sometimes the women type up the quotes.
Do they never ask their husbands why that job didn't materialise?
Why aren't we gatting that £6k in the bank?
What the fuck are you doing when you're not at home and you're not doing these jobs you could have had but couldn't be fucking arsed to send a quote to?

If I did that, with my family's financials, my partner would be rightly well and truly fucked off?

So what are these mystery men up to. Shagging random housewives? Having a flutter at the bookies? Living double lives?

Why do they not do what they say they'll do and what are they doing instead?

Your attitude is snide OP....you sound rude and crude...the way you're talking about them I'm sure they sense you're ugly attitude and don't want to do your work.

@ TheHouseOnTheLane - when you stop being so defensive, stop blaming customers for your woes, learn subtlety, nuance and humor in language - then come back and have a pop.

Otherwise, just read everyone elses similar experiences and try acknowledge their truths and learn that you are not always right and the customer is not always wrong and a pain in the ass, a mug or a muppet, or whatever else hubby tells you and you choose to gullibly believe.

I have very similar problems, evry - except I often can't even get tradesmen to answer or return the initial phone call! Like others have said, if a professional would say, "look, I would love to do the work, but I'm simply too busy at the moment / it's not really worth my while" etc, it would be fine. But it's really unprofessional at simply not phone back.

Buddy but your "humour" isn't funny...it's just rude and bitter sounding. As it happens I don't answer my husband's work calls anyway so I don't need to "blame customers" for anything.

I don't have a "hubby" by the way either...

I'm a tradesman( woman) I've just started up and find that private customers 90% of the time have called me to come and quote a job they want doing "at some point- we just want an idea of cost when we do have it done" so I quote, and always get back within 2 days. To get a 'thanks' and that's it. One lady got back to me after 6 months. The tiles I quoted you aren't on offer anymore. I can't keep the price I offered. I'm sorry but I really fought to get the lowest deal for you at the time. Oh you don't believe me. Yes obviously I am just trying to get my foot in only to hike up the price.

Or they insist I'm too expensive. "£1250!! For a new boiler!! I was thinking about £700!!! " I'm already pricing low- a full days work for £250 - hard work- because I'm new and want to build a good reputation. But that lovely old lady told her neighbour I'm a scammer so the neighbour cancelled the job booked. People are afraid if getting ripped off and that seems to be their go to presumption. when people think that if your not on rated or if your too quick to reply then your crap I feel I'm fighting a losing battle.

I'm now backing out of private advertising and starting to only tender to commercial clients. Perhaps had I been trading for years I too would be as jaded and rude as the builders you've had out ( and despite other pp protestations that there are excuses - can't bring myself to type reasons- for the tradesman a rudeness- the op is right- they are rude and deserve a bad reputation for it. ) but I hope not.

£250 for a day's work

I've had the same problems. We're slowly doing up our house on a budget. necessity means we can only do relatively small jobs at a time. No one wants to quote.

So if the 'big' guys don't want to do small jobs who will? It's a nightmare

It's very hard, physical work though....and skilled.

my DP is a joiner with his small family firm and I have to say I am baffled by people's negative experiences here. I don't think he is unusual in providing prompt quotes and being open with clients regarding timeframes. he just manages his business as anyone would, surely?

but OP, I think some of your language is bound to offend tradespeople and their families. if my DP is busy I assume he's working, not having a flutter or shagging a more attractive housewife. I wonder if your opinion of tradespeople has always been so low, or if it's based in these recent experiences of yours?

Ahhh op, my dh is a bloody good multi skilled tradesman but has absolutely no ability to quote, turn up or invoice on time so he works for a big company instead. Honestly I chuckled cos you'd be describing him (bar shagging bored housewives cos I'm awesome obviously) if he went it alone!

Spaggy I think OP resides in some nether world of sexist, 1970's sitcoms.

I'm still waiting for that window quote and for someone else to call me...

This is exactly the kind of thing that irritates me. At least with DP if he says he'll do something I don't have to remind him every six months because he will get round to it when hell freezes over eventually.

Unfortunately with some tradespeople there's no way of telling what is going on unless they tell you.

If I could do it myself I would!

Oh! No! £250- There's 2 of us! I'm gas safe, d is , well- dogsbody. Or it'd be two days work!

@ TheHouseOnTheLane - I think you live in denial - 90% of people on here reporting similar experiences to me - explain it - or nip over to Tescos and pick up some more chips to balance you out.

3 weeks ago I had 4 driveway people round.

Of those -
1, heard nothing
2, very profession quote in 4 days
3, heard nothing
4, heard nothing

Who misses out?

2 - the professinal company because the other tossers won't quote, I can't tell whether the only quote I have is realistic - so now I have to waste more time fucking number 2 off waiting whie I search for another quote!!!

This is how it works. Bad tradespeople fuck it up for good tradespeople.

So good tradespeople start to think customers are timewasting tossers but I'm being delayed from making a decision by tradespeople timewasting tossers - who could have said 3 weeks ago -

'you know, the sort of person I am, I never bother getting back with me quotes - don't waste your time with me -get someone else.'

We'd all be happy then.

Well they're not missing out...or they'd be biting your hand off! As I said, I'm sure it's more to do with you than anything else.

Use number 2 ...........

It's not just small jobs though. We're about to have 40k worth of extensions built and had real trouble getting people to come and quote. Planning and finance are in place so we are not just getting an idea of cost and yet only 1 out of 5 tradesmen supplied a quote. We then found a 6th on personal recommendation and he said from the outset that he was very busy. We waited a week for him to come and see us, then two weeks for the quote. Now we are just waiting for him to start. The point is that he was straight with us from the start about how busy he was but we are prepared to wait.

I think that some tradespeople (esp one man bands) really aren't business minded.
We have completely renovated our house and employed trades directly and it's been hard work getting quotes. It's funny because I'm an architect and work with main contractors all the time.
Getting quotes can be difficult sometimes because people are busy, sometimes because they are disorganised.
I always let people who have quoted why I have gone or not gone with them - this is a habit from my job as it helps those who have made an effort to understand why they haven't won a job this time. Feedback should be both ways.
I had one tradesman who didn't bother to send me a quote approach a client through me to do some work for them and didn't realise who I was in my work guise. He said he wasn't busy and couldn't understand why the market was so quiet.... It wasn't quiet it was actually hard to get decent guys in his trade but I think he thought people would chase him & he was allergic to paperwork.

Wow! I was very lucky with my plumber by the sound of it. He called round when he said he would, rang with a quote within a couple of days and was honest about how busy he was. I had to wait until he was free but he did a great job and has had several jobs from friends of mine who asked for his number. If only I could find an electrician...

So - my conclusions after taking top tips from the wives and significant others of tradesmen are:

1. Take the first quote you get - thanks lighteningirl.

1. Remember - the customer is always wrong.

1. If there's a problem - remember, it's never them, it's always you.

1. If a tradesman doesn't want your work or your money -

that's your fault, so get over yourself and learn to deal with being the despicable twat that you are - cheers TheHouseOnTheLane

Whatever they're teaching at FE colleges, it's definitely not business/admin/marketing/customer service skills.

And before anyone says tradesmen are skilled plumbers, fitters etc and haven't got time for 'soft' skills - think about that next time you go and see your doctor, dentist or teacher who generally manages to be nice and professional with you even when you're a prize dickhead with an entitled attitude - and they still do their job properly and professionally.

Bring on the Poles and every other skilled migrant - because clearly there's shed loads of work here for willing people and Brits just haven't got the desire/skills for it.

Oh you're just a piece of work! You sound a bit batty OP.

Do you say those kind of things about everybody who disagrees with you?

As you seem to like that particular game, you strike me as someone who left school early, lacks empathy or in-depth understanding of complex problems, narcissistic and unable to interpret written information for detail or nuance.

But hey, that's just my opinion and I'm clearly batty because -if you say it, it must be true.

Why don't you stop fixating on me and the particular itch about your partner that I seem to be scratching - and pay attention to what all of the other posters have said.

You're in the minority - does that make you feel more or less justified - or does it just not matter?

Buddy no...just the ones who seem to have enormous anger problems which manifest in weirdly aggressive posts about entire groups of people.

Yeah.... whatever.

Actually, TheHouse, I support the OP. We too have issues getting people to quote. We have had so many plumbers come round for a bathroom quote, but received so few quotes. You chase them and they say they'll get it to you, then don't...

Just tell us you're busy and stop fucking us about. Like the OP states, not having enough quotes is a problem as you cannot make an informed decision.

Why, if you are a busy tradesman, would you spend 30-60 mins of your valuable time (excluding travel) to look at a job and then not quote (or at least say you don't want the job)? Why do you make people wait and chase?

We are perfectly friendly during the visit, we are happy if the job cannot be done until a few months later as we'd rather have the right person to do the job than a quick fitting, yet the building trade seems to be littered with unreliable people.

It really is a problem in the South East, and pointing out that it must be the rudeness of the OP by her posts is utterly ridiculous. FFS, she has obviously come here to vent her frustration rather than taking it out on the trades(wo)men who come to her house to quote.

It is not just a problem in the South East.

I cannot get a plumber to do several small(ish) jobs that together would probably provide one whole day's worth of work. I've exhausted all local plumbers and only one even bothered to come and look but hasn't actually followed it up with a quote.

I'm polite, friendly and not at all rude when speaking to them

I'm having to wait 2 months for someone to service a boiler, the same sort of time for a tree surgeon.

I can see it from the other side too. A friend's dh is a well-respected local builder and is booked up solidly for the next 16 months! All projects of 1-2 weeks.