Why are so many tradesmen absolute s***

[faelavie]

It really boils my p*ss.

My house needs new fascias and soffits and a roof tile replaced as we're getting a lot of damp and now a leak in the bedroom. Posted an ad online, a roofer offered to come and provide a quote which he did. Organised a date to do the work. Paid a deposit.
On the day, the roofer cancelled as he said his apprentice let him down and he can't do the work alone. He said he'd contact us to rearrange.
Fair enough, these things happen.
A week later, no contact, no replies to texts or calls.

This isn't the first time I've had this kind of thing with tradesmen, and I'm just wondering why this business is full of such practices??

And yes I know there are good tradesmen out there - and that you have to hold onto them like gold dust.
And yes I know that there are some horrible clients out there too. I work with the general public and I know how rubbish that can be.

But how difficult is it to just get back to people or just send a quick text to update them on what's going on? Instead of constant radio silence.

If you don't want to do the work, if you're too busy, etc etc - just f'ing tell me and return my deposit so I can find someone else!

Jesus tittyf*ing Christ

It’s time trades were better trained and regulated in this country. It’s beyond a joke.

So with you on this OP!!! It’s so bloody irritating.

We’ve had a lot of work done over the past few years as we bought a do-er upper. The guy who fitted the bathroom just made such a mess off the little finishing off things like trim etc that the whole thing looks terrible. We also used an awful plasterer. The walls look worse than they did when they were still full of channels from the rewire. It makes me so angry. Pride yourself in your work!

I hadn’t about the education side of things actually. Let’s face it it’s mainly the ones who couldn’t be arsed at school so why should we expect them to be arsed now.

I’m with you OP. I was due to have my bathroom done, work starting November 9th... it’s still not done and I am due a baby at the end of January. The only saving grace is I haven’t parted with any cash!

DSis had a window fitter round to quote for replacing a large bedroom window.

They stood on the drive together looking up at the window in question.

Fitter says, "I'll just get me ladders love, so I can get a proper look".

DSis says "OK".

Fitter goes to his van parked on the road, jumps in and drives off into the sunset, never to be seen or heard of again.

Oh this realllly annoys me! We've been renovating our house and trying to organise different tradesmen in the right order and expect them to turn up when they say is the ultimate task! We had no working kitchen from September - January last year because of let downs. You wouldn't think they were getting paid how laid back they are about coming to work. First and last house Reno haha! Hope you get sorted

Where did you post the ad?

We nearly always find tradesmen via Which? Trusted Traders (latest was someone to fix the washing machine - Bosch own service was effing useless, couldn’t come for ages) and touch wood, we’ve never had a duff one yet.

I found it a nightmare to get anyone reliable in London, but I've now moved to a small town and got on the local Facebook page, where everyone knows everyone else and it's great for recommendations. My only issue is that all the people I'm asking to do work are booked up - until April, in one case.

Also @HappyHomeWorker when I was working I had contact with a few apprentices in their teens and some of them were a joy to talk to, they took such pride in their work. One I remember in particular, had not done well at school but was doing brilliantly in his apprenticeship.

I ran my own construction company and believe me it was one long headache in terms of logistics. Plan to conduct an outside job and it rains for 2 months; non stop. Quote for 3 jobs and advise all 3 customer you are available….then they ALL notify you that they want you to do the work and can you start Monday. Customer chooses door/tiles/bathroom (think of an item) and supplier has just sold the last one and won’t expect stock for another 10 days. You win a large contract and your favoured labour is on another job and won’t be available. You complete a large contract (Sainsbury’s) and they don’t pay you for 9 months.

In the end I had 20 customers that looked after me and I looked after them all within 3 miles from home….BUT NEVER, NEVER asked for a deposit, and never ever expected tea and biscuits. How large a red flags do you want.

Hope you manage to resolve your problem, and when you find someone you can trust expect them to have a waiting list. And there is the problem, you can walk into Currys and walk out with a 50 inch TV. Unfortunately as organised as I was, forward planning was a nightmare in such a volatile environment as building.

Regarding the education system, I am proud to admit that I am responsible for a young man opting out of University. He helped me on several jobs and I then led him down the route to becoming a qualified electrician. I trust he’s doing well today. And I’m satisfied that I saved someone from the assembly line that some University qualifications have become. PS. I attended University for the 2nd time when I was 40 and would question a number of practices I witnessed in the Higher Education system.

Well we got officially conned by a landscape gardener today. He had great communication, met him several times, and agreed to give a deposit towards buying material, which he did.

Now he's gone awol with quite a large lump of cash. Further investigation shows that he is a known conman who has changed names and company names several times. We did as much due diligence as we thought we could, but still got done.

Lesson is only ever take personal recommendations!

They should be better regulated. Also, this:

It's also one thing to be a great at a trade and completely another to be great at running a business, too.

Good tradesmen are worth their weight in gold. It takes skill, training and experience (obviously) but also business ability, communication skills, and usually some kind of aesthetic judgment. It’s rare tradesperson who has all this, or realises where their weak points are.

I find being friendly and talking interestedly (and somewhat knowledgeably) about what they are going to do helps a lot to builds relationship with anyone who is decent, and is a great way of finding out who the misogynists/dickheads are before you give them the work. And you do have to cut people some slack at times, especially if another client has a genuine emergency - that’s just life.

It’s bloody hard work though

Coming back to this thread to ask if it’s the norm to tip workmen? Obviously ones who have done a good job.

I feel tipping isn’t necessary but I’m worried it’s expected? Especially at this time of year.

You don't need to tip. But best advice if you want them to come back promptly at any point:

1. Pay them very promptly. (Once your happy job is satisfactory)
2. Offer them two hot drinks per day.
3. The sugar keeps their energy up, so also add biscuits / cake. They think you're being nice but really it's to stop them flagging! Give them all that and they'll be happy.

Eugh. Is it a national scourge or just round here that tradesmen seem to have the absolute worst of luck?! I have contacted no fewer than 10 window cleaners locally and I shit you not 8 of them have failed to show up and all have had an excuse along the lines of “oh sorry my wife/mum/dad/grandparent/goldfish has been taken to hospital unexpectedly”. Like fine, just send a message to let me know you’re not coming so I can lock the bloody gate and let the kids in the garden then would you? It’s the same story with builders, plumbers, plasterers, electricians........ how do these people still get enough work to genuinely call themselves a tradesman?! Either my area is a dreadfully unlucky one or it’s absolutely full of people who can’t even be arsed to quote for a job, much less actually do it!

These dodgy tradesmen have added 6 months onto my house renovation. We've done nothing but chase them around for the past 6 months and our house still isn't complete. We've been staying in a rented place until it's completed.

@ElephantsAlltheWayDown
You wrote "............the only thing I've learned is to get word of mouth recommendations......"

Even with that beware!!!

A neighbour was delighted with her extension / builder. Highly recommended him.
Two more neighbours used him.
Disastrous
I think one resorted to a solicitor.
Now, years later I see said builder's vans up the road doing a job.
I really want to warn them.

Your only option for good tradesmen is to learn which pub is their favourite and become a regular customer. IF they like you, they will fit you in.

Trades and good competent workmen hate working for people who don't understand how the construction trade has to work, weather and sequences, and think they should dictate operations because they are customers.

If you want someone good. ask around and be prepared to wait six months before your job can be fitted in. Anyone else is a cowboy operator. But once you are a proper customer, proven to pay promptly, most trades will try very hard to accommodate you and prioritise emergencies.

DH is a contractor, and won't touch retail customers. End of conversation as far as his business is concerned. Too much hassle, don't pay.

@XingMing I agree. The biggest mistake we’ve made is not forward planning enough and waiting till we are almost ready to have the job done before speaking to people - we then end up having to use whoever can fit us in rather than the one we want to use. Definitely learned hard lessons!

I book a builder in through my work, say twice a month. I have to use this builder as hes my bosses mate.
He's terrible at answering the phone when I need to book something in, or I have to ask him to go back and put something right, but the minute he puts his invoices in, he's never off the phone chasing payment .
He is consistently late to our jobs, delaying our part of the job because he hasnt finished his, and without fail on every single job, there's always something he has to "nip back and finish off" but it takes WEEKS of chasing him to get him back.

So a days work booked in seven weeks ago, eventually gets finished off after making dozens of phonecalls to the builder, and once he does eventually turn up to finish it, that every afternoon his invoice is on my desk and he's on the phone 10 minutes later asking for payment. (the customer hasnt paid us yet because you only finished the job 10 mins ago!). Funny how he can come to the phone about his payment but can't come to the phone when we need him to finish a job.
The current record is a job we did in October 2020 still needs the builder to finish off.
My boss doesnt seem to care how it's affecting our customers and our company.

If this is how a builder treats a regular customer, I can't bear to think how he treats other customers. They are a law unto themselves.