Hi,
I have been associated with supplying gas engineers and plumbers to all the community in the CR and surrounding postcode areas for the past 10 years .
Also I have experience with working with appliance manufacturers ( of gas boilers and hot water system/central heating systems ) and web marketing platforms ( ''WHICH'' , Checkatrade , Local Heroes, etc ) .
Talking about Checkatrade, which i notice has happened on here in the past, and because of my first-hand knowledge i feel that i can counter some of the myths, and confirm some also, to hopefully assist parents and homeowners in the quest to get essential maintenance and cosmetic home improvements carried out to the standard required and with cost in mind.
Some aspects of Checkatrade themselves , I massively dislike, don't get me going on that one, else we could be here till Christmas, and i'm not talking 2022.
But the customer side ( your entry point ) is quite straight forward. I, when asked by an existing customer to introduce them to a tradesman outside my scope of work , one of my first and easy suggestions in fact is I suggest that they , like everyone else, 'punch' their postcode into the system and the correct type of skilled personnel that they are looking for and press [search] . Up will come ( so i am told ) an indiscriminate list ( the hierarchy format changes every 20 minutes or so) of the type of tradesman you selected. The length of time that they have been paying ( as we all do) to be on the platform, how they eloquently describe themselves and their services and how their reviews/feedback reads and is scored, i believe, makes it difficult to 'pick a bad one' . You just need, like most of us to read their 'bad' reviews, sift out the disgruntled, purely vindictive on not totally genuine ( in detail) ones . and the reading of a few of the rest should help you to confidently start to select and contact the more proficient and capable tradespeople.
My Industry for instance, Pimlico Plumbers ( hugely pricey and a bit 'developmental' when their engineers are at your property ) are right top end pricewise and if you have an out of hours problem that you absolutely must get fixed then yes they do have men sitting in vans dotted about that yes, will 'get to you' . I find it funny that this year they have just bought into using the checkatrade platform , but because of 'what they are' and they are unable to 'massage' their own feedback, there recent reviews are not good, so homeowners doing there 'due diligence' will or should see this, and in this case avoid. A Tip: We , heating/gas/plumbing engineers, are in a very serious and heavily regulated industry, and just like an M.O.T. on a car, for instance, a set amount (governed by the appliance manufacturer and water and gas regulations) of work and procedures should and are carried out at your property by no matter who turns up. so, no important need, to say select a direct from Worcester Bosch Engineer ( £150 ( you rarely get the same one) coming from 40 miles away) When you can select a just as diligent engineer for half the money just a few miles up the road. ( don't go too cheap, they will skimp and maybe miss and might not be as highly experienced or trained to notice tell tale signs of future 'problems' ) . Hope this helps, i will write another few observations and truths if i get a bit of time.
take care all
J.S.