I wish I could always give my business to women

[bitesthedust]

I’m doing some works in my house - getting quotes.

Contractor 1 - male - came in, took photos and measurements, said job would be done in 2 weeks and never sent me a quote

Contractor 2 - male, came in, same as above, sent me an extortionate quote I nearly had a heart attack and gave up on the project

Contractor 3 - male - after appt and address confirmed, instead of coming himself, he sent two mates, who had a look around, discussed with each other in a foreign language and then gave me a quote 6k cheaper than contractor 2 and two weeks to get the job done

Contractor 4 - male, came in, took measurements, explained everything, job would take 2.5 weeks and sent quote £200 cheaper than contractor 3 but can only start in one week’s time

At this point I nearly cave in but still had my very last contractor to check

Contractor 5 - female - came in, took pictures, took notes, advised me on colour, gave me ideas, showed me pictures - can start straight away, job will get done in 5 days AND is £700 cheaper than contractor 4.

OMG
Were the males taking the f* piss? Overcharging because I have no man at home talking to them and clearly not very savvy on all this?

Anyone ever experienced anything similar?

Of course not. I do think that the women who stick around in that industry to tend to be better then average though and perhaps because of underdog syndrome they might charge less or work harder then male counterparts.

I once by complete coincidence, ended up sitting next to the head of architecture of a famous university at an event. I was only a young teen myself and interested in studying it at uni so we ended up chatting, he said some very interesting things that were very complimentary about women in design and construction, in particular that women tend to listen to the client more and that men were more likely to let their ego get in the way. This was 25 years ago and it's stuck with me. I did in fact do a degree in architecture and now work in design/construction. Thanks Peter!!

I'd be really interested to hear how you get on.

Was cold called last week and the lad ignored my questions, talked over me, then said that all I'd need to do was make the contractor a cup of tea while he worked 😂
I have work that needs doing and a small fund to do it, I'm fed up of being patronised and fleeced.

Honestly I do wonder why I bothered when I see shit like this.

You think she hasn't had this since the day she walked onto a construction site?

I thought we were opening doors for women in construction but the shit never fucking ends. Even 35 years after I first walked onto mine.

@AlisonDonut 😂 bit dramatic.

Her fees will be less because women notoriously undersell themselves.

I've never had a female tradesperson not turn up, disappear to pick up something from B&Q and not appear until days later, bang loads of extra costs on final invoice, take loads of phonecalls whilst working. I can only think of three times I've been able to find a female and every single time there's been a fab job done. (Plastering, landscaping, plumbing).

(Also through work I use a number of freelance copywriters. This will sound like a shocking generalisation but it's my experience that the women are always cheaper*, take time to understand what I want, and deliver a great job on time)

I would like to give more work to women but it's almost impossible to find women in skilled trades.

*I will always pay a fair rate.

Every single contractor that has not returned calls, booked in for a quote them been a no show, overcharged me and generally taken the piss, has been a man. And I'd say this behaviour I've experienced in over 50% of the cases.

At the start of this year I had a plumber come to refit sink taps on downstairs loo. After lots of WhatsApp convos I supplied the taps. He arrived circa 2pm, announced after 15 minutes he needed to get a washer from the wholesaler, went, came back just 3.30pm, changed it the charged me 2 hours labour

I'd be more than happy to start taking women on.

I've had this for nearly 4 decades now. Why on earth did I bother?

I had one woman telling me I really shouldn't have as women don't like getting their hands dirty and it was a complete and utter waste of time.

@AlisonDonut Mate, why you getting all pissy with me about it. I merely gave my opinion on CONTRACTORS BEING AVAILABLE... NOT SPECIFICALLY WOMEN ONES. Thought you might need to see in capitals to read it properly. No one is saying you're not good. Jesus.

Bit dramatic.

@quantumbutterfly quite

Not dramatic at all.

Were the males taking the f piss? Overcharging because I have no man at home talking to them and clearly not very savvy on all this?*

Anyone ever experienced anything similar?

I have a friend who talks about this constantly, that as a single woman she's getting appalling behaviour from tradesmen. I'd hire a woman over a man for this kind of thing in a heartbeat, for all the things mentioned in this thread. Even if they don't meet the perceived wisdom that a good tradesperson is never available straight away.

And the other reason is that I find it incredibly stressful having strange men in the house, no doubt because of a history of sexual assault. As such even if the woman were only average, it would be a significantly better experience for me.

I wasn't good love. I was excellent.

When I went off work with tonsillitus for 3 weeks they replaced me with 3 fully grown qualified men. Who then got paid more than me obviously even though I was doing the work of 3 adult human men.

Why was it a bonus that she was a lesbian? Do lesbians give discounts on car purchases? In what part of the car buying process does somebody's sexuality come up? It's not odd to ask if they have a woman to help you purchase a car because women know about cars too but it's really odd that her being a lesbian has any relevance at all lol. I don't own a car but I'm gonna ask my sister and her wife later if they bought their cars from lesbians because it sounds like it comes with added extras lol

The first rule of Lesbian Discount Club, is you don't talk about Lesbian Discount Club...

The first rule of Lesbian Discount Club, is you don't talk about Lesbian Discount Club...
😂very funny joke...wait... it is a joke isn't it? or have I missed out on thousands of pounds over the years...😱

The little buzz of lesbian recognition thing is probably difficult to explain if you haven't experienced it, but it's just a light-hearted little thing in the moment.

The best reply I ever heard to why gay people want to associate with each other was when someone asked 'Why did they form a gay rugby club? Why don't they just join existing clubs?'
The reply: 'So why does London Welsh exist?'

😂very funny joke...wait... it is a joke isn't it? or have I missed out on thousands of pounds over the years...😱

If there isn't one, there should be 🙂

I'm actually straight but I totally get why lesbian recognition would be a nice thing.

No, I'm not applying anyone's lack of time management to this. Nothing to do with sex.

If a person has no work booked in for the upcoming week, you have to wonder about the quality of their work or if they are new to the job. Many excellent tradespeople don't even need to advertise - they are swamped with work from word of mouth. I know a guy who does kitchens, bathrooms, general house fixing and he's booked up for a year in advance. Either people wait in his queue or risk getting a cowboy (or cowgirl).

• women. The word is women.

Oh you know one guy in construction. You must be an expert!

Well done.

I'd say there are POSSIBLE red flags to look out for here, but on the whole I'd agree with your thinking and wanting to use female contractors.
But there's a separate thing you touch on - the fact that men "exploit" what they think is our inability to understand "their" industries. They will charge us more, explain less, and assume that we won't know the difference between a handle and a knob (lol - SORRY) - but that's their thinking.
It's affected me most with driving. About 90% of men and boys will ASSUME I'll be less able than them to perform any manoeuvre in my car, and on the odd occasions when I've driven my (female) neighbour's lovely old Morris Minor they just can't believe I'll make it out of her driveway!
Sorry to waffle about this here.

We chatted after I bought my car, and she asked me why I specifically asked for a female saleswoman. I said When I spend my money, I like to avoid the side of misogyny.

Yeah women tradespeople are the absolute cheapest aren’t they? Don’t have to pay them as much as a man.

You’re getting her for £6,200 cheaper than #2 contractor and £900 cheaper than #3 foreign immigrant contractor!! Wow! Good for you.

You must be so proud doing your bit towards the gender pay gap. 👍🏿

The OP accepted the estimate from the contractor in whom she had most confidence, who was also the contractor who gave the lowest estimate.
It's the contractor who gives the estimate, the price is not set by the prospective client.