Am I being unreasonable?

[iffy100]

I need to get plumbing, plastering and tiling work done in the house. I am unfortunately not having much luck finding people to do the jobs for me. It seems that people are coming through to see the jobs and are providing quotes. The problem though arises when I ask the following questions:

-Please state the length of time you expect the remedial works to take?
-Will you carry out the concerned remedial work yourself or do you have a
team of people/sub-contractors?
-What type of insurance(s) do you as a tradesman have in place?
-Are you part of a trade association or a dispute resolution scheme?
-Do you have certificates and or company references to prove -
competency in the required fields - plumbing, tiling and joinery?
-What efforts will you make to cover existing areas of the site to prevent
damage; e.g. carpets?
-Lastly, will you provide any sort of guarantee for the works, if so - how
long?

Please tell me if you find the questions a bad idea?

 

[noseall]

The problem though arises when I ask the following questions:

-Please state the length of time you expect the remedial works to take?
-Will you carry out the concerned remedial work yourself or do you have a
team of people/sub-contractors?
-What type of insurance(s) do you as a tradesman have in place?
-Are you part of a trade association or a dispute resolution scheme?
-Do you have certificates and or company references to prove -
competency in the required fields - plumbing, tiling and joinery?
-What efforts will you make to cover existing areas of the site to prevent
damage; e.g. carpets?
-Lastly, will you provide any sort of guarantee for the works, if so - how
long?

Please tell me if you find the questions a bad idea?

Did you ask how regularly they bathe too? FFS no wonder they're running for the hills.
All your queries are reasonable but not as direct or as early in the quoting process. Try and ask these questions a little indirectly or seek answers from people who have used theses trades previously, or wait until you have a rapport going.

 

[big-all]

would look much better if split into say 3 or 4 sections over several days

quote stage will cover expected cost and time
a general bit off "casual "conversation should cover his skills like "you looked quite professional when you arrived and by the way you have conducted yourself so far "
then let him talk

you have several weeks to ask further questions
and you can ask things like do i need to get sugar in and what sort off biscuits do your lads like

 

[Whitespirit66]

If you can use trades recommended by others (friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbours), then most of your questions will be unnecessary.

 

[cajar]

the answers you want aren't unreasonable, in fact very sensible, but if you're asking them in a list like that you're putting him on the back foot as most customers don't act like that unless they're trouble.

closed questioning would be better ie instead of "what measures do you plan you use to protect my home" try "i take it you'll put something down to cover the carpets mate" etc and let him talk from there. if you don't like what he says from there then you've got your answer. just try to be a little less formal.

 

[iffy100]

The last three responses have been very helpful, thank you. I shall incorporate the question in to some friendly conversation to ascertain the answers to my questions. I will thogh say that recommendation isn't always the best way albeit a good starting point. I have been stung by recommendation before is why I thought asking questions is a good idea. Anyway thank you once again, I'mmuch clearer on how to go about selecting a tradesman.

 

[noseall]

The last three responses have been very helpful.

I bet you can p**s people off without even knowing that you've done it, eh?

 

[iffy100]

Usually I'm fully aware of my actions. Not perfect though, notice something?

 

[noseall]

Usually I'm fully aware of my actions. Not perfect though, notice something?

Your username....?

 

[iffy100]

Good one lol!
Is it normal practice for you to noseall?

Perhaps you pee'd someone off? Knowingly perhaps?

 

[big-all]

what we need to remember is we need to trust the customer as must the customer trust the craftsman to a great extent
its a mutual trust to a greater extent with the finer details sorted out later
remember a lot off the details will be verbal in conversations and finalized and contained in the contract and t/cs

and the wording about trusting start to look like an advert for a website when in connection with trades
but i do not like these sites as feedback is unfairly controlled vetting is minimum to ineffective so unbiased and honest are not words on the same planet as these companies in my opinion

 

[noseall]

Good one lol!
Is it normal practice for you to noseall?

Perhaps you pee'd someone off? Knowingly perhaps?

You just seem rather tactless to me, in particular one seeking help. Ho hum.

 

[cajar]

on an aside, I have several times gave the benefit of the doubt to customers who approach it like this, in case it's 'just their way', and because I do understand where they're coming from. but sadly every single one has been a right pain in the a*** from beginning to end (and after). never happy with anything, and treating the job like it's a £2m contract when it's only worth a couple of hundred to me.

 

[planenut]

You could answer all of those questions by asking for examples of their work, i.e. arranging to view previous work, with their suggestion, then being able to talk to people at those sites; then theirs and the tradesman's reply would surely give you that information?

 

[RogerBoyle]

If I had arrived to give you a quote and you had asked me all those questions in that manner I would have thought immediately you would be a pain in the Arse customer and so I would

1. Gave you a silly price
2. Gave you a date to far into the future for you to wait
3. Refuse to pass on any previous clients details to you.

Simply as has already been said most customers do not act this way..

Its usually along the lines of
Will it be you or your lads that's going to be doing the work ( let him talk then)
Then you could slip in something along the lines of
Will you be covering this area or that area with sheets / tarps. Boards etc.

and continue in this manner

The way you worded it is the way I would expect from a large tender/Job
and not from a small job like yours