Waste of time tradesmen.....

Joined
30 Nov 2006
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Location
Surrey
Country
United Kingdom
We have been trying to get some work done at the back of our garden for about 6 months now and have had 4 different landscapers come to look at it.

The work is to take down the back fence, bordering a private road, and 16 metres of side fencing to our two neighbours, remove an old planter (approx 6x3m) and clear out the rubbish left by the previous owner to about 8metres into the garden.

We then want the area, 12 x 8 metres brought up to level with a small retaining wall to the front with new fencing to the rear and sides to about 8 feet high, then importing around 20m³ of soil and geotextile laid and finishing with bark for the kids to have their trampoline on and use as a play area.

The first guy looked at it from the kitchen wall, about 60 feet away and said "oh, about £1500 I think should cover it" the next one came and spent about a half an hour looking and making notes and chatting with me and the missus (he used to go to school with her!) and never came back to us, when I chased him he said he was too busy!

The other 2 came recently and I haven't heard a bean from them since, I have followed up my inquiry with an email/text to see where things are but have had no response. All of their check a trade profiles give rave reviews and 10 out of 10 so why won't they come back to us with prices and start times.

The job isn't too big for them, about a weeks work in total with machinery and skips etc. but they don't seem interested, why? It's nothing bigger or more complicated than whats on their web pages.

I though this was the time of people not having enough work and keen to get the next job sorted and eager to make money, I just can't understand it. Do they think we can't afford it or are wasting their time or something?????

This has also happened with works inside the house too, carpenters, plumbers etc coming to have a look but taking it no further!!

It makes me rather angry that this keeps happening, we want to get things moving in the house and garden and are increasingly frustrated by this, I have the skills to carry out most of the works but as its two handed and I don't have any friends can't complete these thing and don't want to give my precious weekends away to constant DIY.

We also have the money set aside to complete these things one at a time (and are prepared to pay cash if it helps) so WHY oh WHY don't they come back to US??!!
 
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Right down the spec, don't say a word and let them visit when you are out. It's YOU that they don't like, telling them their own job and how long it should take. Look at doubling that figure and you might get somewhere.
 
And the abuse starts.............as usual

You know **** all about me and how I talked to them whilst they were there and yet you assume I'm the problem!!

The weeks work is what they said, not me, with men, machinery such as mini digger and post hole auger. I would, and have, calculated more time for the works and am happy to pay whatever is required to get the job done in a timely and reasonable fashion.

I have also estimated, and budgeted, the cost to be around £2,500 for the works so would be interested to see what their price is.

I don't post much on here but I do watch a lot, isn't it funny how some people start of abusive and then get even more abusive. If you don't have anything constructive to say then please DON'T SAY ANYTHING
 
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The truth hurts eh Daz? It's not abuse mate, it's good solid advice.
 
And the abuse starts.............as usual

You know f***** all about me and how I talked to them whilst they were there and yet you assume I'm the problem!!

Don't worry. It's only Joe. We have come to expect abuse from him and, unfortunately being a mod, he's above reproach.
 
I agree with joe, sorry.

Its just seems these people don't want to work for you..
 
I though this was the time of people not having enough work

Good people are always in demand. Since the credit crunch, too many householders think tradesmen will be falling over themselves to work for peanuts.

Your 'spec' seems very specific - maybe they think you will be standing on their shouders all the time telling them how to do it, or complaining about this and that?
 
You know f***** all about me

Well, umm.. This is true, but the same could be said of the denizens of this forum. I know nothing about you, but I'm not sure I'd want to work for you. Granted I've only seen one of your posts (this one, a bit ranty though I'm sure not without some reason) and I'm prepared to give people the benefit of..

Anyhows, look at it like a blessing - maybe something about you filters out these guys and they would have done a bloody awful job that you wouldn't have been happy with, so you're better off than you were..

Find a couple of students and pay them a few beans - you got your brawn, now just use your brains to run them. Oh and don't let them drive the digger
 
Right down the spec, don't say a word and let them visit when you are out. It's YOU that they don't like, telling them their own job and how long it should take. Look at doubling that figure and you might get somewhere.

You need some verbal Imodium.
 
People who work in the trades can spot a difficult customer a mile off. I apologise if i'm judging here, but most tradesmen will avoid a difficult customer as the hassle just is not worth it. Decent jobs can be done, but these particular customers will always moan, complain, and interfere with the work. Once work is done, these customers will probably keep calling the tradesman to come back again and again, making issues out of things that are not an issue.
 
Sometimes, tradesmen look at a job, but just don't want it. I've looked at jobs and thought to myself, I could do this job, but don't really want the hassle, so put in a ridiculously high quote. Only for a few jobs I've phoned the prospective client and told them I don't want to do the job (but always give them someone else's phone number) I have also told them the reason I don't want the job. One last year was to replace one sink base unit in a kitchen. Reason was the main incoming pipe came out of the floor (about a foot off the wall), returned towards the back of the unit, then fed the sink, and was also tee'd off left and right. H/W came in from the right and extended across the base unit to the left to feed the w/machine. Waste pipe went straight out of the back of the base unit. Customer didn't want the sink replacing nor the worktop (worktop was f***ed too) Would have been too much trouble, just for one base unit. She didn't want to spend any more than £40 for labour. :eek:
 
Right down the spec, don't say a word and let them visit when you are out. It's YOU that they don't like, telling them their own job and how long it should take. Look at doubling that figure and you might get somewhere.

You need some verbal Imodium.

What would you know you silly unemployed dope? :rolleyes:
 
Ah............I'm the arsehole....thanks everyone for you stunning critique of my persona, I now feel an understanding of why people don't want paying a fair days wage for a fair days work.

In the past I have never had a house that needed so much work doing to it and I've never really had the cash with which to do it with either, so I've usually Done It Yourself (myself)

Now I'm out of my comfort zone with this and I call in the "professionals" and I get nothing.

I won't be on their shoulder looking all the time, I have a job to go to everyday (I'm here now!) I will only be home after 6 when I imagine they will be gone and if there are any problems the other half will have to deal with it the next day conveying any of my questions or requests.

Yes I am specific about what I want, its MY house and MY job and MY money, who wouldn't be. I can't image that people ask tradesmen or, anyone for that matter, to come into their house and "oh just fit me a thingy there or a whatsname here and I'll pay you anything!"

Yes I understand good people are in demand, I have a carpenter who is fitting a loft hatch and new doors coming next week and I've had to wait nearly 3 months for him, I don't mind, but from day one he said he was busy but kept in touch once a week via email and text he's a proper tradesman.

Perhaps it's because all of the ones that came to see my job are younger, early to mid 20's, maybe they see things differently I don't know....that's why I asked the question.

I have responded to a few posts on here, not many, however so far I haven't had to stoop to any abuse of anyone else for their queries or views......seems I may have to change my attitude a bit, I try to live by the rule of "treat others how you would like to be treated" but obviously others, especially on here, don't feel the same way.

As I said before if you don't have anything relevant or helpful to say then DON'T POST.
 
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