Aaargh! Why are tradesmen SO unreliable??

Norcon said:

One of my clients, earning approx. £200,000

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Well he is either a doctor, banker or barrister.

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ok, so in the scheme of things 200k isn't much and many of my customers earn way more than that. Used him as an example because he is happy to tell me how much he earns, which btw is more than i earn.

how many doctors earn 200k, plastic consultant surgeons perhaps.

In the scheme of what things?

If he's say a building contractor with overheads of 190k a year then he ain't earning a lot.

What does this guy do? Is he in the sas?

Norcon said:

In the scheme of what things?

If he's say a building contractor with overheads of 190k a year then he ain't earning a lot.

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I omitted to say that he works in the banking sector. Relative to some of my customers he is far from wealthy. But wealthy relative to most of us.

There you go I was right.

One of our customers has a barrister for a daughter and she was in doing some banking (probably lodging10k for a days work) and the girl she met there told her she should have followed a career in banking. (after seeing her bank account statement presumambly.)

No one in banking should be paid more than £50k. They are just pen pushers ffs dressed up in shiny suits.
If you took them out of the city and into the sticks they wouldn't last a week! Same goes for the wiggies.

They would still be living in caves if it wasn't for clever and skilled tradesmen.
When you go back to basics these people are useless. A burden.

Is it any wonder the system is collapsing?

adlplumbing said:

The reason we are late for jobs is we get focused on the task in hand, get distracted and takes longer. Also we don`t leave job till its fixed, thus we may have to say longer than we thought we would. Then do not realise till we have finished, what the times is.

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A job i've been to a fair few times under the 10 year window guarantee to fix things the policy holder or customer tells me it took 2 guys 2 weeks to fit the windows in his corner terraced house, one main guy and an apprentice.

The main guys phone never stopped ringing all day and most days he wouldn't arrive till 11am, shoot off a couple more times to measure other work and then leave a 3pm, no wonder it took 2 weeks

Left alone he'd of done the job in 2 days yet now the whole job wants skipping and starting again

The OP can have me as a trusted tradesman. I'll turn up on the job at 8 o clock sharp. Then leave to go to the suppliers to pick up materials (or I can order them over the phone and wait all day and half the next day till they're delivered) Or , the OP can pay me from 7 o clock in the morning and I'll pick up the materials on my way in. Hard life ain't it.

Just a quick question to the OP,,, Are you an MP? I only ask because you seem to be very out of touch with the "real" world.

Interesting that only two posts have replied that they are 'trusted tradesmen'. Is that because everyone else believes that they are or perhaps, deep-down know that they are not?

It's a very sorry state in society when we dump on others simply because "that's just life!".

It's not just 'being late' that's the issue. It seems to me to be norm in the industry that good old customer service just does not exist. Pray tell me... what are the reasons for:
1) view job on Monday, quote promised Thursday. By Sunday, still not arrived and no word!
2) email queries - no response back without having to repeatedly chase;
3) reply to trade advert by leaving voicemail - no response back, at all!

Have you really all got so much work that it does not matter?

My ethos is to 'stand-out and strive to be the best' not, 'follow the crowd 'cos that's what they expect'.

Take from this all of this, what you will. Customer with constuctive feedback or customer talking bo**ocks.

Your choice....

PS I'm not an MP

What are you then? Is it a secret?

EpsilonD said:

Interesting that only two posts have replied that they are 'trusted tradesmen'. Is that because everyone else believes that they are or perhaps, deep-down know that they are not?

It's a very sorry state in society when we dump on others simply because "that's just life!".

It's not just 'being late' that's the issue. It seems to me to be norm in the industry that good old customer service just does not exist. Pray tell me... what are the reasons for:
1) view job on Monday, quote promised Thursday. By Sunday, still not arrived and no word!
2) email queries - no response back without having to repeatedly chase;
3) reply to trade advert by leaving voicemail - no response back, at all!

Have you really all got so much work that it does not matter?

My ethos is to 'stand-out and strive to be the best' not, 'follow the crowd 'cos that's what they expect'.

Take from this all of this, what you will. Customer with constuctive feedback or customer talking bo**ocks.

Your choice....

PS I'm not an MP

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Sometimes when a tradesman views a job and finds there are not "Good Vibrations" from the Customer, or the Customer is expecting something for nothing,
Rather than insult the customer by saying they do not wish to undertake the work, it is best that the Tradesman does not send out a Quote or estimate, Those Customers do take the hint.

Tradesmen can suss out a To**er at a hundred metres. They must have you down as one.

Like most of the tradesmen/women on this forum I am happy to give up my precious spare time to try to help others. I expect nothing in return but I would like to think that there is an element of quid pro quo, by which I mean that I hope professionals in other spheres will do the same in their respective areas of knowledge.

My default position is one of being polite. I try to treat others as I would like to be treated. I don't always succeed in adhering to that maxim but by and large I do try. I am not unique in that respect.

Had you approached this forum and asked your original questioning a civil/respectful manner perhaps the answers might have been less caustic.

One wonders if your definition of a decent tradesman is limited by their willingness to doff their cap and show you due deference. If that is the case then I can recommend people of questionable immigration status that will be happy to work 12 hours a day for peanuts. The quality of finish is likely to inferior and possibly dangerous/harmful to your health.

If you want someone that will answer the phone immediately then I suggest that you phone one of the firms in the glossy pages of the Sunday Times supplements. You won't be talking to a tradesman, you will be talking to a call centre agent who will send out a (hard)salesman, after that you will be dealing with a subcontractor. the quality of finish is likely to be acceptable but a generous premium will have been charged.

The reality is that most tradesmen are self-employed. Our skills tend to be specifically limited to the area in which we work (that is not to say that we are mono-skilled). Using myself as an example, I work in a lot of homes, it is very, very , very rare that I look at previous work (in my field of expertise) and think "wow that is better than I would/could have done". I am a tradesman, I am not a PA. I cannot justify the overhead of having a PA to remind me where to be, (most of) my clients would baulk at the extra costs that would have to be passed on to them.

There have been times when I have quoted jobs and failed to submit them. Sometimes it is a genuine oversight, other times I am too busy to devote X hours without the guarantee of the job, I plan to do it but don't. In exceptional cases I look at the client and think "why bother, something about you seems wrong".

I don't want to suggest that you are a "victim" of the latter but the opening gambit of your last post is one of the most trite that I recall encountering on this site. Unfortunately it is consistent with the overall image that you have presented (intentionally or not).

That said, if you have a sensible question I will be more than happy to try to help you, as would most of the others, EVEN Joe90.

Continue with your rant against a whole class of "minions" if that is your wont or just accept that those that give up their free time to try to help others with sage advice are probably not fly by night agents that don't care a jot about their fellow man.

Apropos the lack of written paper work/quotes. Have you not considered that a disproportionally high degree of tradesmen are less literate than you (may or may not be) or are too busy to develop the IT skills required to submit the quote in a timely manner, instead relying on other family members to do so on their behalf.

I think Bosswhite hit the nail on the head. Personally I am always polite, arrive when I say I will arrive and stick to the quoted price. I generally do a bit more than expected on jobs to please the customer.

Occasionally, I have ignored potential customers' calls, e-mails, texts etc because I know they are either going to be time wasters, know-alls or just want everything for nothing. As Bosswhite says, you get a 'feel' for a new customer on the first visit and over the years I have learned to go with my instincts.

The best customer comments are:

It will only take you an hour. (How the f**k do you know? Would you say that to a sugeon?

It's a very easy job (You do it then)

Whilst you are fitting my bathroom, can you paint my kitchen for free? (NO!)

When I finish work each day, I get home at about 6pm but that's not it. I have to do accounts, organise materials for the next day, work out where to buy them, arrange meetings, type up quotes etc etc. So really, I am thinking on & off about work until the time I go to bed.

I don't know the OP personally but I wonder if he has been giving off the wrong 'vibes' - I'm more important than you but I'll let you do this work anyway to help me out. I know lots about the work (actually knows nothing).

Sorry OP if I have got you wrong but I am basing the responses you have had on the responses I have given in the past.

It could just be that you are a decent chap but have been unlucky with your choice of workman.

EpsilonD said:

Pray tell me... what are the reasons for:
1) view job on Monday, quote promised Thursday. By Sunday, still not arrived and no word!
2) email queries - no response back without having to repeatedly chase;
3) reply to trade advert by leaving voicemail - no response back, at all!

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Often because experienced tradesmen have a 6th sense, and get a feel for certain customers.

Bummer I know, but c'est la vie.

Why are clients so unreliable, never be in when they say they will, never pay on time, tell you it's a five minute job when it's a weeks work etc. etc.