Is a reccomendation good enough

[JamesAsus]

Hi,

How much trust do you put in reccomendations?

Recently had a decorator reccomended by someone i work with and he did a job for her to a high standard, also her partner knows the guy he works for.

He seems legit, has all the kit and knows what he is talking about but theres no writing on his van and ive never bothered to ask what company he actually works for lol.

 

[joe-90]

So you are saying you won't employ someone because they don't have writing on their van? Our local traveler site is full of vans with signs on them. Why not give them a call?

 

[terrypin]

Recommendations are better than no recommendations but, your interpretation of satisfactory/good/excellent may be different from those recommending.

 

[securespark]

Didn't know you were American, joe?

Have you used such people for jobs round your house?

 

[HawkEye244]

So long as you don't leave him in the house and stay on top of everything he does you can't really go wrong.

 

[WalksWithTurkeys]

Have you seen the work he did? As said, one person's nice job is another person's iffy job. When can he start? If it is straight away, and the job is mor than a few hours, then I'd run. If he has a waiting list, that's a good sign. Sometimes trades supply a list of references, obviously they edit it, but better than nowt. If they are on CheckATrade/CheckABodger, I'd be suspicious.

 

[JBR]

'Which Local' and 'Which Trusted Traders' can also be useful.

 

[longdogs]

Anyone is as good as their last job (including me). A recommendation is about as good as you can get but it doesn't mean he isn't capable of ballsing it up at some point.

Sign written vans look nice but it doesn't mean they are any better and don't forget that someone has to pay for all that shiny paint and vinyl signs.