Tradies not showing up!

[grubar30]

Serious, what is it with tilers, electricians and especially plumbers who promise to turn up for a quote but never show?....it’s just rude and unprofessional…then they’re the first to complain when the work starts to dry up….whatever!

So if you find a good tradie, who’s reliable and also fair in price, then hold onto him for dear life.

George

 

[WashingtonBrown]

I am convinced anyone who starts a business

and manages to get the phone answered and people to turn up on time....

Must increase the chance of survival for that business by about 200% !!

 

[skater]

Serious, what is it with tilers, electricians and especially plumbers who promise to turn up for a quote but never show?....it’s just rude and unprofessional…then they’re the first to complain when the work starts to dry up….whatever!

So if you find a good tradie, who’s reliable and also fair in price, then hold onto him for dear life.

George

I share your pain.

A few years ago I wanted to extend the PPOR. Rang a heap of builders (can't remember the exact figure) to come out & quote. Only a handful did turn up, & then out of them only one got back to us with a quote.

We never did the extension, instead Hubby turned the garage into another room.

 

[rj]

Ill come around and unblock your toilet George.

RJ

 

[wish-ga]

pshaw! I feel your pain.

I try and be understanding that they have a schedule and Murphy's sometimes means a job runs over time or they may be outta range/battery for their mobile (what tradie DOESN'T have a mob these days!)

BUT...but...but

I also believe that they are demonstrating how they do business. They treat you like this when they haven't even got the job? Imagine how hard they could be to pin down under difficult circumstances.

I tend to call a bit before they are due to check if they are 'on track for 3pm?'. That way if they pick up and say they are in the middle of a job and not going to make it I haven't kicked around for no reason. Pro active approach.

 

[Scout]

Good and professional tradies do exist. I have managed to find a reliable plumber (not wearing thongs to work either, and got me out of a wet mess on a Saturday morning within 30 minutes of my call for help.), electrician (constantly, even obsessively kept in touch regarding time of arrival) and concreter (arrived on time for quote and kept me briefed about timelines).

Clearly, there is no excuse for not keeping in touch with a client, even and especially when running late. Yes, dead phone batteries might be an excuse, but the pros have chargers in their cars for such an eventuality.

Don't even bother with the one's that don't turn up for the quote or are too late without a reasonable excuse. There are plenty of good ones out there.

 

[Goldminer]

Try service central

Can relate to trades not turning up, took 2 weeks of my holidays to find someone remotely interested in paving the small court yard for one of my investment properties. I had only one request, that was a reciept for the work. The job required just a little digging by hand of which i was going to assist. In the end i found someone who did the job for a little over $3500.00.
I had heard an add on the radio, service central acts as an agency for trades and services. You call them, explain the job and people willing to do the work turn up on time to quote the job. I know there in Melbourne not sure about elsewhere?

 

[Simon]

I have always found that by ringing the trade ads in the local free paper you are getting tradesmen who are seeking work. ie they only run the ads when they are short of work.

This saves you getting some fat, dumb and happy tradie who really can't be bothered.

 

[Monopoly]

I have always found that by ringing the trade ads in the local free paper you are getting tradesmen who are seeking work. ie they only run the ads when they are short of work.

This saves you getting some fat, dumb and happy tradie who really can't be bothered.

Ummmm ....sorry but I beg to differ on that note Simon!! I would dearly love to believe that the local rag with the advertising trade ads for that week will mean I get a plumber/electrician/tiler/tv or washer repair man to actually PHYSICALLY turn up, but alas it doesn't!! Many of them run advertisements in "blocks" of say 13 weeks at a time, and it doesn't matter how many or which weeks you call, getting them to actually keep to their word and show up is harder than pulling teeth (no, erase that.....it's way more painful)!!

I am sure there are SOME tradies out there that DO actually turn up to jobs (and maybe even "on time") but they are few and far between, and unfortunately, it's those select few that that don't "show" that give the rest of their tradiie mates a bad name.

Once upon a time it used to be used car salesmen and lawyers with bad reputations, but things being as they are now, tradies are fast moving beyond these guys!! Hell, at least the used car salesman will hang off you like some bad smell, and the lawyer will email/write/phone at every opportunity so to justify the exercise; with both staying in the picture long enough to sting you for the priviledge!!!

 

[Ricardo29]

im onto a mob called tradequote.com.au

website that gets in touch with tradesmen, only those wanting the work ring you. its worked VERY well at least 3 occaisons now, and couldnt be happier. takes me 2mins on email...someone rings me..sort a time out...done. its a perth thing only, but am sure if u all bug them they can go national. bloody good idea i reckon. an online tradesman broker...who wouldve thought!

and another good news story.....
phonecall fri morn from demolition company owner. (smashed down my fence when knocking over house next door, i wrote to them). full of sorrow on the phone, said he'd arrange a guy to fix it all straight away, no dont worry about insurance, il do it. guy rang 9am saturday, pre-planned. was here by 9.30am. didnt need me around. him and his sidekick went and bought sheetings, spent 3hrs putting them in, digging, cutting, basically installing a new fence. outstanding service all round. Alliance Demolition, Bibra Lake.

my faith is restored.

BUT...tried to put my car in today for a simple scratch repair...6 weeks wait!!

 

[Jimmyjamjars]

Sorry you have had bad experiences with tradies but please don't bundle ALL tradesmen in the same category. I am an Industrial Electrician and while I am not in the type of field to be called to 3 or 4 different locations in the one day, we treat all customers with the highest regard. Bad customer service annoys me as much as anyone else so I don't treat others that way.
JIM

 

[Simon]

Ummmm ....sorry but I beg to differ on that note Simon!! I would dearly love to believe that the local rag with the advertising trade ads for that week will mean I get a plumber/electrician/tiler/tv or washer repair man to actually PHYSICALLY turn up, but alas it doesn't!! Many of them run advertisements in "blocks" of say 13 weeks at a time, and it doesn't matter how many or which weeks you call, getting them to actually keep to their word and show up is harder than pulling teeth (no, erase that.....it's way more painful)!!

I am sure there are SOME tradies out there that DO actually turn up to jobs (and maybe even "on time") but they are few and far between, and unfortunately, it's those select few that that don't "show" that give the rest of their tradiie mates a bad name.

Once upon a time it used to be used car salesmen and lawyers with bad reputations, but things being as they are now, tradies are fast moving beyond these guys!! Hell, at least the used car salesman will hang off you like some bad smell, and the lawyer will email/write/phone at every opportunity so to justify the exercise; with both staying in the picture long enough to sting you for the priviledge!!!

Works for me Jo.... perhaps the difference is that we are in different cities or even states - all sorts of variables. I apologise if I generalised in my post and attempted to offer a solution that works for me. Clearly it wont and I better try something new...

I had a vinyl company turn up same day I called yesterday and they are starting the job today. Same experience with an electrician last week.

Also had a plumber turn up the day I called to unblock a toilet at an IP last month.

In fact I cannot think when I was last dissapointed by a tradie, but you are probably right - I need a new method of finding decent ones.

 

[Monopoly]

Sorry you have had bad experiences with tradies but please don't bundle ALL tradesmen in the same category. I am an Industrial Electrician and while I am not in the type of field to be called to 3 or 4 different locations in the one day, we treat all customers with the highest regard. Bad customer service annoys me as much as anyone else so I don't treat others that way.
JIM

As I said in my post JJJ:

I am sure there are SOME tradies out there that DO actually turn up to jobs (and maybe even "on time") but they are few and far between, and unfortunately, it's those select few that that don't "show" that give the rest of their tradiie mates a bad name.

You are obviously one of those "decent" and "professional" types that ACTUALLY does do the right thing, but unfortunately still bears the brunt of lesser reliable people in your field.

I'm sure that your dedication to providing good customer service does not go unnoticed, as it shouldn't!!

Keep up the good work!!

 

[Monopoly]

Works for me Jo.... perhaps the difference is that we are in different cities or even states - all sorts of variables. I apologise if I generalised in my post and attempted to offer a solution that works for me. Clearly it wont and I better try something new...

I had a vinyl company turn up same day I called yesterday and they are starting the job today. Same experience with an electrician last week.

Also had a plumber turn up the day I called to unblock a toilet at an IP last month.

In fact I cannot think when I was last dissapointed by a tradie, but you are probably right - I need a new method of finding decent ones.

No need for apologies Simon, hey it's worth a shot. After all, you have to give everything a "try" at least once right?? And as you say, what works in one state/city may not work in another; who knows, the variables are probably many!! Besides, it's not that I disagree with checking out the local rag; I just wished it actually worked (well for me anyway!!). Maybe it's the tone in your voice that wins em' over!!! Hmmmm.....do you suppose "husky" would do the trick??? LOL

Cheers,
Jo

 

[geoffw]

There could well be a difference here between the size of the target market.

Simon is in Newcastle, Jo in Melbourne. The whole demographic of a local market will be different- even the advertising rates and regimes will be different.

I've seen Subway advertising in a local paper in a smaller community be extremely successful- yet in a (slightly larger) community like Canberra, the same advertising will fall flat on its face.

Where I live in Queanbeyan, I largely ignore the local newspapers (the free one as well as the other). But in a similar sized community a lot further away from a major centre, the dynamic would be completely different.

 

[Jimmyjamjars]

I want to make it clear that my last post wasn't implying that anyone WAS bundling all tradesmen in the one category. Part of the reason tradies are becoming harder to get is that there are so fewer apprentices coming through the ranks that tradesmen are almost becoming a dying breed. When someone can go to the mines relatively unskilled and earn 100k+, why would they want to spend 4-5 years earning peanuts. Just a thought ....
JIM