Just a rant about tradesmen

OP here.
After my rant last week I got three jobs completed. Today, scaffolding is going up in readiness for roof work. They are half way through. Now I have just had a call from the roofing people to say they can’t start tomorrow after all as another job has overrun. They’ve tried to put it off for over a week. I am furious, as the house feels more vulnerable now.

We have had more luck using larger, better organised companies recently. Decorators, electricians and window fitters have been excellent. Arrive exactly when they say they will, do exactly what they’re supposed to do to a high standard. Respectful and polite and clear up after themselves. But they really are not cheap. Used them here and at my mum‘s house. I did use an independent joiner to make a bespoke front door however - this was a direct recommendation from a friend. There was a delay in fitting this but only because they were waiting for lock parts to arrive from Germany. They kept in touch to let me know progress. I could not be happier with my beautiful new door. But I had previously contacted at least six different companies, none of them even bothered to get back to me.
I definitely have the impression that people only want to do easier jobs though.

My hubby was a gardener and was meticulous about returning calls and letting people know if there was a problem with his visit. But the number of times I had one or other of his elderly customers on the phone because he was almost 10 minutes later than he was due (usually because of traffic hold ups) I've lost count.

We gave up trying to find someone who would waterproof a damp crawlspace under the house. Steep learning curve for me and hubby and neither of us are really fit enough to do the job, but we've been tackling it very slowly in small sessions for months now. The job's about half done. We'd have been prepared to pay a fair price but couldn't even get a quote - awkward jobs - forget it.

Cariad- what an absolute nightmare that must be for you. I really hope she doesn't get the neighbour she wants - you must be longing to escape.
Back to trades - yes OP this has happened to me even as late as the day before work is due to start. I always confirm (years of experience) and it's nail biting when they don't reply.
CheckaTrade - the trades pay to join that and it's worrying that most reviews are glowing.
I would dread having to just Google for someone. I've had to do it and never seems to end well - especially if they are available immediately.

Our local pub has most tradesman as regulars, we’ve used them all over the years, or others they recommend, we pass their details on to other friends and family, never been let down yet.

I wanted my bathroom re done contacted a local fitter who came to look at the job and said it would take about eight days, this turned into three weeks due to the fact he started the work and and then wouldn’t turn up when he said he would, he would come up with silly laughable excuses and was always on his mobile.
In the end he did a lovely job but I would never recommend him due to his unreliability, and this is exactly what I told him when I paid him, and he agreed with me it turned out he had three jobs on the go at the same time.

Out here in a rural small town where we've lived for 45 years we have a stock list of tradespeople that come recommended or we have used them before. The problem now is that several have retired so we have to scour the local post office window or the parish magazine. We also have a FB page.

Getting work done is really off putting because we just can’t find reliable tradesmen

Cabbie21 I waited in at my son's house for 3 hours on Tuesday, as they were getting a new front door fitted. Promised an 8.30 am start but no one turned up and no phone call. Texted daughter-in-law and she rang the company; 'unavoidable delay, yesterday's job ran over,' etc, etc. 'We'll be there at 3pm'. I went home, came back for 3 and at 3.30pm they turned up, with no new door and a couple of random windows! I mean, honestly!!
It was all sorted the next day, with a discount for the inconvenience, but dil had to be very firm!
I was going to use the same company in a couple of months, but I'll be looking elsewhere now.

Mt61

M0nica

I need a cooker cleaner and an electrician to do work ahead of our house move. I have rung or emailed about 5 companies/franchises abotu the cooker - not one response.

I found an electrician, who gave me a price and said contact him when i wanted te work done. I haveemaailed him three times since we exchanged contracts - I am still waiting for a reply.

My friend selling her house, paid £80 to have her oven steamed cleaned. Later down the line, she had to pick up some mail from her former home, her cooker was in the skip on the drive. Waste of £80 she said.

We know our purchasers want our cooker, they are a young couple moving from a small 2 bed house in London to our large 4 bed home. We have sold them some of the furniture and areeelaving them more. Our kitchen is designed for a range cooker so a new cooker would be expensive.

However today I am cautiously optimistic that I do now have a cooker cleaner and an electrician. DH found the cooker cleaner on a neighbouring community's Facebook page and I have spoken to him and made an appointment, and I have just received the new parish magazine with an advert for a local electrician. I actually recognised his name and realised I walk past his house a couple of times a week, and see his van outside. I have made preliminary contact and will ring him again this evening to make a definite appointment.

Thankfully our daughter moved to the town we are moving to earlier this year and is building up a list of useful contacts as she renovates her house. She has also brought some of her tradesman from her previous location as it is only a 30 minute drive away.

I too found a local handyman on NEXTDOOR a kindly ole feller who did a few jobs for me . When he fitted a new bolt to my gate while I was out I texted and asked how much I owed him for the bolt . He replied " a payment of a kiss from a sexy lady like you is enough " . Sadly the kindly ole feller won't be coming to do any more jobs for me . He was good too ! Yuk 🤢

I always like to ask local people for their personal recommendations and have usually been OK. As a former painter and decorator I got most of my work through recommendations (especially lone females who felt much safer than with a man). I wouldn't dream of not clearing up after myself but that doesn't seem to apply to many of the contractors I have had here! One (Eon supplied, not of my choice) even boasted how well he had cleaned up. I still hadn't finished cleaning the bathroom after he finished or been able to have my shower when my partner arrived with my elderly mother making her first visit to our new house.
The guy who did our back wall in the yard has disappeared off the face of the earth, not answering messages or phone calls and I don't have an address for him. He did a great job but we still owe him money and he has left bags of sand, cement etc.
I was disappointed by a recommended electrician who I naively assumed would make good the walls after chasing out huge channels to take wiring. He did leave us a tub of filler to do it ourselves after I complained.
But people just not turning up or not getting in touch - or coming an hour earlier than they said they would so we're not ready for them etc etc
I treasure those who are reliable!

I sometimes use recommendations on our local Nextdoor neighbourhood site.

I always use Nextdoor and once I find a tradesman I can trust, I always refer to him.

30+ years ago we bought our current home and needed to get some joists replaced and rot treated before we moved in. We found a local tradesman and when my DH visited his property to sign the contracts and council permissions my dh noticed the man had the same carpet we were looking to buy and mentioned this, the tradesman promptly gave DH his carpet fitters details. Dh contacted the fitter and we got a great deal on the carpet much cheaper than our local carpet shop. During the renovations we were let down by a major bathroom supply company and again this gentleman came to our aid and gave us the contract details of another bathroom fitter who supplied a better quality bathroom suite than the one my uncle had paid for as he was buying it as a house warming gift. The same man put us in touch with plumbers and plasterers. Needless to say I recommended all these tradesmen to friends and family. So I always try and find a tradesmen via friends and family.

I seem to have got quite a good network going. I have found some tradesmen through recommendations and some through Nextdoor. I have a wonderful handyman for the small jobs I found on Nextdoor.

nanna8

What annoys me is the ‘call out fee’ where they charge you just for coming out whether or not they actually do any work. Often close to a hundred dollars before you start. Not all of them but many especially plumbers and electricians. No wonder they are the richest people with the biggest houses round here!

I've never paid (or been asked) for a call-out fee for a quotation (lots of them in this area don't even turn up as agreed - grr)....

....but yep....a call-out fee for "nowt much at all" is a PITA. The other day a Russell Hobbs toaster blew my electrics when it gave up just after the guarantee period of 2 years. Cue for an electrician did come out promptly - it took him about 5 minutes flat to ensure all switches were as should be and he said £50 call-out fee. All I could do was say "Whilst you're here - please change these lightbulbs too then that I've not got round to changing". So yep £50 - for 5 minutes - and then I bought a German toaster as a replacement. (Yep....puts hands up and admits that, when I checked re that toasters guarantee - I realised I'd only gone and bought an identical Russell Hobbs toaster to the previous one - which had also lasted JUST past the guarantee period. Hence a German one now....).

What annoys me is the ‘call out fee’ where they charge you just for coming out whether or not they actually do any work. Often close to a hundred dollars before you start. Not all of them but many especially plumbers and electricians. No wonder they are the richest people with the biggest houses round here!

I had a very good builder workman who did a good job whenever needed . I recommended him to a friend for extensive garden work . The builder has not lived up to his recomedation and badly let her down , the work not completed for 3 months . She's distressed , I'm disappointed and embarrassed. We don't know what's happened to him to let her down but I will never recommended anyone again . People change , situations change and no one can rely on anyone really

M0nica

We have found the local network works well when you are having work done that needs lots of trades over a relativley short time, but on day to day matters DH has always done everything. From rewiring houses to fitting kitchens, so we may have years go by when we simply do not need workmen.

This is the case at the moment. We had an extension built in 2021 and have not needed anyone to do any jobs since - and I have never paid for an oven clean before. Our usual port of call, the parish magazine has no electricians in it. The ones we used to use have all retired. Sowith no one to ask for recommendations and no adverts in the parish magazine, I am reduced to googling for tradesmen.

Know the feeling re the "googling for tradesmen".

Could be worse - ie the original next door neighbour I had (and her gang of buddies) did their darndest to put off any tradies I found myself by telling them "a load of old **" of some description against me. It was a part of her campaign to get me to sell the house and move - as she had mentally got it lined-up for one of her buddies and was NOT happy at an "outsider" buying it....

I've had to find the lot myself and, when I got one, make very sure I was clearly "doing my bit" (ie plenty of drinks, paying them very promptly - ie this is an area where people traditionally took their time about getting round to paying).

She'd still be out pronto if she could manage it when she saw I had a tradie in and finding an excuse to chat to them....ie put these strangers-to-her off in person if she could.

M0nica

I need a cooker cleaner and an electrician to do work ahead of our house move. I have rung or emailed about 5 companies/franchises abotu the cooker - not one response.

I found an electrician, who gave me a price and said contact him when i wanted te work done. I haveemaailed him three times since we exchanged contracts - I am still waiting for a reply.

My friend selling her house, paid £80 to have her oven steamed cleaned. Later down the line, she had to pick up some mail from her former home, her cooker was in the skip on the drive. Waste of £80 she said.

Harris27

My husband is a handyman and gets lots of repeat work and referrals he always turns up and even when he had kidney stones phoned a client from his hospital bed!

A rarity & angel

We have found the local network works well when you are having work done that needs lots of trades over a relativley short time, but on day to day matters DH has always done everything. From rewiring houses to fitting kitchens, so we may have years go by when we simply do not need workmen.

This is the case at the moment. We had an extension built in 2021 and have not needed anyone to do any jobs since - and I have never paid for an oven clean before. Our usual port of call, the parish magazine has no electricians in it. The ones we used to use have all retired. Sowith no one to ask for recommendations and no adverts in the parish magazine, I am reduced to googling for tradesmen.

I have only used Ovenu (oven cleaner) and Kitchen Magic recently. Both were good communicators, turned up when they said they would and did a good job.