Why do tradespeople constantly let you down…

My GS, who got good Alevels and who’s Sister is now doing a PhD, decided there was no way he wanted the level of debt she will have so he started looking at apprenticeships.
He is now a qualified electrician with a medium sized specialist company where his chances of advancement within the company are good.
He also does many jobs for his aged GM for free!!
Last weekend he fitted me under cupboard lights in the kitchen and a new central light fitting in my old dining room.
He has replaced old sockets and installed new ones.
That is just a bonus of course.

Skydancer

They’re all busy as there are not enough tradesmen. More need to be trained but a lot of young people think it’s too much like hard work.

And a great many who claim to be qualified turn out to be anything but! Had my belly full of 'plumbers' who state 'it'll be about £x missus' or ask how much another quote was, or tut and sigh and often don't even bring a note book and pen to record details and measurements!

In my experience many tradespeople agree to do a job and then let you down .
I've used ones which are highly recommended by friends.
I think that they hedge their bets by agreeing to do work that they feel like doing therefore picking and choosing .
The worse one worked appallingly slowly and finally left the roof off my shed and stormed off in one of his moods .
The best one was Iraqi -he just got on with the work until it was completed .
Good reliable tradesmen are like gold dust.

Sometimes they just don't really want the job because it's not straightforward.

I had a difficult job some years ago abd (eventually) understood this was the case.
It was bitty, needed things doing in stages and the cost for what I wanted was very high in man-hours.

They don't want to say "no" as you may have some straightforward work to follow!

I now always say "if you think thos job is too awkward to fit in with your other commitments please say so.
They generally do.
Being very upfront can help.

Also, if I were to source the xyz myself would that help?

I had some awkward materials in a job recently that took hours to source within budget.

No problems here except they charge like wounded bulls because there is a shortage of tradesmen. They are one of the richest group of people in Australia, especially plumbers. Not complaining, they deserve good pay.

I don’t know of any tradesmen who haven’t ended up with physical problems because of their job so I guess they need to make as much money as possible when they can. My carpet fitter ruined his knees, my plumber has a bad back and the guy who fits my blinds has bad shoulders from always working with his arms above his head.

We got up this morning and the back door wouldn’t open no way. We rang a locksmith we used a couple of years ago he was here within the hour checked fixed and all done and hubby off to the match now. Now that’s what I call service! My husband is self employed handyman ( nit locksmith) and he gets recommended from previous clients not huge jobs but eneough to keep him in work and from under my feet!😂

nanna8

No problems here except they charge like wounded bulls because there is a shortage of tradesmen. They are one of the richest group of people in Australia, especially plumbers. Not complaining, they deserve good pay.

I love 'charge like wounded bulls'😀

I might steal that one.

MayBee70

I know this sounds daft but it took me back to being stood up when I was a teenager and that awful feeling you get where you reach the point of realising that they’re not going to turn up! I think it only happened to me once but it obviously left a scar .

Sorry you feel like this, it’s obviously very upsetting for you. I hope it’s sorted soon.

I think a lot depends on where you live. In some counties, it seems that promising to call round and then not turning up is almost a part of normal working practice. In their minds, it translates as "Yeah, whatever, I'll come if I feel like it."
Where we used to live, we enjoyed great service from just about everyone we dealt with. We moved to a famously "sleepy" county and the experiences here could not be more different.
They might turn up or they might not. They might do what we ask or they might not. They might finish the job or they might not. They generally present a different idea from what we want, which they claim would be cheaper (cutting corners is a way of life for them, even though they'd earn more money if they'd only do what we ask).
I wish leaving the EU hadn't driven out so many Poles. Their work ethic was second to none. Now we're left with tradesmen many of whom are clearly neither trained nor experienced (in spite of the blurbs on websites dedicated to checking out tradesmen's credentials!).
Rant over. I'll get me coat.
It's a sign of the times. What can be done about it, heaven only knows.

The thing is I didn’t ask him to come round. I was going to email photos. He’s the one that said he’d stop off on his way home. I now don’t want to send the photos or have him do the work. What he doesn’t realise that, if he’d done a good job at a reasonable price I was so relieved that someone was prepared to help me that I was thinking about giving him a substantial tip as a thank you. Now thinking that I’ve got to go back to removing the whole roof, building a new porch and replacing the garage door (also there’s a drainage problem as the water from the roof is channeled into a soak away; there’s no guttering).It’s going to be a very difficult, expensive job; a logistic nightmare.

There are companies that specialise in dealing with asbestos garages. I haven't used one, so have no idea about costs etc, but it might be worth googling to see what is in your area. As they will use employees rather than the self-employed they are probably more likely to be reliable.

Doodledog

There are companies that specialise in dealing with asbestos garages. I haven't used one, so have no idea about costs etc, but it might be worth googling to see what is in your area. As they will use employees rather than the self-employed they are probably more likely to be reliable.

I had a quote of @ £8,000 just to remove the asbestos. I phoned another company that my daughter used that had done some work for her much cheaper than other companies that had quoted but they won’t touch my asbestos. My neighbour just removed his himself and took it to the tip . Just clearing the garage is going to be a massive job.

Are you on good terms with your neighbour?
You can ask him whether he is willing to take your garage roof down and take it to the tip for you and pay him for the works?

SporeRB

Are you on good terms with your neighbour?
You can ask him whether he is willing to take your garage roof down and take it to the tip for you and pay him for the works?

Not the grade of asbestos that it is. I think he’s mad doing it himself. And also exposing other people to it. It’s a complicated job anyway as the garage roof goes over the porch which is quite flimsy and will have to be dismantled.

I'm pretty sure it is illegal to take asbestos to the tip.

Doodledog

I'm pretty sure it is illegal to take asbestos to the tip.

It was a few years ago; not sure if things have changed since then. I could probably have the roof re felted over the asbestos but wouldn’t want to risk anyone’s health doing it. The porch is leaking, though, and I’m worried about the asbestos breaking up. I was going to have the ceiling plastered, not knowing there was asbestos there. I used to attach mobiles to it years ago. Had no idea it was dangerous.

MayBee70

Doodledog

I'm pretty sure it is illegal to take asbestos to the tip.

It was a few years ago; not sure if things have changed since then. I could probably have the roof re felted over the asbestos but wouldn’t want to risk anyone’s health doing it. The porch is leaking, though, and I’m worried about the asbestos breaking up. I was going to have the ceiling plastered, not knowing there was asbestos there. I used to attach mobiles to it years ago. Had no idea it was dangerous.

It’s not just the fact that someone would be risking their life but have you thought of your children who will inherit your house?
Most probably they will sell it. A survey will show up the asbestos.
Most buyers will walk away.

NonGrannyMoll

I think a lot depends on where you live. In some counties, it seems that promising to call round and then not turning up is almost a part of normal working practice. In their minds, it translates as "Yeah, whatever, I'll come if I feel like it."
Where we used to live, we enjoyed great service from just about everyone we dealt with. We moved to a famously "sleepy" county and the experiences here could not be more different.
They might turn up or they might not. They might do what we ask or they might not. They might finish the job or they might not. They generally present a different idea from what we want, which they claim would be cheaper (cutting corners is a way of life for them, even though they'd earn more money if they'd only do what we ask).
I wish leaving the EU hadn't driven out so many Poles. Their work ethic was second to none. Now we're left with tradesmen many of whom are clearly neither trained nor experienced (in spite of the blurbs on websites dedicated to checking out tradesmen's credentials!).
Rant over. I'll get me coat.
It's a sign of the times. What can be done about it, heaven only knows.

I'm laying odds you're in Pembrokeshire.

Do tell if there's other counties in the country that do that "Pembrokeshire Promise" though....

Oh no. I feel awful now. He had forgotten and then couldn’t find my phone number. Came round today and said he can work around the asbestos and the other problems. If I get a good quote from him I’m going to risk it. Every house in this road has the same asbestos and most of them have sold at one time or another; any house of this age will have asbestos somewhere.

Yes, it's far from uncommon in older houses. I'm pleased you have sorted it out, and can enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I do agree about Poles & their work ethic. Also one Pole I worked for got the Lord Mayor's medal for intervening in a handbag snatch on a crowded street.
Having trouble with our (highly recommended) builder at the moment, seems interested in doing the job, has come around twice, once with one of his joiners to double-check before quoting, but can I get a quote out of him? Or a date to start? It's an older house but nothing particularly tricky about the (many) jobs & it's going to be a lot of money. I said if you aren't interested, just say & I can look for someone else but he said he's really sorry about delay & keen to do the job - 2 weeks later still no quote.

I have been stood up by five electricians in a row now. They all agreed to come and have a look and fixed up a time then failed to show up. I am beginning to wonder if it is me.

MayBee70

Oh no. I feel awful now. He had forgotten and then couldn’t find my phone number. Came round today and said he can work around the asbestos and the other problems. If I get a good quote from him I’m going to risk it. Every house in this road has the same asbestos and most of them have sold at one time or another; any house of this age will have asbestos somewhere.

Glad you managed to sort it out. Asbestos isn't uncommon and won't stop houses selling, but buyers may offer a reduced price as they'll need to get the work done. If he's slow quoting then badger him, it proves to him you want the work done. Trades waste a lot of time quoting and not getting the work.

They waste even more time if they come round & assess it all & then don't bother to quote!