Most tradespeople might be honest or at least not really dishonest, but I would say most of them are incompetent, disorganized and mentally lazy. So, when you are looking for a tradesperson, how can you ensure he or she is going to good a good job at a fair price? I will show you how and tell you why your tradespeople are not turning up to give you a quote or turning up and not giving you a quote or ghosting you.
Firstly, you need to sell yourself
I’m not kidding. Good tradespeople are in short supply. It’s a little easier if you are looking for a reactive service such as a plumbing repair but for building work, painting and decorating, flooring, landscaping, roofing etc. then you really need to ensure that right off the bat that the tradesperson wants to work with you and feels it is worthwhile to give you a quote or an estimate. These things cost time and money. The best contractors are busy and like it or not, they don’t need your work. They may want it but they don’t need it. So, you need to be pleasant, reasonable and accommodating for appointments etc. or you will end up with a lot of missed appointments, you will spend a lot of time chasing your quote and you will end up getting it done by the bad contractor. That’s the truth of it.
Use personal recommendations
Obviously, one of the better ways to ensure quality service is to choose somebody who has been recommended to you by a friend or a family member.
Search online to find the best tradespeople
IMHO if you have a complicated project that requires a skilled tradesperson then the best ones are not found on checkatrade and any other find a trader type website. These sites are OK for plumbers and electricians but the chances are you won’t get hold of the really good ones because they are always busy. Any sort of site where you post your job and look for the cheapest price – well generally the real players hate these kinds of sites so you won’t find them on it. If you are looking for average Joe, then I’d say sure, go for it. But if you need a floor doing, a good builder for a high-end project, a good landscaper etc. – then no.
Don’t ask for references
Yes, you read that correctly – don’t ask for references. All those articles that are written by marketers and posted on trade blogs have never actually worked in trades. This is why they write stupid statements such as ‘get three references and call them up and visit their homes’. Get a grip. If you are a real crook you are going to get a stooge to vouch for you and invite you in to look around their home. Who has the time to do this? What person, after they have had their home built wants a parade of randoms looking around their house when they should be having their tea?
Chances are that anyone who agrees to this is likely to be a personal friend of the tradesperson so you are not going to get the validation you are looking for. Instead, just ask to pop along to the current site they are working on. It will tell you a lot. Firstly, if they are not working on a job at the moment then it’s probably because they aren’t very good. If they are, five minutes on-site will tell you if it is really their site by talking to the contractors there and you can see if it is well run and the type of tradespeople that are working on it. Basically, you have already met the team and now you can make an informed decision. I can tell you the number of times we have been working on a site on a subcontract and determined in 5 minutes that this is not an outfit I would have in my home.
How long have they been trading?
If you are engaging a contractor for a big job like an extension, loft conversion, large landscaping etc then find out how long they have been trading. Just go onto companies’ house, it shouldn’t take much effort to find their Company number and VAT registration number. If it is – big red flag. And avoid anyone less than 3 years old, maybe they are good but it’s not your problem and not worth the chance. Loads of builders carry debts for materials with suppliers, declare bankruptcy and then close down leaving you with a half-finished job and no chance of getting your money back
Agree a fair price to start with
You have to define a fair price. A fair price means a price that is good for both parties – not just you as the client. If you have screwed your contractor to the lowest price possible you can pretty much guarantee that they will be resentful and this will have a drastic effect on the quality of your project. They may very well feel they have to cut corners to get the job complete so they can get onto the next one where they can earn some money.
Cheaper is rarely better
Generally, the statement ‘you get what you pay for’ still holds true. As long as you haven’t been taken for a ride with the pricing then it doesn’t always go with the cheapest price and in fact don’t always go with the middle price. Have a look at what the contractor is offering, look at their work, check out their reviews. Get the best you can afford.
Always get 3 quotes for any work but don’t tell the tradesman you are getting 3 quotes
So, of course your job is to get a good tradesperson at a fair price. To do that you need to get a number of quotes for the project so you can judge the true price and meet three best guys (or gals). You don’t want to get ripped off. But here’s the thing – don’t tell the tradesperson you are ‘just getting quotes at this stage’. If people used to tell me this, I would politely tell them I was booked up. Most tradespeople are not strong enough to say that so they will say ‘fine’ and not turn up. Because if I think that you are calling 5 people to bid for the job then I only have a 20% chance of winning. A quote or even an estimate is time consuming and then factor in the cost of a visit and I’m not interested in those odds.
Never use somebody who knocks the front door unsolicited
Doesn’t happen so often now but back in the day, the old ‘Do you want your drive doing’ routine was very common. It goes without saying, don’t go with any old clown who knocks the front door telling you they have some ‘spare’ materials from another job and do you want X, Y or Z doing with them.
Don’t criticize the other tradespeople
All too easy if you have had a bad job before or some other issue and then think you are giving the heads-up to anyone else coming to quote for the work that ‘hey, I am not to be messed with’ or ‘I know what you guys are up to’ or ‘I have been around the block and I ran onto you’ or ‘I am at the end of my rope’. This is a red flag for the contractor. He or she wants a quiet life. They will run a mile if they think you are going to be trouble. This kind of approach will only attract the rotten eggs who will make you even more miserable by messing you around or stealing your deposit should you employ them.
So, that will do for the moment. Make sure you do these things if you want to get a good job done. I will release part 2 which will discuss estimates and quotes and what you should be looking for. But start here to get them down to this stage.
Recent Comments