What do you look for in a tradesman?

belfastgirl23

Gavin83 wrote: »

Thats completely reasonable, I wouldn't want someone in my house I couldn't trust. What difference does their marital status make to that though? Why can't a single or divorced builder be as good as a married one?

Or is it more a thought that you like to think your money is going towards family life?

Not at all and it isn't that I don't have people doing stuff who are single

I guess it's about someone you feel is responsible really. Some people just exude this and you have confidence in them straight away. Others you are trying to get a sense of by what they talk about. If you phone and speak to a family member you feel that they have nothing to hide if that makes sense. I also think for women who live alone if you know someone coming in is married etc it would make you that bit more comfortable too (although of course I know that someone being married doesn't always mean anything but at least if things start taking a funny tone you can always ask them what their wife does, that tends to bring it to an end sharpish )

Then again maybe some single women prefer single tradesmen and I guess that's where creased-leach is coming from

lostinrates

We have a wonderful guy, who now employers other people too.

One of the things tht mkes him great is he goes beyond wht he is there to do and expects his other chaps too aswell. For example, if I rturn with shopping and leave some in the car they go and get it. This morning he came in because I couldn't get the top bit of a drain I needed to clear, and while he was here he noticed that one of the hall way bulbs was out, he knows where we keep them and when I cae back into the room he was changing the bulb. He gives option on cheaper ways or beter ways to do things than we had thought about and he, and his employees, are all nice people, people who we feel comfortable and relaxed being in the house with.

belfastgirl23

as a follow on to lostinrates, our builder will spot something that needs done and will tell you exactly what the problem is and why (sometimes a bit TMI ) anyway he will normally say something like 'if we're doing it properly I'd do x and y and it would cost around ££ but as a temporary measure you could do z instead and that would hold it for a few years and only cost £'. It's good to have options and probably good for him to know that there will be more work down the line as well.

Pee

Pricing is really hard, but he needs to think about it and practise, because it matters to people. My boyfriend is a builder and is usually so cagey about the likely time - you don't know what will go wrong - true, but it sounds better if you say "My daily rate is X. That should take one or two days." or 2- 4 weeks or 6 -8 months, people want a guideline and it isn't obvious to the consumer how long these things might take.

Word of mouth is the big seller though. He is always busy because people tell their friends, but often he is so busy he is turning work away, so it might be worth your OH building up contacts with other firms, so they could refer to him either if it's a small job they don't want or if they don't have the time. he could then refer big jobs he didn't have capacity for etc on to them.

Grogg

Top the list is taking to the actual person.

I dislike cocky builders who patronise women and call them "love" all the time.

I expect to be quote a price for the job with no hidden extras unless truely exceptional. They should build into their estimate for potential issues. They don't give money back if it is less work than they thought so they should not charge more if it takes them an extra day.

They should be honest at all times.

They should know when to call in a professional for things like electrics and gas which have to be done by qualified persons for many jobs. The cost of this should be included in the quote.

They should not expect constant tea and biscuits.

They should arrive on time and have organised all their materials to be ready so they are not waiting on delivery as I am paying for that delivery time.

If it is someone who is new and via a vague personal reference or yellow pages then I would like to see pictures of previous work and maybe even a reference from some happy customers. He could give new customers a discount if they will provide him with references and allow pictures to be taken to build up a portfolio.

Idiophreak

ailuro2 wrote: »

Avoid calling him a tradesman in the literature - As a tradesperson who is female that would put me right off using him.:rolleyes:

TBH, as a "normal" person, I'd be a bit put-off anyone calling themselves a tradesperson. Or a "road safety officer" (lollypop man), or an "icecream sales assistant", or Sir Toppem Hat (the fat controller).

As to the OP, the main thing I want when looking for a trade-human would be reassurance, basically, that I'm not dealing with a cowboy. That's where the problem lies, convincing me that of all the trade-beings out there, you're the one that I should trust to come into my home.

Put on the website all of the bodies they're signed up to, qualifications (if applicable) and so on. Give links to each of them. Make sure there's a physical address listed on the website. A good list of work undertaken and pictures etc of previous work would probably be a good start for the website, too. A professional-looking website is also key - a cheap knock-up is a turn off. As is a mobile phone number. A geographical number is a plus, an 0800 number moreso.

After that, as your OP says, all they need to do to get good word of mouth is turn up on time, finish on time, do the job well and do it at reasonable cost. Simples.

If you really want to succeed, a "professional" looking van, rather than a shabby transit sends a good message...as does a clean appearance, nice business card and so on.

ETA: And make sure he takes his shoes off to walk on carpet - little touches make a big difference

Pee

If he has insurance, and it's a very good idea, that is an important thing to put on the card.

Clean appearance? Erm, building work is not very clean. A clean appearance would suggest to me that he hadn't done any work that day. Not a fair assumption but the one that I would make is that a quiet tradesman/ tradesperson is not a good one.

Idiophreak

Pee wrote: »

Clean appearance? Erm, building work is not very clean. A clean appearance would suggest to me that he hadn't done any work that day. Not a fair assumption but the one that I would make is that a quiet tradesman/ tradesperson is not a good one.

Not sure about that...I think you can turn up in clean overalls and still be good at your job...

belfastgirl23

Info is good as is the structure of the site although I can see you have more populating to do - if you offer other services it's worth saying so too.

The only thing I thought was that I really don't like the typeface on the titles (WA Builders etc) - it looks unfinished which isn't what you want in a quality builder

The name of the firm also is a bit strange - is that WA as in the wah sound a baby makes when it's unhappy? Sorry to be so pernickety but it immediately had a sort of a negative association for me because of this. Although entirely possible that I'm just mad

Finally I'm not sure if that's a pic of william himself on the banner. If so I'd make it an up-close one, either a head shot or a close up of him working especially if he has an honest face. You don't want to see your builder off in the distance

Hope these are constructive, believe me I know only too well how much heartbreak goes into designing a website so don't feel I'm just being hyper-critical

saving123

thanks for your quick response. Its W A Builders as thats his initials - do you think it would be better W.A. Builders or something like that?

I see what you mean about the style of writing for the title. I will have a look at changing this.

The picture next to the title is just a template i got (not a picture of him), would it be best to not have this?

thanks again