What do you look for in a tradesman?

belfastgirl23

I would go for William Allen Builders personally. It's a nice name, sounds solid and classic, why not use it.

I would use a pic of him on the banner if at all possible. Unless he won't pass muster in which case you could use a generic building pic or maybe something like a hammer or something...

Savvy_Sue

ailuro2 wrote: »

Giving a good quote or estimate, clearly laid out and providing what the customer asked for in the first place will go a long way to winning jobs - it's unbelievable the people we've had quote jobs who send a nice quote with the wrong job on it, or just give a rough price - that's very offputting.

And sending the quote promptly, without having to be chased for it 3 times ...

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

I like having a home phone no preferably with a family memer answering the phone - I like to feel that the person is settled IYKWIM. Only a mobile number on the card/site would turn me off immediately since they would feel untraceable. It's also good to have a sense of them as a decent person who is committed to their family. If you are doing a website I would suggest a pic of both of you as 'the business' assuming you are doing books/secretarial etc. And if he is doing quotes he should have headed paper with your address on it.

:eek: to some of that ...

Yes, it's 'nice' when it feels as if it's a family business and the phone is answered by the other half, BUT from a business point of view I would only do this if you had a separate business line installed, and you could unplug that line at night, because otherwise you WILL get people phoning at strange hours and will never feel able to 'switch off'. Also if you have children / lodgers / visitors then they need to know that they NEVER answer the 'business' phone unless they've been trained to answer it right.

And for similar reasons I'm not sure I'd want photos of both of you on the website: but then I'm a very private person not trying to run a tradesperson's business ...

saving123

I've changed the heading of the website.

thanks for all the advice so far.

aliasojo

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

I would go for William Allen Builders personally. It's a nice name, sounds solid and classic, why not use it.

Why would you call him William Allen Builders when his name's Wayne? :rotfl:

I agree with the 'Wah' bit btw. I'd have W.A. Builders. Wayne sounds like a cowboy. :rotfl: Sorry. :D