why are tradesman bad?

Ratty43

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

It's the lack of communication that upsets me, why can they not turn up when agreed or phone to say they can't make it

It's like when you take the whole day of work and they don't turn up until the evening

Mistral001

I have had several tradesmen working for me and I have never once had a problem with them. I usually address them as Mr, listen to what they say and expect them to do the same with me.

If you think that all tradesmen are some sort of unskilled con men who should be treated with contempt then you are probably setting your sights too low and will probably end up a disappointing service.

Many tradesmen will have served a 6 year apprenticeship and be highly skilled at what they do.

Yes you get a lot who are rejects from the building industry or people who are basically building labourers who have no trade whatsoever who schmoose their way into getting unsuspecting people to hire them. They play the loveable rogue role that many people expect and they usually end up not being very loveable when it comes to the end of the job.

pendragon_arther

catoutthebag wrote: »

They don't turn up
They turn up late
They are disorganised
Poor time keeping
Long breaks
Don't provide an invoice or slow to do so
Work slowly or inefficiently
Don't bring all / correct tools / materials
Create more mess than required
Don't clean up said mess
Start work late and finish too early
Don't answer calls

Is this British workman or a worldwide problem?

What can be done? Or is the above the actual qualifying criteria.

Why are the MAJORITY SO BAD?

It's a British problem. Poles are the best in my experience.

Plasterer

pendragon_arther wrote: »

It's a British problem. Poles are the best in my experience.

Oh dear

Good and bad tradesmen from all countries bud. Eg I have worked with Eastern European tradesman that are very good at there job. Equally I have seen a polish lad putting 9 inch solid blocks down with dab adhesive :eek:
What I find quite funny is my plastering company actually do work for two companies that are run by polish lads because they don't have any lads that are good enough to plaster.

dearlouise

catoutthebag wrote: »

They don't turn up
They turn up late
They are disorganised
Poor time keeping
Long breaks
Don't provide an invoice or slow to do so
Work slowly or inefficiently
Don't bring all / correct tools / materials
Create more mess than required
Don't clean up said mess
Start work late and finish too early
Don't answer calls

Is this British workman or a worldwide problem?

What can be done? Or is the above the actual qualifying criteria.

Why are the MAJORITY SO BAD?

The above and then overpriced to top it off, I find.

martinthebandit

Generally with trades you can pick any two of the following;

Good,
Cheap,
Fast.

Good and cheap, won't be fast,
Good and fast won't be cheap
Cheap and fast, won't be good.

Doozergirl

dearlouise wrote: »

The above and then overpriced to top it off, I find.

Taking us back to people not being prepared to pay for quality.

ohreally

I don't know any tradesmen who will take on domestic work, its just not worth the hassle.

dearlouise

Doozergirl wrote: »

Taking us back to people not being prepared to pay for quality.

I'm quite happy to pay for quality. I drive a good quality car and use good quality technology.

Good quality doesn't always have to be expensive. Quality depends on the expectations of a good or service. A £1 pair of socks from Primark can be good quality. You expect them to last x amount of time, when they outlast that time, they become excellent quality.

What I'm saying is, if all of the negative characteristics the OP mentioned went hand in hand with a cheap price, your point would be valid. But it's often the opposite.

I recently had drainage work done and went with the middle quote of 3, which wasn't too far below the top quote. The company seemed more reputable and happy to accommodate my working schedule. They were £600 above the lowest quote. They arrived late on both days, were rude to my neighbour (who happens to be a family member), they broke my Hozelock hoze - which i didn't find out about until I used it weeks later... etc etc. I'd have half expected this from the cheaper business.

somethingcorporate

I use family and family recommended now after too many awful experiences.

We were looking for a loft conversion and had 4 companies round to quote, 1 of which didn't turn up or return the calls. Despite telling them we have the money ready and waiting only 1 bothered to get back to us with a written quote for £50k+ worth of work. It's like they actually don't want to work....?

I honestly don't get it and hate having to look for people to do work.