difficulty finding tradespeople

kdotdotdotdot

Don't forget that not only are the tradies extremely busy nowadays, thanks to all of us who've chosen to spend holiday money on doing up our homes instead, but also not all of them are whizzkids on the computer. 

You may find a really brilliant builder, but after a day actually on a site, the last thing they want to do is sit in front of a computer and (after generating invoices for jobs done) then start replying to emails and sending out quotes.  When you run a business, you really need a good administrator in charge, but not all trades are big enough to employ admin, so some can be quite hit and miss with their admin.

MaryNB

I made about calls to about 14 bathroom fitters in total. Managed to speak to 6. Of those 5 agreed to call over to have a look and quote (the other just never got back to me), 2 of them were no shows. Of the 3 remaining 2 gave quotes. Took over 2 months from the first call to scheduling an installation date.

My friend is a letting agent so I asked her for her maintenance guy's details for other work. She's already been through the pain of finding reliable tradespeople and rates him very highly. He answered right away, called over and gave me a quote. It was reasonable and I didn't even bother going to anybody else for comparison. I was just happy he picked up the phone!

Phil4432

eastmidsaver said:

hi, i am just wondering if other people find difficulty getting tradespeople to do jobs.
either,  they don't return calls from the start.
or they come round,  take a look, say they'll come back to you with a date and you never hear from them again  (including not answering emails or texts).
and even those that have done a job for you, seem to disappear too.
and some say they will do the job, but quote an ridiculous price.
is this a normal problem?   or is it maybe due to pandemic these people are super busy?
thanks.

Completely normal.  I had a roofer come round to check a job.  He said can't help as he doesn't go on roofs. 

Once booked in a builder who didn't turn up.  Called him, he said he couldn't make it as he had to go to work.

eastmidsaver

a roofer who doesn't go on roofs.  that's pretty funny.

shinytop

It's just supply and demand.  At the moment there is too much demand and not enough supply.  It's cyclical though; remember in the early days of EU expansion you could get a good Polish or similar tradesman who was good value, skilled, turned up when they said they would and finished the job.  All the locals complained they were being undercut, which they were. They then had to compete and customers (usually) benefitted. Nowadays, post Brexit and Covid, anyone with a van and the mandatory visible ar5ecrack calls themself a tradesman and can pick and choose jobs.  It won't last forever.  

robatwork

shinytop said:

It's just supply and demand.  At the moment there is too much demand and not enough supply.  It's cyclical though; remember in the early days of EU expansion you could get a good Polish or similar tradesman who was good value, skilled, turned up when they said they would and finished the job.  All the locals complained they were being undercut, which they were. They then had to compete and customers (usually) benefitted. Nowadays, post Brexit and Covid, anyone with a van and the mandatory visible ar5ecrack calls themself a tradesman and can pick and choose jobs.  It won't last forever.  

So true.

I had an amazing Polish builder who would do everything really well for a decent but not high price - and work incredibly long hours. Over the following few years he became increasingly difficult to get hold of and got a little more expensive, as he got very busy. A year ago he went back to Poland as he could get a better standard of living there!

I have found a superb electrician who could probably clone himself twice and still have enough work - very hard to get hold of.

Niv

After years of trying to track down a general builder and an electrician I have found one of each locally. I don't even get a quotes from others for jobs for them now as its too much hassle and these guys are good. 

Its all well and good people saying don't use chechatrade et al but sometimes there is very little option. I do not have family nearby and when I asked neighbours for a recommendation not one could recommend anyone... I did once use one of the checkatrade type sites and the guy was actually very good and seemed to be a reasonable price (i.e. lower than i expected).

One for the customers here though; I am still waiting for the bill from some work I had done on my mains water. About 3 years and counting now. I even chased and got nowhere...

eastmidsaver

know what you mean, similar happened with someone i had do a job from asia.  did a good job, at a good price.  this was when he just started out.   now,  as others say above,  you can't get hold of him and calls are unreturned.

re Niv - it's a bonus as it looks like they've forgotton the bill!

ispookie666

Have had the same experience with electricians.  Contacted about 5 - 3 just did not turn up, one did not even bother returning the call and the last fella just went quiet after visiting.  I guess two bathroom extractor fan installation was too much pain and not much £ for them.  I just got on with it and did all of it by myself, except the vent.  

eastmidsaver

yep.   they want the big jobs.