tradesmen.ie---help required

The Polisher

hi
has anyone used this website? is it worth getting envolved? any info appreciated

sceptre

Hi

The Help Desk is for people who are having problems using boards.ie or have a problem with a moderation decision. Also, regular members can't reply on the Help Desk so you won't be able to get a response on it.

While it isn't entirely the best category for your query, online buying and auctions (located under Biz -> Consumer) is probably the closest so I'm going to move this there.

Joey the lips

The Polisher wrote: »

hi
has anyone used this website? is it worth getting envolved? any info appreciated

I have used it. I quickly come to the conclusion that if you ask for a roofer you get about 4 different classes of people.

Carpenters
PVC Gutter repairers
genuine roofers(those totally experienced in slates and flat roofs)
Felters. Flat roof specialists.

It has also happened with carpentors on me.

I have to say that if they dont monitor the people they supply as tradesmen people will over time get pee'd off and return to the golden pages.

The Polisher

hi
thanks for info...............but i was looking for those who are members of tradesmen .ie
i can understand what you are saying ........and members of tradesmen.ie would need to be more specific in relation to the work they do

the polisher

The Polisher

oops......didn't realise!!!!!!!!!!!!

homer911

I've used http://www.onlinetradesmen.ie/ when looking for a tiler - was very pleased with the guy I got

OliverD

Hi there,
thanks for bringing up this topic. I am from tradesmen.ie and I will try to answer some of your questions. Tradesmen.ie is a free service for home and business owners who are looking for a number of quotes for their job. The idea of the service is to take all of the hassle out of it for the customer and only those tradesmen who are available and willing to do the work are put in contact.

There is a cost for the tradesmen to quote for these jobs. However, as a tradesman you can sign up with the service to get free notifications of work that is available in your area.

You don't need to pay a fee unless you wish to quote for jobs that are posted on the website. There are over 300 jobs per week posted on the website so there are a good variety of jobs on offer. The customer gets to rate the tradesman when the job is finished and this is available for future customers of that tradesman to see.

The key to success for the tradesman is to contact the customer as soon as possible (within minutes unless the customer has specified otherwise). If successful with the quote he should carry out high quality work at a competitive price to earn as many positive ratings as possible. It goes without saying that the quotes should be competitive and that the tradesman should be punctual and keep appointments etc. All of these things are very important for good customer service.

The polisher is correct to say that it is important for the customer to be as descriptive as possible when posting the job and don't just put down 'roofing job' in your description if it is actually a 'torch on felt' job. In this way you will get tradesmen who are specifically interested in that type of work.

If you do become a fee paying member on the site make sure to only quote for work that you specialise in because we advise the customer to look for any references and qualifications that they need to be sure they are happy with your work. If you don't have this information you will be wasting your time and money. If your quotes are expensive you will not be successful, your work should be high quality but competitively priced. It is better to quote for work that is within your local area as customers like to deal with tradesmen who are local so if there is any backup service required you won't have too far to come.

So my advice would be to sign up for free and if you are happy with the jobs on offer you can become a fee paying member later. There is also a 30 day money back guarantee on your registration fee.

You can see more information about how it works at http://www.tradesmen.ie/agreement.asp

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us on our contact page at http://www.tradesmen.ie/contactus.asp and we will get back to you as soon as possible

Regards
Oliver Dempsey, http://www.tradesmen.ie

The Polisher

oliver
thanks for info........i have already registered with tradesmen.ie but have not submitted any fees as i was not sure how system worked. By the way where on the website do i look at jobs?

the polisher

OliverD

Hi Polisher,
that's great, you can see the jobs scrolling along the top of the home page and you can also log in to view the jobs if you are a registered tradesman. You should have received an email with the log in details, if you forward me your name here or through our contact page at http://www.tradesmen.ie/contactus.asp I can check out your account and resend the info if necessary.

Regards
Oliver Dempsey, http://www.tradesmen.ie

Doodles84

As a customer i like it, it allows you to specify your requirements and when you want to start the work, from it you get choice and competition - it should have been introduced during "da boom" to help fight against the rip off sharks.

Best way to use it is to list and detail everything you can about the job to the best of your abilities including lead times and communicate this to the trade person, consider typing up a RFI (Request for information) document, the same as you would for any tender. List everything you can including measurements, some quotes you will need onsite visit such as wall removal for example. With the RFI you can email this to as many trades persons as you like and cherry pick from that, it's important you communicate everything u can, to make the quote as accurate as possible, some trade folks might not find a job worth their while so this can save time on both sides.

this at best gives you an idea of price, from that invite potential candidates around to properly price, but make sure each quote is detailed so you can compare like with like. It's the same as interviewing for a job and is how it should be viewed. This is your entitlement as the consumer and any trades person who has a problem operating this way, in my view should be avoided as this is the fairest approach, the best applicant will secure the job. If someone quotes miles under the rest, a reason will exist for this - so find out.

I would still do the usual tender stuff, check references, previous work, i had a neighbor come check work i got done to see if he wanted to hire the same guy, i was happy to assist, agree time lines and budget. You are effectively project managing this so you need to cover everything down to the ground, such as debris removal, decorating after work is complete etc..

Best of luck