Chasing tradesmen...

MrThrifty

Asking in all seriousness, is it normal these days in this country for tradesmen/companies to agree to come out to quote for a job and not show, AND for those that do show to never get back with a quote even though they said they would and seemed interested in the job?!

I thought we were in a recession and folk were hungry for work. And no, I haven't been haggling like a Cavan man - sure I haven't even got one quote yet! On principle, I don't want to go chasing these guys as I could find myself doing the same thing once the job gets started (and possibly never finished!). But is this lack of professionalism the norm these days and do people find they have to go chasing tradesmen for quotes etc.?

Poor Uncle Tom

MrThrifty wrote: »

Asking in all seriousness, is it normal these days in this country for tradesmen/companies to agree to come out to quote for a job and not show, AND for those that do show to never get back with a quote even though they said they would and seemed interested in the job?!

I thought we were in a recession and folk were hungry for work. And no, I haven't been haggling like a Cavan man - sure I haven't even got one quote yet! On principle, I don't want to go chasing these guys as I could find myself doing the same thing once the job gets started (and possibly never finished!). But is this lack of professionalism the norm these days and do people find they have to go chasing tradesmen for quotes etc.?

No, it's not normal. I suggest that you are giving off a vibe of being someone difficult to work for, but that is no excuse a tradesman should still come back and either give a price or decline to do so.

What size is the job? If you have a full written specification (with drawings, if needed) and give those to the trades when they call, it makes it easier to put a price against the works.

MrThrifty

Interesting... If anything I'd say I'm a pushover in terms of someone to work with coz I'm not too sure of my stuff in the particular area or of the price the job should be (since I've not got one quote yet!!). The guys who actually took the time to come out to look over the job seemed happy out and said they'd ring or drop out again a few days later with a quote, but then nothing!

I've not really had dealings with tradesmen before so have not had the chance to earn a bad reputation! Neither have I ever had financial difficulties or not paid someone for a job. It's as if though the guys know my username on Boards!!!

The job is probably in the €5k region but I really can't be certain until someone actually delivers a quote. And it shouldn't be too difficult to quote for as it's mostly labour (e.g. x man days) and basic equipment hire and materials etc. Nothing specific that they'd need to get pricing for off a supplier. At this stage I might go chasing the guys who actually came out to quote, even though it prob makes me look desperate (which I suppose is somewhat true!)...

peterc14

in my experience it is the norm... there is an awful lot of men out there that seem not wanting to work... for each stage of the build there are always a couple who are late getting back with prices or not at all... luckily I always select 4/5 and so generally guranteed 2/3 prices back..

piperh

I had the same issue trying to get an electrician, was surprised because when they did eventually get back to me they moaned there was no work

slowburner

MrThrifty wrote: »

Interesting... If anything I'd say I'm a pushover in terms of someone to work with coz I'm not too sure of my stuff in the particular area or of the price the job should be (since I've not got one quote yet!!). The guys who actually took the time to come out to look over the job seemed happy out and said they'd ring or drop out again a few days later with a quote, but then nothing!

I've not really had dealings with tradesmen before so have not had the chance to earn a bad reputation! Neither have I ever had financial difficulties or not paid someone for a job. It's as if though the guys know my username on Boards!!!

The job is probably in the €5k region but I really can't be certain until someone actually delivers a quote. And it shouldn't be too difficult to quote for as it's mostly labour (e.g. x man days) and basic equipment hire and materials etc. Nothing specific that they'd need to get pricing for off a supplier. At this stage I might go chasing the guys who actually came out to quote, even though it prob makes me look desperate (which I suppose is somewhat true!)...

You should not worry about looking desperate. Chase them up. Maybe they thought that you were just looking for quotes/ideas and were not certain about going ahead with the work.

SparKing

It's a strange one alright, have you been letting guys know that you're pricing around?
The reason I ask is a lot of guys I know are fed up of pricing work and not getting the jobs, it can seem like the only factor that's important is price, despite the difference in quality you'd expect from 4/5 tradesmen. So it can be demoralising to spend a day a week pricing work and then not to get the job or to be told another guy will do the same job for half the price. That's only a guess though, I may be way off.

slowburner

SparKing wrote: »

It's a strange one alright, have you been letting guys know that you're pricing around?
The reason I ask is a lot of guys I know are fed up of pricing work and not getting the jobs, it can seem like the only factor that's important is price, despite the difference in quality you'd expect from 4/5 tradesmen. So it can be demoralising to spend a day a week pricing work and then not to get the job or to be told another guy will do the same job for half the price. That's only a guess though, I may be way off.

I wouldn't think you are way off at all.

MrThrifty

slowburner wrote: »

SparKing wrote: »

It's a strange one alright, have you been letting guys know that you're pricing around?
The reason I ask is a lot of guys I know are fed up of pricing work and not getting the jobs, it can seem like the only factor that's important is price, despite the difference in quality you'd expect from 4/5 tradesmen. So it can be demoralising to spend a day a week pricing work and then not to get the job or to be told another guy will do the same job for half the price. That's only a guess though, I may be way off.

I wouldn't think you are way off at all.

9 guys contacted so far, all interested in quoting. Only 4 turned up to quote the job and seemed keen but no quotes to-date. we're talking over the course of a few weeks here. So as not to seem a twat, I might have mentioned to some of the guys who turned up to quote that I was getting a few quotes for the job (so they wouldn't go chancing their arm with fleecing me!).

But I see your point - I personally have no interest in saving the pennies on a cheap and nasty job that might look good on the surface but is a disaster underneath. Ain't worth doing unless you're doing it right.

martinn123

SparKing wrote: »

It's a strange one alright, have you been letting guys know that you're pricing around?
The reason I ask is a lot of guys I know are fed up of pricing work and not getting the jobs, it can seem like the only factor that's important is price, despite the difference in quality you'd expect from 4/5 tradesmen. So it can be demoralising to spend a day a week pricing work and then not to get the job or to be told another guy will do the same job for half the price. That's only a guess though, I may be way off.

I think you are spot on.I mentioned in another thread recently that in the past months I have quoted for numerous jobs, only to get........have to think about it.........or someone who has no overheads other than a van, and a trip to the dole office, every month got the job.Price is the only driving factor at present, having said that there is no excuse who the OP who has a job available, is not getting any replies.On a similar note however, a neighbour of mine, who has PP for an extention, posted the plans to 25 builders and expected them all to come back with a quote......bit OTT

creedp

martinn123 wrote: »

I think you are spot on.I mentioned in another thread recently that in the past months I have quoted for numerous jobs, only to get........have to think about it.........or someone who has no overheads other than a van, and a trip to the dole office, every month got the job.Price is the only driving factor at present, having said that there is no excuse who the OP who has a job available, is not getting any replies.On a similar note however, a neighbour of mine, who has PP for an extention, posted the plans to 25 builders and expected them all to come back with a quote......bit OTT

I presume he has recruited some expert to assess each quote in detail and rate them from 1 to 25!! In fairness that's really OTT. I can't imagine how you would benefit from a such a process. Where did he get the 25 names from - the yellow pages. Can you imagine the head scratching involved? Will he arrange a 2nd stage quoting process, e.g. asking the top 5 to deliver an oral presentation? Sorry for going on like this but I'm overwhelmed at the thought of seeking 25 quotes.

Would it not have been better to narrow down the search using word of mouth and then issue quote requests to top 5? In my experience (which is anything but great btw!) unless you have significant experience or have an expert on your side getting anyting more that 4/5 quotes is madness.

slowburner

Getting quotes seems to be a hobby for some people :rolleyes:*

*(no reference to OP intended)

muffler

During the "boom" years when there was a helluva lot more money available to spend people just priced perhaps one tradesman and if he came back with a "reasonable estimate" (I use that description very loosely) there was every chance that he'd get the job.

Nowadays people are shopping around big time and you know you cant blame them for that. Tradesmen are aware of this and quite a lot of them of them have the belief that they wont stand a chance of getting the job. They want to be tactful about it and agree to call and look at the job or agree to furnish an estimate but when they go off and have time to think they just decide not to quote for the works for the very reason stated above.

I do have sympathy for the good tradesmen out there as they are out of pocket and spend a lot of time preparing a quote that will most likely yield nothing at the end of the day.

sydthebeat

many contractors / tradesmen will ask the names of whom else is tendering... they know how others quote so if the know jimbob the chancer is quoting they wont bother because the wont quote against cowboys or guys on the black market.

martinn123

sydthebeat wrote: »

many contractors / tradesmen will ask the names of whom else is tendering... they know how others quote so if the know jimbob the chancer is quoting they wont bother because the wont quote against cowboys or guys on the black market.

Well I have to say, I will always put forward my quote, against anyone........I give a copy of my PL Insc. VAT Reg, references etc.While I would not ask names of others quoting, I will throw in a few mentions, of White Van Man, Cash Merchants, Reputation, etc.etc.Just one small problem............it does'nt effin work........

sydthebeat

martinn123 wrote: »

Well I have to say, I will always put forward my quote, against anyone........I give a copy of my PL Insc. VAT Reg, references etc.While I would not ask names of others quoting, I will throw in a few mentions, of White Van Man, Cash Merchants, Reputation, etc.etc.Just one small problem............it does'nt effin work........

yeah, though the problem with constantly quoting against cowboys or black market is you get known for being a high tender in lots of different areas. Id suggest selective quoting, for people who are "serious" and "interested" might fare out better for you.

Lemlin

I'm building a house and still find that some tradesmen and even reps still have to be chased. I think it's bad habits that they got into during the boom years.

That said, the 'good' tradesmen still seem to have plenty of work, in my area anyway. Every time I ring my electrician he's doing a job somewhere, same goes for the plumber. Yet there are other plumbers up the road that can't get a day's work.

Speaking of which, one plumber got my name in a pub and rang me looking to give a quote. I said I'd give him a shot and emailed on the plans. I never heard from him again. So he chased the job but then didn't give a quote!

People are diversifying too. I know my plasterers have alot of work now doing insulation work such as slabbing, which they never would have done during the boom years.

cardwizzard

Any tradesman should reply to the customer no matter what the circumstances. Either in form of a written quote or a no thanks letter/email. It's common courtesy. Never be afraid to say no to a job and give your reasons. I only wish some potential customers would just say that to me.

As somebody said all good tradesmen are still working and have a bit in front of them. It's the dodgy guys in the pub as mentioned, to be aware of.

OP, get recommendations from family/friends/co workers etc. Tradesmen love these referrals as there isn't as much messing going on.

arikv

I've gotten 5 builders all of whom recommended by friends in the construction trade who work and worked with them before.
I've hired an architect to do drawings, spec and SE to do structural design.
All said they'll quote, but only two did.
25 is OTT but 5 is apparently not enough.

piperh

I wanted at least 3 quotes from both plumbers and electricians eventually ended up with 4 from each took me about a mnth to get them all in and i did feel bad for the first guys who quoted having to wait so long for a decision but that said i emailed them all back regardless and told them of decisions made. We got 1 combined quote of nearly €30,000 for plumbing and electrics for a bungalow and then more reasonable quotes and we decided to go with the middle of the range and not try to barter the lads down.

I was annoyed however when halfway through the first plumbing fix i asked for his trade number for the seai form to be told he wasn't registered even though he'd told me he was. Means its costing me an extra €600! Makes me wonder why we tried to do the right thing.

MrThrifty

Got my first quote at last!!! Although it's three times what I thought it would be - that shows my lack of knowledge on the topic!! Anyway, sounds from what some people have said and from my experience that you have to go to more than 3 people in order to end up with three quotes at the end of the day and that's after some chasing.

So one quote in for me, hopefully more to follow...

michael999999

If they have gone to the trouble of going to meet you,surely they would have sent in there quotes

YouTookMyName

Whats the job, brief description?

Some tradesman would come out and look at a job, regard it as a shit job and figure regardless how little they have on it wouldn't be worthwhile doing it.

jillette

YouTookMyName wrote: »

Whats the job, brief description?

Some tradesman would come out and look at a job, regard it as a shit job and figure regardless how little they have on it wouldn't be worthwhile doing it.

And tradesmen wonder why no one wants to employ them?? And then ring up people like Joe Duffy banging on about how there's no work for them....

I learned the hard way last week/this weekend about being sure to get references before taking someone on. Needing my attic floored for storage, with a new ladder and light, I hired a youngish guy called Mark who contacted me online, as my partner and I both 'thought' he seemed reliable and was grateful for the work. He said he'd start on Friday and finish the job off on Saturday (Saturday was his suggestion, not ours).

He was due to arrive by 10.30 on the Friday to start, but actually didn't turn up until about 12.45 (with no phone call) blaming this on stock issues at the builders providers. When he left at 6pm on the Friday, he said that he'd be back the next morning to finish off, would do a full day, and agreed that he would be there by 10am, as we had to leave for an appointment.

Yes, you've guessed it 10am on Saturday came and went, we no sign of the tradesman. No answer from his phone either. We had to leave and when my partner eventually got him on the phone at 3pm, he made no apology and said that he had had a personal matter to attend to. He agreed to come the next day, Sunday instead.

Sunday of course came and went with no sign of the elusive Mark. For good measure, he'd also switched his phone off, and didn't reply to my calls or texts.

Come today, Monday morning at 8.10, and Mark had magically resurrected, and was hammering at my front porch, which I thoughtfully locked, as he'd left some materials in there. We left him outside, and when my partner left at 8.30, he told Mark to wait in his van until 9.30 - when I let him in. And was there even an apology at this point? No! He just said that instead of turning up to finish our job, he'd "gone to Oxegen, partied, and gotten wrecked".

What a joker. If anyone has a 'Mark' quote them for a job and would like to make sure that it's not my workshy diy-man (also calls himself a company name), please feel free to PM me.