first impressions of trades

the_pen_turner

hi there

I was talking to 2 guys on a site today. one was thinking about buying a brand new van

the other man made the point that he found that customers perceive a tradesman rolling up in a new van and lovely tools to be an expensive one and will charge more.

my opinion is that a tradesman showing up in an old banger and having tools all beat up are more likely to be fly by nighters or cowboys.

obviously these are generalisations and don't mean that the person is one way or another.


what are your opinions on how a tradesman present them selves

fatty pang

the_pen_turner wrote: »

what are your opinions on how a tradesman present them selves

I would be more concerned that they don't get above themselves and forget to use the tradesmans entrance.

SC024

fatty pang wrote: »

I would be more concerned that they don't get above themselves and forget to use the tradesmans entrance.

??

Dardania

I don't mind paying for quality. If a tradesperson has a reasonable new van, so be it.

eeguy

A new van would imply he's doing well for himself and has happy customers.

A banger would imply he's fairly useless?

tedimc

I think a newish clean van is a good sign - means that the guy is at least relatively busy. Wouldn't pass too much notice on the age or condition of the tools as long as they were professional quality and the correct tool for the job. In fact, brand spanking new tools might have me thinking this guy is just starting out.

Some people are bitter like that though - hate to see anyone doing well. My parents used to be self-employed, owned an small grocery shop years ago. We traded the family car in for a Renault 19 van, with 2 seats. Got a lot of smart comments saying - "isn't it well for some" & "it's no wonder the butter is so expensive".............I hated that car.

the_pen_turner

eeguy wrote: »

A new van would imply he's doing well for himself and has happy customers.

A banger would imply he's fairly useless?

this is my opinion on this too

SC024

the_pen_turner wrote: »

this is my opinion on this too

not always the case though. I've seen plenty of very good old timers in old vans which are driving perfectly well & as a result they see no reason to change them. Why fix if it if it's not broken kinda thing & to be honest looks aren't everything I wouldn't care what they rive as long as they are good. Don't judge a book by its cover & all that.

rampantbunny

In this case I don't think there is any correlation between appearance and performance.
I've a guy coming to site at the moment in an older beaten-up van with power steering that has been broken for a while. You'd laugh to see him try to park the van onsite with the effort it takes. Time to buy another motor, but he's busy and can't afford to lose the van for a day to have it fixed. If he does he'll let someone down with the delay.

I've seen newer vans come and go. More important than the exterior is the interior IMO. Some fellas just throw their tools into the back and out the gap. Rushing and taking no care. If they're like that with their vans what are they like inside the house when you're not there.

If I see a motor onsite, old or new, with dents and scratches all over it I assume the owner hasn't taken much care around it. Maybe picking material/tools up, not being aware of their surroundings and banging into things. So I think it's inevitable that they'll pick something up inside the house and similarly scratch a window or door.

But overall, I don't see a pattern so wouldn't judge based on old v new.

JonathonS

fatty pang wrote: »

I would be more concerned that they don't get above themselves and forget to use the tradesmans entrance.

:D:D:D