Having problems with numerous tradesmen

Kav_Piero

Is anyone else having serious problems with the behaviour and attitudes of tradesmen lately?

Bought my first house this year and I need lots of work done but every time I've had work done I've been left angry afterwards with the carry on of tradesmen constantly trying to take the p**s either halfway through the job or at the end of the job. Two of the most recent examples below:

Windows and doors

Got new windows and doors, before the job started I removed the alarm sensors and taped them up so I could reinstall them afterwards. Your man somehow managed to cut the wire for the sensor at the front door and says "sure your probably going to get a new alarm anyway". Windows not sealed properly and door not straight - 5 weeks to come back out and sort after ignoring my calls and texts telling me "am I sure there not sealed".

Plastering

Agreed to skim entire hall, stairs, landing and front room. Tells me job is finished on a Friday afternoon and when I turn up 2 walls in the front room aren't done, try's to tell me they don't need to be skimmed and starts this nonsense of it will cost an extra few hundred quid to finish the job. I tell him he's not getting the agreed amount until the job is finished as agreed. Obviously F***s thistlebond on the wall as loads of it ended up on floor and windows. This is after I said to him don't worry about the rubbish I'll make a trip to the dump and get rid of it for you. I wouldn't mind I was actually happy with work up to that point and would have thrown an extra few bob on top but the carry on at the end of the job was just a complete p**s take.

Am I just unlucky here? or and I right in thinking that they all have so much work on at the moment that there's an element of rushing jobs so they can move onto the next one and any issues that need to be fixed just get ignored along with pure chancers floating about.

Look I know there are decent tradesmen out there but this post is just based on my experiences this year. I'm getting to the stage were I'm dreading letting anyone else in to do more work.

Tell me how

Out of the country but have had some experience in dealing with trades people to get work done on my house and it was not a pleasant experience. And I agree, it's very off putting when you just want someone to be professional.

Only thing I can advise is to not pay full amount (some times, depending on materials there is an argument for paying x amount upfront), until you are 100% satisfied with the job and how it was done and if someone starts the nonsense the plasterer started with, tell them they can finish what was agreed, or leave without getting anything. Another thing I would suggest is if you see something wrong, or you are not happy with (like housekeeping) say it immediately rather than bringing it up only when it is time to pay.

It's not easy though, I had a tiler a couple of years ago who started being a problem with his attitude and I consciously tried to humour him rather than tell him to leave as I wanted that job done that day. I did tell him at the end he wouldn't be working for me again because of how he had behaved and he started apologising and saying he was stressed. I told him I understood but it still wasn't acceptable. Maybe he learned from it, probably not though.

What I would say also is, when you find a tradesperson who you are impressed with, pay promptly and don't be annoying with excessive snags or anything. They're more likely to answer the phone to you when they know you're not the type of customer who will make up problems as an excuse to not pay.

10-10-20

Can I join the party and have a whinge too please?

I had replacement double and triple glazed windows and a door fitted last year. The guy fitting them was a lummox:

• Over torqued a concrete screw so that it turned in the brick - he would have noticed this while he was installing - but he left it, causing my door to sag.
• Didn't bother caring about the support under the threshold of the same door - left the bottom of the door floating. I had to concrete the 2cm gap to prevent the threshold from sagging when stepped on.
• Cracked one window-frame when he over-torqued a concrete screw. Had to get that replaced (which they did, to be fair).
• Threw the silicon tube cut-off's, screws, and other plastic parts into my garden. I only found them about 10m away from the window this spring. No way they weren't thrown.

My revenge? I'm ordering triple-glazed units for other windows from another supplier myself and self-installing them. That way I own the whole process.