What's the matter with tradespeople?

LirW · 28-09-2017 12:29PM

I need the big work done professionally because of the certs.

Minor issues I can actually fix on my own, like broken appliances, plastering and the like.

crossmolinalad · 28-09-2017 12:40PM

TallGlass wrote: »

Same!

Guess the recession is over, they don't need any odd jobs on the side!

Hmm maybe its time to buy a van and start a handyman business
Sounds like bad times are over

LirW · 28-09-2017 12:42PM

Do they factor their breakfast rolls in when they quote?

the_pen_turner · 28-09-2017 12:47PM

I wonder how many customers that complain about tradesmen not ringing them back actually ring back a tradesman to tell them they won't be going with their quote.
It works both ways

sbsquarepants · 28-09-2017 01:26PM

LirW wrote: »

I really hope you high-fived yourself in front of the screen for this :pac:

Absolutely.

donegaLroad wrote: »

from living where I live OP, I have had to learn how to do a lot of things for myself.

I can service the car, fix a broken tumble drier, install a dishwasher, plaster work, lay a patio, fix a lawnmower, basic plumbing, tiling, laying floorboards etc.

Youtube is your friend!

Youtube is priceless for things like this.

I had a problem with a water pump a few years back - my mates cousin was a plumber so I figure can't go too far wrong seeing as I know him.
He comes out and gives me a quote, pump is fúcked he says, it's normally nearly a grand for a new pump, he can do it for €700.

I hadn't got the money so I youtubed it, to see how handy it is to replace myself - I ended up fixing it for something like €60, didn't need replacing at all, just a new circuit board.

There are chancers in all walks of life OP! The more you can learn yourself the less likely you'll be to get fleeced by some charlatan.

englander · 28-09-2017 01:32PM

Had nothing but crap, dealing with tradespeople.

To the point now where I just cant face the effort of trying to find someone to get jobs done and its less grief to just leave the issues in situ until I get time to have a go myself.

Its like they just don't want the job or the money. I cant understand it really.

I'd estimate I've hired 10 different people over the last 3 years. Only the carpet fitter did what they said they were going to do, when they said they would do it , and for the agreed price.

Most of the other 9 or so came recommended locally.

The ones that did show and were hired...Shortcuts taken, things left broken/scratched/damaged, 'tree surgeon' was going to throw all the tree bits into next doors garden, electrician did what we agreed but also fecked up the electrics in another room. Painter got more paint on the light switches and windows than the walls. Plumber didn't install the taps straight and cracked a tile....and so on.

Is there a 'rate my tradesperson' type site ?
May be useful.

the_pen_turner · 28-09-2017 01:34PM

sbsquarepants wrote: »

LirW wrote: »

I really hope you high-fived yourself in front of the screen for this :pac:

Absolutely.

donegaLroad wrote: »

from living where I live OP, I have had to learn how to do a lot of things for myself.

I can service the car, fix a broken tumble drier, install a dishwasher, plaster work, lay a patio, fix a lawnmower, basic plumbing, tiling, laying floorboards etc.

Youtube is your friend!

Youtube is priceless for things like this.

I had a problem with a water pump a few years back - my mates cousin was a plumber so I figure can't go too far wrong seeing as I know him.
He comes out and gives me a quote, pump is fúcked he says, it's normally nearly a grand for a new pump, he can do it for €700.

I hadn't got the money so I youtubed it, to see how handy it is to replace myself - I ended up fixing it for something like €60, didn't need replacing at all, just a new circuit board.

There are chancers in all walks of life OP! The more you can learn yourself the less likely you'll be to get fleeced by some charlatan.

That's outrageous. Prices
How much is that pump new

On the other side of that. You spent 60 on a new board. Most plumbers wouldn't be trained, certified it insured to go fiddling with the internals of these kinds of things.
Much less complication s by just changing it

harr · 28-09-2017 01:42PM

Same boat at the moment, need a small plumbing job maybe a couple of hours work. Near impossible to get anyone to do it, not very concerned about the price but most plumbers won’t even entertain the idea of doing it.
We gave a number of trades people locally plenty of work during the quiet times when they were falling over themselves to do even the smallest of jobs now things have picked up again they will hardly answer the phone..

exaisle · 28-09-2017 01:44PM

suicide_circus wrote: »

Pretty much all work we've had done was by eastern europeans. Cheaper, better quality, more reliable.

Same as my teeth....:-)

LirW · 28-09-2017 01:46PM

englander wrote: »

Had nothing but crap, dealing with tradespeople.

To the point now where I just cant face the effort of trying to find someone to get jobs done and its less grief to just leave the issues in situ until I get time to have a go myself.

Its like they just don't want the job or the money. I cant understand it really.

I'd estimate I've hired 10 different people over the last 3 years. Only the carpet fitter did what they said they were going to do, when they said they would do it , and for the agreed price.

Most of the other 9 or so came recommended locally.

The ones that did show and were hired...Shortcuts taken, things left broken/scratched/damaged, 'tree surgeon' was going to throw all the tree bits into next doors garden, electrician did what we agreed but also fecked up the electrics in another room. Painter got more paint on the light switches and windows than the walls. Plumber didn't install the taps straight and cracked a tile....and so on.

Is there a 'rate my tradesperson' type site ?
May be useful.

onlinetradesmen is actually quite helpful. But I agree, a Yelp for tradesmen would be amazing.

Lots of things can be fixed but for a rewiring or installing a heating system you need someone who knows how to do it because it can be potentially dangerous.
Or you can do it like the guy who lived here before of course, throw the oil tank and boiler out and hook up a boiler stove to the plumbing for oil heating that heats f all.

The chimney sweep that was here told me he had a look in his books and he was here about 7 - 8 years ago where the guy just hooked up the stove. He asked him if he's in his right mind and simply blacklisted that house because he's not going to put up with that maniac.

ronnie085 · 28-09-2017 01:52PM

I'd say some of the problem is that someone who can use a paintbrush is called a painter but might not actually a painter by trade with full apprenticeship completed, people considering "a handyman" a tradesperson or someone who did a nightcourse in some skill then considers themselves as skilled as somebody who trained for 4 or more years resulting in shoody work and giving real trades a bad name. Some bad tradespeople as well like any other job.

sbsquarepants · 28-09-2017 01:52PM

the_pen_turner wrote: »

That's outrageous. Prices
How much is that pump new

On the other side of that. You spent 60 on a new board. Most plumbers wouldn't be trained, certified it insured to go fiddling with the internals of these kinds of things.
Much less complication s by just changing it

The pumps are expensive, I think it was 600ish at the time (5 or 6 years ago)

The circuit board was a piece of cake to replace - I've no experience of anything like that and I done it in a half an hour and it's been working ever since!

kadman · 28-09-2017 01:53PM

the_pen_turner wrote: »

That's outrageous. Prices
How much is that pump new

On the other side of that. You spent 60 on a new board. Most plumbers wouldn't be trained, certified it insured to go fiddling with the internals of these kinds of things.
Much less complication s by just changing it

Of course we have become a throw away society, so we are losing the ability to fix things for ourselves.

Its quicker to throw it away, rather than fix it. Consequently the customer pays big for the replacement.

Remember how our parents were, seamstresses,cooks, gardeners,cobblers,ect,ect. Are we now as efficient.
Some of us might be

Most of us are losing these hand eye skills. And once gone, you wont find anywhere or anybody to learn them from.

Look at the modern car, and mechanics trained on them. Laptop mechanics. Even car dealerships wont fix an engine that needs rebuilding.

But your friendly east european will be glad to.
Thankfully I do all my own, plumbing,wiring , mechanics,painting decorating,carpentry, joinery,house maintainence, and on and on.

Carbon125 · 28-09-2017 02:17PM

LirW wrote: »

The worst ones were the plumbers. I called 4 and all of them were no-shows and didn't bother picking up the phone afterwards and only the 5th one came

Consider it a test performed. The first four have failed most miserably, blacklist them. The fifth one has passed, you can feed him bigger jobs from here on.

I would never give a large job to a tradesperson unless he has done one or two small jobs first and has done them well.

LirW · 28-09-2017 02:20PM

Carbon125 wrote: »

Consider it a test performed. The first four have failed most miserably, blacklist them. The fifth one has passed, you can feed him bigger jobs from here on.

I would never give a large job to a tradesperson unless he has done one or two small jobs first and has done them well.

Have to unfortunately, first Home in an area where we don't know the tradespeople.
All you can do is go with your guts, check references and ask them stupid.

lawred2 · 28-09-2017 02:37PM

the_pen_turner wrote: »

the general public don't see the behind the scenes scheduling that goes on
its very hard to nail down a start day
you have job over runs
delays on site from other trades not being ready
customers wanting more stuff done, 'while your here'
materials not turning up on time
weather
job cancelations at the last minute . (trying to squash in the only flexible job into too small a timeframe just so you have work that week)
some of us are even lucky enough to have lives outside our jobs
going to accountants and banks etc eats up time

there are lots of genuine reasons why we are unreliable. that's a consequence of the job.

grand.

how's about a phone call to explain why you might not meet your commitments?

are there genuine reason for not bothering with that?

pilly · 28-09-2017 03:09PM

the_pen_turner wrote: »

the general public don't see the behind the scenes scheduling that goes on
its very hard to nail down a start day
you have job over runs
delays on site from other trades not being ready
customers wanting more stuff done, 'while your here'
materials not turning up on time
weather
job cancelations at the last minute . (trying to squash in the only flexible job into too small a timeframe just so you have work that week)
some of us are even lucky enough to have lives outside our jobs
going to accountants and banks etc eats up time

there are lots of genuine reasons why we are unreliable. that's a consequence of the job.

They're all great excuses. There is no excuse for promising to be somewhere and not ringing to say you won't be there. None.

pilly · 28-09-2017 03:11PM

LirW wrote: »

Have to unfortunately, first Home in an area where we don't know the tradespeople.
All you can do is go with your guts, check references and ask them stupid.

Also ask your neighbours.

pilly · 28-09-2017 03:17PM

the_pen_turner wrote: »

I wonder how many customers that complain about tradesmen not ringing them back actually ring back a tradesman to tell them they won't be going with their quote.
It works both ways

That's not a fair comparison. A fair comparison would be if the customer told the tradesmen to go ahead and then wasn't in or wouldn't answer the door or the phone. And you know what a tradesman would do in that case? Charge the customer for their time which they should do. Perhaps it should work the other way around and the customer can charge you for every time they've taken time off work to wait for you?

the_pen_turner · 28-09-2017 03:32PM

pilly wrote: »

the_pen_turner wrote: »

the general public don't see the behind the scenes scheduling that goes on
its very hard to nail down a start day
you have job over runs
delays on site from other trades not being ready
customers wanting more stuff done, 'while your here'
materials not turning up on time
weather
job cancelations at the last minute . (trying to squash in the only flexible job into too small a timeframe just so you have work that week)
some of us are even lucky enough to have lives outside our jobs
going to accountants and banks etc eats up time

there are lots of genuine reasons why we are unreliable. that's a consequence of the job.

They're all great excuses. There is no excuse for promising to be somewhere and not ringing to say you won't be there. None.

I agree entirely
A phone call is a must

donegaLroad · 28-09-2017 03:58PM

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Absolutely.

Youtube is priceless for things like this.

I had a problem with a water pump a few years back - my mates cousin was a plumber so I figure can't go too far wrong seeing as I know him.
He comes out and gives me a quote, pump is fúcked he says, it's normally nearly a grand for a new pump, he can do it for €700.

I hadn't got the money so I youtubed it, to see how handy it is to replace myself - I ended up fixing it for something like €60, didn't need replacing at all, just a new circuit board.

There are chancers in all walks of life OP! The more you can learn yourself the less likely you'll be to get fleeced by some charlatan.

I had a blown relay on the circuit board on the central electronics module in my car, which meant one of my headlights was not working. After being turned away by 3 or 4 local garages, I was quoted £500 from a Volvo dealer in the North for a new board... so I posted the problem on a Volvo owners forum. After reading some replies and a bit more searching online, I managed to source a new relay in Dublin for €1.50 a pop, and I replaced the old relay on the circuit board myself, using an electric wood engraver I bought in Lidl as a soldering iron.

All you need is peace and quiet, confidence and a bit of dexterity (and make sure nothing is live!)

shaunr68 · 28-09-2017 03:59PM

Since moving here 18 months ago I have reached the conclusion that Irish tradesmen are just as unreliable and infuriating as British tradesmen, but in a different way. A British tradesman will generally turn up on time as promised but if they don't fancy the job they will quote a stupid price. Whereas the Irish tradesman won't even bother turning up. I'm not quite sure which is worse to be honest. They must all be raking it in if they can afford to turn down work.

LirW · 28-09-2017 04:02PM

pilly wrote: »

Also ask your neighbours.

I did, the first plumber they recommended showed up and was a total messer and really unreliable unfortunately.

pilly · 28-09-2017 04:05PM

LirW wrote: »

I did, the first plumber they recommended showed up and was a total messer and really unreliable unfortunately.

I feel your pain, I moved into a rural area 2 years ago and since then have had 5 fellas out to fix my heating, after the 4th fella I did some research myself, worked out what was wrong and TOLD the 5th fella what had to be replaced. He replaced it and hey presto, no problems since.

As for plumbers, the toilet in the main bathroom has never worked correctly so I've given up looking and just use the en suite in the other bedroom. When visitors come I have to warn them not to use it. I need an Out of Order sign.

LirW · 28-09-2017 04:18PM

In the end it's a hit and miss and if you find someone good you need to keep it as your precious secret, be worse then feckin Gollum.

The Ging and I · 28-09-2017 04:53PM

suicide_circus wrote: »

Pretty much all work we've had done was by eastern europeans. Cheaper, better quality, more reliable.

++1 !

the_pen_turner · 28-09-2017 05:27PM

kadman wrote: »

Of course we have become a throw away society, so we are losing the ability to fix things for ourselves.

Its quicker to throw it away, rather than fix it. Consequently the customer pays big for the replacement.

Remember how our parents were, seamstresses,cooks, gardeners,cobblers,ect,ect. Are we now as efficient.
Some of us might be

Most of us are losing these hand eye skills. And once gone, you wont find anywhere or anybody to learn them from.

Look at the modern car, and mechanics trained on them. Laptop mechanics. Even car dealerships wont fix an engine that needs rebuilding.

But your friendly east european will be glad to.
Thankfully I do all my own, plumbing,wiring , mechanics,painting decorating,carpentry, joinery,house maintainence, and on and on.

its a shame. most things can be fixed if the know how to fix it is there and the parts are available. both are not and are becoming rarer as the years pass

the_pen_turner · 28-09-2017 05:30PM

sbsquarepants wrote: »

The pumps are expensive, I think it was 600ish at the time (5 or 6 years ago)

The circuit board was a piece of cake to replace - I've no experience of anything like that and I done it in a half an hour and it's been working ever since!

so his price was fairly accurate for changing the pump. ok
shame we cant get these things fixed

the_pen_turner · 28-09-2017 05:34PM

pilly wrote: »

I feel your pain, I moved into a rural area 2 years ago and since then have had 5 fellas out to fix my heating, after the 4th fella I did some research myself, worked out what was wrong and TOLD the 5th fella what had to be replaced. He replaced it and hey presto, no problems since.

As for plumbers, the toilet in the main bathroom has never worked correctly so I've given up looking and just use the en suite in the other bedroom. When visitors come I have to warn them not to use it. I need an Out of Order sign.

the problem there is that a lot of modern plumbers are only used to installing new systems .
we had several lads look at a heating system in a house over the years. each one rearranged and changed parts . they all were genuinely trying to fix it but couldn't.
eventually I met a great plumber who loved solving problems like that and thrived on it. he came , tore all the changes out and reconnected it properly. he fixed it perfectly. he was an oldish guy that seen all these problems over the years and saw the issue fairly quickly

B.A._Baracus · 28-09-2017 05:59PM

They say "anyone who puts their hand out gets greedy after a while"

Tradesmen especially. If you are used to quoting someone 150 for a certain job and it's a decent price well... you'd love it if you got 200, what about 250? Why not 300? And that's when you start quoting more and more. It's a bit of a buzz to get more for the same amount of work provided.

Thing is tho most then get the mentality of I ain't doing that for anything less than X amount. Hence the expression "I wouldn't get out of bed for anything less than..."

Othertimes if you quote someone and say you'll be out in Friday... That's "to be confirmed" sort of thing. I'll be out on Friday if I don't get another call offering more money. That's business. But it's also good business to ring someone and rearrange. A lot of Tradesmen can't seem to grasp it.

What's the matter with tradespeople?

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