J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

With the recent threads regarding the poor service offered by tradesmen, I thought I would start a thread to see whether my faith in builders is restored.

Need a little bit of electrics doing, new consumer unit, wiring to an outbuilding, wiring within outbuilding, 2 days work.

First one promised to quote twice, gave him the benefit of the doubt and he did not call, he said his week had been 'Sketchy' and he hadn't had chance to call, he promised me faithfully he would call to arrange an appointment, I said why dont we arrange it now, he said 'Sketchy' again so I told him not to bother.

The new one is a mate of the builder who lives over the road so hopefully he will turn up, he has said he will turn up at six-ish, we shall see.

Why is it I end up feeling honoured when a tradesman actually turns up at the alloted time, like he is doing it for free ?

Assuming he turns up, we then have the wait with fingers crossed for the quote to turn up, assuming it turns up and we wait the eight weeks till he can attend, will he arrive at the arranged time on the correct day and do the work without dissapearing unexpectedly at 11 am ?

If when the work is eventually completed, will he turn up on the dot at six pm to be presented with several hundred pounds in cash (as requested), course he f*cking will !

Will he rectify any faults that arise in his workmanship, will he answer his phone to me ever again, will he bollocks !

When I was younger and less bitter I used to make builders a cup of tea every ten minutes, chat mindlessly about RSJ's and general racism, but no more, one brew every four hours and just get the f*ck on with it.

PS, theres your cheque, for the full ammount minus 1200 cups of tea, 8 pounds of sugar, new stair carpet from where you trod mud in and emptied the black crud out of the radiator, eight days after I said I would give it you as you finsihed eight days after you said you would, you will be declaring that to the inland revenue won't you as I have put the ammount on my tax return with full details of whom it was paid to and why, plus supporting photos of the work in progress.

I am turning into a right miserable old git I know, watch this one turn up on the dot, do a superb reasonably priced job and confound my rantings ?

Coupe-Se

By law he must be a 'Domestic Installer' and provide you with a Domestic Installer Installation Certificate on completion. Should you sell your house the conveyancing solicitor will ask for these and its a real hassle if you cannot produce the certificate.

I'd recommend using an NIC EIC contractor as all his work will be covered by an insurance backed warranty for a period of years after completion. If he's disapeared contact the NIC EIC and they will sort it for you.

Cheers ... Nick (Electrician, Domestic Installer, NIC EIC Qualified Supervisor and seen too many people ripped off!! )

DCI Gene Hunt

Why don't you do J4cko's work then 'Nick the Honest'?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Ha! You think waiting 8 weeks for a job to be done is bad?

In some parts of France, 8 weeks is the wait to get an estimate, 6-12 MONTHS is the wait for work to be done, with popular jobs like fitting a fosse, taking up to 18 months from acceptance of estimate to work starting;(

Alcazar

CooperS

Where you from Jacko?

My bro is an electrician, is getting a load of work, mainly due to.....

- Turning up exactly as promised, on time, even in bad weather
- Taking pride in his work
- Not overcharging
- Being polite and considerate

He's got so much work on it's untrue, these cowboy's are missing out BIG TIME.

bobsabuilder

I don't think you can call them cowboys for not quoting on a job!
Its ofteen the cowboys that WILL turn up and then give a cheap price for the job - which turns out to be a cheap quality job done.

It takes valuable time to drive to a customers home, check out the job and prepare a quote that is low enough for the customer, but not so cheap that its not worth your while doing the job. Then there's the unforeseen things that turn up and customers changing their minds 1/2 way through work.

If a tradesman is too busy to quote immediatley it could be a sign that he's good at his job and is in high demand.

I'm also sick of customers wanting a Bentley Continental job doing but are only willing to pay for a 1988 1.0 Metro.

And you'd be amazed at how many customers ask for a discount for cash!
They don't realise it costs me more money to bank cash than it does a cheque, no, they just assume all builders are on the tax fiddle

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

if they have already promised to do the work then it is bad that they dont show up !!! but if they are only going to quote you ??? i wouldnt be bothered if i didnt turn up as most people just want to know if there mate is ripping them off plus most people try to get lots of quotes, where this is obvious for insurance purposes it is not neccesary for normal work and is definately wasting most genuine peoples time, you can nearly always tell the ones who are just curious on a price as they will ask if you do free estimates !!1 i never giive a time for when i will call to price a job just incase i cant make it

Coupe-Se

Under NIC EIC/Domestic Installer rules I am only competent/allowed to do my job properly on behalf of my company ......... not if I do work myself!! It isn't like the Corgi system yet where the individual is registered.

I agree with bobsabuilders comment 100%!!

mart360

sorry??

walk to bank, take out cash, hand over counter...

walk to bank, take out cheque, hand over counter...

same to me!!

sorry just realised.... pay in cash, cleared next day... pay in cheque wait 5 days for funds to potentially clear,

how do you work out banking cash costs more money?

if your banks charging you to deposit money, it may be time to look for an bank, not a tax haven

Mart

scoobyphil2000

so what certs do you have coupe-se?

DLP

coupe-se ,am i not right in saying that you can have electrical work done by a none registered electrician and get local council building control to do the relevant testing for the certification on completion of the works.

scoobyphil2000

yes you can

SiDHEaD

Far be it for me to show a flaw in your wise-assness.... but i use online banking and to pay in a cheque i put it in a freepost envelope and off it goes. To pay in cash i have to go to a postoffice/co-op bank.

Scooby Soon!

Nearly all business bank accounts pay about 50p per £100 to pay in or take out cash.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Well, guess what, he turned up !

He was on time, knowledgeable, polite and enthusiastic, he has kind of laid down what he needs to be in place and is going to quote based on that, even the missus did not object to him, big hurdle that as she is like one of those dogs (not literally) that growls at people if she doesnt like them, she is usually right but if she doesnt like them then they have no chance.

So, so far, faith restored !


I can see what Bob means, it does take time and money to drive to someones house and people can be a pain in the ****, up themselves etc, but at the moment, on balance the building trade seem to the one with the most issues.

Coupe-Se

Yes, though it may be the case that building control need to inspect and certify at the 1st fix stage if appropriate ........ depends on what work is being carried out.

I do think that Part P is abit half ar$ed in its approach and a bit of a **** up in its current form.

Scoobyphil ....... City & Guilds 236 part 1 and 2, JIB Am 1 and 2, City and Guilds 2391. I think that these days the 236 no longer exists and is a NVQ thingy of some sort. In 3 years people can do required courses and exams to become qualified and go on to take the 2391 Inspection and Testing course to finish off.
In reality I find the lads at work need another 2 to 3 years after completing their courses of working on their own to achieve a good level of self confidence and experience.


J4CKO ........ sounds good that he was competent enough to state what needs to be in place for him to be able to carry out the work.

scoobyphil2000

iv the same mate been a spark for 22years now i just like to
ask the right questions to see if people know what there on
about when givein advice so no offence

and i agree lads now need too be trained for longer

Coupe-Se

Beat ya ......22 1/2 years (started when I was 15)!!!

The training now is pretty iffy, as I go to site visits with college tutors who asses the trainees in action. Iv'e seen a lad go to continuity test a circuit that was still LIVE and thetutor hasn't noticed it wasn't dead and isolated (I nipped off and turned the mcb off!)

Apprentiships should be 5 years minimum, and I find that half of our employees come to us initially not giving a damn about the quality of their work ........... that soon changes belive me!!

My pet hate is crap workmanship and poor quality of service to the customer who keeps us in a job when all said and done.

scoobyphil2000

i would ov left it on he wouldnt ov
done it again

OllyK

240 sends a nice shiver down the spine!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Lots of training now done on the job by people who a) can't be bothered or haven't the time to do it, and b), aren't mentally equipped to pass on their skills.

As for employees not giving a damn, some of that could be the standard of apprentice.
Thirty years ago, the top ten percent of the population went to University/college. The NEXT ten percent down got the better apprenticeships.

NOW, 50% go to University, and the NEXT ten percent down get the apprenticeships, such as they are now.

So we HAD a system where the apprentices were between the top ten percent and the " bottom" 80%. NOW they are between the "top" 50% and the bottom 30% or so.;(

Some of them are just too thick to do the work needed.

My eldest is doing welding at college. He went to 6th form,hated it and did welding instead, he has 8 good GCSE's, so NOT thick, although probably not top 10%.
He spends more time than enough trying to explain stuff to the other apprentices that they ought to have done at school.

Alcazar

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Electrician, quote tonight, will he turn up ?

I'd say your chances are, wait for it.....

"Dim to nothing"