Dealing with tradesmen
Home Design November 21st, 2007
When you commence a Do-It-Yourself improvement, or you operate as a home builder then you are going to have to deal directly with tradespeople.
Tradespeople are now highly paid workers, and sometimes not as skilled as you would expect. In the last decade there has been unprecedented demand for their services and their charges have skyrocketed.
When you engage a tradesman, ideally you get a quote from more than one person but often on small jobs this is not possible. It is essential to determine their hourly rate before you hire them. If you don’t inquire about rate it means that you are a greenhorn, you know diddly squat about anything and will cough up whatever they charge you. Also make sure you hide any affluence you might have. Some have been known to vary their rate according to postcode, i.e. the residents of more wealthy/trendy suburbs are charged more - especially if no rate has been set in advance.
Also ask the tradesperson how many of them will turn up to do the job. Some tradespeople work in a two man team and you will have to pay for both.
Scheduling how long jobs take, and who comes when, is a big part of being a home builder or renovator. Despite promises, there will be many times when tradesmen do not appear (actually this is almost a defining characteristic of all tradespeople - if they are on time it’s almost e a miracle!). They may have multiple clients and may not have finished the job before yours on time- and have no time to tell you that (they are so busy in fact that even a quick mobile phone call is simply too stressful to deal with). This may completely wreck your masterful building schedule but there is nothing you can do about it. That’s part of the overall frustration that runs with home building.
Quality control is another tricky area. Often it is good to stick around while tradesmen work which will frustrate the hell out of them, but it may be the only way to get what you really want.
But watch what you say, or rather how you say it. They have a very high opinion of their own work, and should you not agree, they don’t take to criticism very kindly. Prefix your criticism with a compliment e.g. “great tiling job here, but…” If something is wrong and needs to be done again, you can question whether you are paying for that time, but this is dangerous negotiation territory and should be approached with caution. You don’t want the tradesperson to spit the dummy and storm off the job.
Wherever possible it’s a good idea to hold back on payment until you can review or test work. This is particularly important for anything to do with waterproofing- tiles, ponds, and roofs.
And often, if your tradesperson has no apprentice or assistant there is a good chance they might have a dog which will stray every hour and require retrieval from next door’s swimming pool. Unfortunately this distraction is at your cost. The dog is of course a necessary part of a tradesman’s security. And if they have no dog or assistant they may well have a loud radio designed to scare you away.
It’s hard to pick the tradespeople that do their work in an unassuming and professional manner, but they are around and when you find them, they are a joy to work with.
Written by Guest Blogger: Writer and Copywriter, Steve Connard
June 19th, 2009 at 5:49 AM
Steve,
As a tradesmen I could not agree with you more. I started my own company because I saw there was a demand for “traditional customer service” and that is now my motto. I try and be as up front as possible with everything. I don’t have a dog though!