Some tradesmen not feeling the pinch yet....?

Leprechaun77

I'm currently in the process of giving the house a bit of a clean-up as it's about ten years old and is showing signs of ware. I have done the garden with the help of my brother and a few other bits and bobs, but some things I will be leaving to the professionals. Having dealt with many of them over the last few days on various things, my experiences are mixed. I would have assumed that electricians/plumbers would be queuing up for work but I was mistaken.

The first area was the wardrobes. I called a few places looking for prices, for which most wanted to call out. Fair Enough. The prices varied greatly (€1300-€2700) but in fairness all of the guys were on time and professional. This is now sorted for €1500.

The Bathroom also needs some life. The shops are falling over backwards to sell tiles and bathroom suites and there are some good offers. I made a few calls to get prices for bathroom installation, and again most wanted to see the room. Fair Enough. All the guys seemed enthusiastic enough and so they arranged a time to see me today. As the times were staggered over the course of the day, I decided to take a day off work. Out of courtesy, I didn't want to be nipping back to the house and leaving someone wait 10-20 mins on me.

The first guy was due to come at 8.30.....He arrived at about 9.30. OK, so no problem really from my point of view. Maybe the traffic was heavy. The second guy was due at 12:00....this guy didn't turn up or respond to my voicemail when I called. The 3rd guy was due at 3:00 and again no sign of him yet...left a voicemail to see if he was still coming....no answer. Another guy was due at 5.00 but said he would call me to confirm he could make it by lunchtime today. I left him a voicemail to see if he was still available...no response yet.

I'm a bit pi$$ed off as I have taken a day off work for this. I know some of these guys are probably not the most punctual but a phonecall would have sufficed. I was even thinking at one point...Am I being a bit unreasonable leaving voicemails chasing them up....?

I am beginning to think that these guys are not really too pushed at the moment....anybody else experience this recently?

cgc5483

My experience of late:

Had 5 plumbers come to price a job, most of them actually arrived on time or within an hour or so of it so not too bad that way. However, despite all 5 telling me they would be in touch, only 2 actually came back with a price and only 1 of those actually chased up afterwards (subsequently got the job). To be honest I generally go with my gut feeling when hiring as after talking to them for a couple of mins you can tell if they are interested in job, know what they are on about and will not rip you off. I think plenty of people knew the work but i guess the good ones are always busy!

theboss80

You are definatly not being unreasonable. I work in the home renovation area and its a priority of mine to always be on time, basically 2 be professional. Its the least you can do if you are trying to secure a job and if you are 2 busy then the phone shouldnt be answered to new calls in the first place. No excuse for not returning a voicemail though. I would definatly give these guys a skip as could lead to bigger problems when the job starts in your house.