Landscaper/gardener

gaeilgegrinds1

Looking for someone to do a small back garden, little bit of patio, must be a real worker though, none of that lazy I'll call such a time and never turn up malarky. Any takers or recommendations?

muchacho

My father is a Landscaper, i'll pm his details.

Discodog

muchacho wrote: »

My father is a Landscaper, i'll pm his details.

Makes sure he reads the OP's comments

I am in the industry & I wouldn't go near a client with that attitude.

OP you may end up with, what you perceive to be, a "real worker" but whether he is any good might be a different story.

inisboffin

Discodog wrote: »

muchacho wrote: »

My father is a Landscaper, i'll pm his details.

Makes sure he reads the OP's comments

I am in the industry & I wouldn't go near a client with that attitude.

OP you may end up with, what you perceive to be, a "real worker" but whether he is any good might be a different story.

In fairness to the OP I *think* they meant wanting reliability as opposed to working them to the bone.
I've been frankly blown away by some chancers that my older parents have hired 'on trust' - not landscaping per se, but general contractor. I even got a recommendation on here for someone and twice they never turned up. I see how you need to ask specifics now.

paddy147

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

Looking for someone to do a small back garden, little bit of patio, must be a real worker though, none of that lazy I'll call such a time and never turn up malarky. Any takers or recommendations?

1st of all,its up to you (being the customer/client) to ask for and view the persons qualifications and verify they/the person is a propper and fully qualified professional and capable of doing the job.

My girlfriend is a fully qualified professional horticulturalist (Bsc Botanics) and she allways shows her clients her qualifications,and recent work/references,as this puts her clients mind at ease and gives the client confidence in her work and professional ability.She also brings clients various plant and flower samples and also brings them to various large nurseries and gardening centres to show them the various trees,plants and flowers that she recommends for their garden/soil type and loaction,before any major garden/planting work begins





2nd of all,you would also need to actually sit down and agree a price on the actual work to be done/completed,and not add in extra work as you go,but not expect to be billed for the extra work.

A good few people (clients) will try this trick and then argue and try to avoid paying for the extra work and labour involved.

If you do add in extra work along the way,then price should be discussed at that time.You should expoect to be billed for the extra work too,as peoples labour/time isnt free.





3rd of all,I think the opening post could be worded a little bit nicer than what you have posted.You seem to taint everyone with the same brush,which is not nice or fair either.

You are dealing with and posting to ALOT of qualified proffesionals here on this gardening forum,who know their stuff.


Regards.

Discodog

Any contractor would be mad to start work without having a detailed specification agreed & signed by the customer. Virtually every contractor that I know is currently owed money - some are owed thousands.
The "new" thing seems to be to leave about €4000 owing because this is about the limit as to whether it worth litigation to try & get the rest paid.

Paper qualifications mean little without practical experience & knowledge. I have worked with people that have horticultural degrees but they can't weed a flowerbed !

Much of the cost of a project goes in preparation & this is where customers/contractors often skimp. Then, a few years later, someone else has to go in & fix the mess. I have seen countless sunken patios, boggy lawns etc. The worst culprit is the so called "low maintencance" garden. The bark chipping rots & washes away, the membrane degrades & then you have an almighty mess.

redser7

I didn't read it that way at all. If a gardener/landscaper is professional, honest and reliable then the comments are obviously not directed at them. Just the chancers and time-wasters (in all walks-of-life) who are. I think most people have come across them.

Discodog

redser7 wrote: »

I didn't read it that way at all. If a gardener/landscaper is professional, honest and reliable then the comments are obviously not directed at them. Just the chancers and time-wasters (in all walks-of-life) who are. I think most people have come across them.

Well the OP didn't say honest & reliable but also they didn't say qualified, experienced, knowledgeable. If you put the emphasis on hard work or doing the job quickly then you are asking for trouble. Even in a recession a good tradesman will have existing work in hand.

But the recession has also meant that unqualified or inexperienced people will try their hand & use deception regarding qualifications, references etc.

redser7

Ok well maybe they were scant on detail. My reading was that they were saying that these very people, rougue traders, should stay away.

Ophiopogon

redser7 wrote: »

Ok well maybe they were scant on detail. My reading was that they were saying that these very people, rougue traders, should stay away.

Well yeah but I think we all would want not to deal with rougue traders. Normally someone might ask "do you know any good landscapers/plumbers, lecky etc".

The fact that they are saying they don't want anyone lazy in their first post to me is warning bells for whoever takes the job.

Discodog

Ophiopogon wrote: »

Well yeah but I think we all would want not to deal with rougue traders. Normally someone might ask "do you know any good landscapers/plumbers, lecky etc".

The fact that they are saying they don't want anyone lazy in their first post to me is warning bells for whoever takes the job.

Exactly. The problem is that the rogue traders often get the job because they are cheap, quick & appear to work really hard.

redser7

Or maybe they've been burned before.
gaeilgegrinds1 - will you please come back and explain yourself? We're fighting here and usually we're so nice to eachother :-)

paddy147

redser7 wrote: »

Or maybe they've been burned before.
gaeilgegrinds1 - will you please come back and explain yourself? We're fighting here and usually we're so nice to eachother :-)

Theres also a good few "savvy" and "unreasonable" customers and clients out there who will purposely try to avoid paying a professional person their money,or will argue about price for extra work that was asked to be done,half way through a job.

Fair is fair here,so lets not just single out the profressional trades people here.

Discodog

Now there's an idea for a TV program - Rogue Customers

My neighbour jokes that you can tell who owes him money for work because they are the first to rush out of the church door after Mass

redser7

Don't know where any of this defensiveness is coming from. They just asked for hard working person who won't mess them about. That's me done on this one

Discodog

redser7 wrote: »

We're fighting here and usually we're so nice to eachother :-)

redser7 wrote: »

That's me done on this one

No one is fighting or being defensive. In a thread & forum where people are often looking to have work done it is in their interests to see things from both points of view.

Any significant job is going to need a degree of mutual trust & understanding. For example the customer may be wary of the contractor wanting payment for materials & not realise that the contractor has been stung before. Equally customers have been stung by bad tradesmen.

The best results always come from a fair transaction for both sides.

gaeilgegrinds1

I just meant a hard worker! I've been burned before with time-wasters. God I never imagined such a heated debate.

mike65

More important than any of that was that the OP didn't mention his/her location.

Discodog

That's because they posted in the Galway forum & it was redirected here.

Who's heated ? People are just trying to give advice.