Your Experience with Tradies

ahly92 on 12/03/2017 - 20:01
Last edited 12/03/2017 - 20:05

Hi,

Part of my studies, I'm investigating consumer experience with tradies. As a prologue to my study, I wanted to get some insight from ozbargainers into their experience, effort to get the right quote and whether u think it's a fair amount for the job.

It would be great to answer the following questions in the order, any further comments, suggestions that you think would benefit a consumer would be highly appreciated.

1. How many callouts per year
2. how do you find your Tradie (yellow pages, google etc)
3. How many quotes do u get before deciding and how many days does it take.
4. How do you pay
5. Was it a resonable amount and we're you satisfied with the quality

Tradie work includes all home based repairs and garden work.

Thanks

Home & Garden

Comments

  • hell0 on 12/03/2017 - 20:13
    1. 1
    2. Google search then quoted online with a tradie comparison site like serviceseeking
    3. 10+ because all of them were emailed to me obligation-free within a few hours
    4. Cash because that's how tradies are
    5. It was a fair amount but I noticed that any extra not quoted originally were not as cheap
  • captobvious on 12/03/2017 - 23:15
    +4

    I own a construction company. From my experience 8 out of 10 trades are skonky and dumb as shit, all trial and error to them, inconsistencies with workmanship, standards, literacy and competence. No one trades does it the same unless the business is paternalistic and dad runs the show and keeps the children on the straight and narrow.
    2 of 10 that are good are Hard to find. Its trail and error on my behalf trying to work out whos good or not and when i do i give them a lot of work.

    Very hard to gauge costs, some trades charge less and have the right tools for the job so it gets done quick. Others charge double the labour and have shit tools and take twice as long

    Most of the times cheque/cash, sometimes no actual funds transfer and the arrangement is to do something for you if you do something for me.

    The new guys on the block are working out for me at the moment because new businesses tend to try harder to do a better job for you. Word of mouth mainly

  • Cheeper on 13/03/2017 - 00:00
    +2

    Agree with captobvious… most are total crap and are doing domestic callouts because they can't score a full time contract with a reputable business. Good tradies get snapped up because they are rare.
    1. Varies from none to sometimes 4 or 5.
    2. Everywhere… presonal referral is best but yellow pages, local press and sometimes tradies will have their own website showing some of their finished jobs.
    3. Depends on the size of the job. Small jobs I have an idea already re the cost. Larger jobs can take 5 or 6.
    I had my own business and also ran one for a major company and always gave the customer the most details possible as some businesses are just downright lazy and only give a sketchy outline. I never failed to win a bid.. ever, and this would be the reason i'm sure.
    It is difficult to get a written quote out of most let alone one that is detailed. Never have I received one that clearly showed the tradies licence no and more importantly their insurance details.
    It also was quite common for them to discover some anomaly half way through the job that they did not allow for but someone truly qualified would have done so.
    4. Cash or card.. but only when a detailed receipt showing GST is presented. Most like to do cash in hand with no receipt but do not do that.
    5. Sometimes prices can vary a lot and for no reason apart from greed.
    I had a quote for a verandah once that was less than half that of others I received and instead of a weeks labour was only for 2 days for one man. I was curious to see why and called the carpenter and he invited me over to a place where he was working the next day to see why. He was super organised and had everything set up and ready to go, a true professional and a delight to see in action. He got my job and did a brilliant job too and in the 2 days quoted.
    This is rare as most usually have some problems, not the right tools, want to use your tools, wrong materials, careless (nails left strewn around driveways is a pet hate for the obvious reason). I made a point of stressing this with one tradie and they swept the driveway after the job was completed… it all looke ok until closer inspection where i found at least 30 that they missed. :-(

    I have learnt that the best way to ensure a good job is to do it yourself if possible, because most tradies are a damn pest and a bumbling pain looking for a quick buck for a shitty job. Beware.

    • King Tightarse on 13/03/2017 - 00:33
      +2

      Agree with all the above.
      Do everything possible myself because I am prepared to take the time and most of the call out tradies work I have seen in the last few years has been so disappointing, slap happy and poor quality it would.shock the average punter.
      Go the old school Aussie way and do it yourself or barter with mates where ever possible.
      We have YouTube,we have the internet. You can do so much yourself with a bit of care and motivation.

  • sagrules on 13/03/2017 - 12:57

    Can someone please let me know how much do you pay for deposit/commencement of the job, % wise, and until the job is complete? About to do bathroom renovation and its my first time.

    • captobvious on 13/03/2017 - 13:11

      Depends on the contractor and scope of works.

  • BertieBrown on 13/03/2017 - 20:36

    As I've said before, in Australia unions have had so much sway in motivating legislation about what home owners can and cannot do. You need an electrician to change a light fixture or a GPO. Everyone is so afraid of getting their hands dirty or learning new skills, it always seems a case of just get the trade in to do the job. It's funny how many times I've seen a professional job that looks like absolute shit.

    It's not about safety, or competence, it's all about money.

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