How to find a reliable tradie

firstly, quotes are a SCAM

as a former tradie myself, I can tell you dollar signs flash in my eyes when I hear the phrase “can I get a quote?”. When we do a quote, we estimate how long it will take and how much materials are required, add some if we see obvious problems, then add 20% before submitting the price. Think about this……..if your boss said “do this job, but Im going to pay you before you do it.” If you thought it might take between 2 days and 4 days, would you accept 2 days or demand 4 days just in case? how would you feel if you were paid for 2 days and had to work 4? now consider the time and travel costs wasted going to where the job was. sometimes it can be 3 hours unpaid for a tradie doing a quote including travel time. thats about $200 which they need to recover from someone……..guess who?

also, we know its hard to get tradies out to quote. we know that you are unlikely to bother getting multiple quotes, or simply cant get 3 guys to turn up. we know the quote we give you will have about a 66% chance of being accepted, and it will be inflated because of these factors.

Instead, call a few tradesmen and ask:

– do you cover this area?
– are you available?
– give a good description of the work. is this the kind of work you take on?
– what are your charges?
– roughly how long do you think it will take?
– when can you start?

call him the night before to confirm. if he trys to reschedule, threaten to call someone else. dont expect him to give you a precise time as its unlikely to be accurate. a “9.30 – 10.30” timeslot is more likely to see him turn up. we often get jobs take longer and with rigid times someone has to get cancelled so we can get back on track.
you will find the final bill will be much lower than any quote.

be nice. show him where the toilet is and offer him a cold drink at least once an hour. make sure wherever he is working is clear of clutter & furniture. offer to clean up any mess.

when the job is complete, assuming the tradie turned up on time and completed the job to your satisfaction, pay IMMEDIATELY, preferably in cash. thank him for doing a good job and tell him you will use him in the future. ask for a card and tell him you have friends looking for a good tradie. leave a good impression in his mind and he will not only remember you next time, you will get preferential treatment.

"reliable" and "tradesman" should never be used in the same sentence, let alone next to each other.

Crashy, it sounds as though you may have been one of those tradies I like to fire from a job.

Why should we offer tradesmen a drink every hour? Will he do a bad job out of spite if we don't? If I get offered a drink by the client (I used to do some tradie stuff too) it doesn't mean "hey; I think I'll do a decent job now, because before the client was nice to me I wasn't going to try very hard".

Isn't the fact that he is getting paid to do a job, and at an inflated price according to your description, enough?

Why should we offer to clean up the mess? They made it and are being paid. I used to do a bit of painting with my Dad – a professional painter; he always cleaned up afterward. He was never asked to, and was always flat out because he did a fantastic job every time. Will the tradie deduct a bit off the price because I helped him clean up? Yeah right.

Why pay in cash – he'll only not declare it to the ATO and go on a camping holiday to Echuca, or buy a jetski with it, and we've funded it through a price gouge.

I'll pay cash (knowing it won't be declared to the ATO) if I get at least a 10% discount off the price.

How about the tradie tries his best to not frig around the client, does a good job and on time as he should, and maybe we will remember him and refer him to our friends? How about the tradie tries to leave a good impression in our mind?

Being a good tradie is not something they might be – it is their bloody responsibility, and we should'nt have to suck up their a**e to get a decent job done for a decent price.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Albert;
you ask what the hourly rate is, when he can start and how long it should take. Not a quote as "crashy the standover tradesman" says.
You tell the tradesman that if the job goes over the (his) estimated timeframe to complete it he won't get paid.
This will sort out who wants the work and who doesn't, and it will make the tradie rethink his time frame carefully if he does take on the work.

Hi Albert,
I hope this will also help…

Myths:
1. A tradie who is busy is not always the best
2. A tradie who has little on does not mean he does a bad job
3. A referral does not mean the tradie is good.

Facts:
1. A tradie is a good as his last several jobs
2. Like everything multiple jobs, creating a good working relationship will allow you to keep and work with good tradies in the future.
3. A tradie is a human being and does need a drink and a toilet

So, to answer your questions:
1. Get 3 quotes.  First do some research so you understand what they will be doing for you (ie finishings, quality of material, etc)
2. To find good tradies.  Look where work has been done. eg does that shop look good? ask who did it… Ask real estate agents.  Ask the suppliers.  They usually have contacts and sofar I have found they do a good job (ie the carpenter who installed the kit kitchen can quote you on doing the wardrobes, etc).

3. Yes if its a big job or visible job, etc.  Also take their builders license and check it out to be sure its valid.  Take their ABN and do the same. You have rights if the job is bad.

4. Have a plan B.  Its ok if they call to re-schedule once only.  After that another client can take a hit.  If they dont turn up without and calling I consider that rude and so I would go to plan B which would be another tradie I liked.

Sadly it takes time,

This is great.

I'm a carpenter my self and i totally agree with crashy!
If we get a bad/arogant customer, the job losses a part of its sole and you just dont care about it any more.

It's a sad truth.

a poor attempt at some back-peddling, some more hypocracy and still no apology.

why you have a chip on your shoulder and act like the sharp end of a needle is irrelevant. The thread was “how to find a reliable tradie” not “how to get on every tradies blacklist and make an ass of yourself”

I did a job for a guy once who called me from 2 hours south of me. I told him there must be someone closer & he tried to tell me I was the only option. I explained that I would need to charge a heap of travel time & he accepted. When I got there I queried him some more & his wife eventually explained that he had pissed off every other sparky in the city and had finally learned his lesson when he went 2 weeks without power in his restaurant. Lucky for him I was obliging. moral of the story – close too many doors behind you and eventually you are trapped…….

Its funny you question my ethics after admitting you have no problem dodging GST. Denial now only reduces your credibility further.

Your opinion of tradies is just that. I see no evidence that your view is universal.

I laughed so hard when you asked me to do work for you. My sides still hurt.

"I had some customers who tried to intimidate me by speaking the lingo. This tells me that they are either a know-it-all, or have had so many quotes they have memorised what everyone said. Either way, I deliberately over-quote in the hope that some other poor sod gets the job. If I do get it, the extra makes it worth the headaches."

Crashy; do you need any more proof that I'm right for god's sake? You keep saying I've got a chip on my shoulder – how could I not? That's 3 tradies in 3 posts all admitting to gouging. You, racetrackman and Matt. Can we have even one tradie post here that has never tried to gouge a client, or not turn up or whatever??

"Its funny you question my ethics after admitting you have no problem dodging GST. Denial now only reduces your credibility further."

You have misinterpreted what I said – I was inferring that the tradie was not going to declare his payment to the ATO and you know that is what happens to many "cashies". Tell me I'm wrong.

I'm not the one dodging anything other than paying too much. I'm just paying the bill. What the tradie does with his payment is up to him. He's the one responsible for the b.a.s. statement and his tax.

You are right though; the thread was "how to find a reliable tradie". I hijacked it because you were talking s**t; crying about all the clients who treat you bad and cause you to get all vengeful and stiff them.

You did tell us how to treat them so they might stay reliable until the end of the job. But this should not be a factor and that's my whinge. You think it is a factor in how the work is done. You're the one with the chip, you think the client needs you and you don't need the client, it's you against the client and you have to gouge him for all that you can get away with. Tell me you've never done it!

What we want to know is how you can find one BEFORE he starts work. This has been my argument all along; it is unfortunately very hard to do. WHY??

Why should it be so hard to find reliable help?

At least we can thank you (and me) for giving everyone a heads up about a few of the rorts that are tried on. Thanks mate.

Does this mean that if I offer you a job at a good hourly rate and treat you well you won't take it? Come on, now you're being a bit thin skinned. I'll treat you well; I promise. I even buy beers for tradies – the good ones.

I'll pay cash as I said. You can do with it what you want. I'm not paying the gst or your company/personal tax – you are.

Can we get back to the thread now? I've had my dig; you've had yours; move on. I think the forumites are having fun listening to us; I know I am.

My middle name is "senseless argument".

I'm not apologising though. I'm not sorry for one thing I said. I tell it like I see it and you don't like it. Too bad.

BACK TO THE THREAD;

wellontheway; the best way to find a reliable tradesman is by word of mouth. The best tradesmen – the ones who look after the clients, get the most work I've found in my experience.

If you don't know anyone who can refer a tradie, then ring one of the local guys up and ask them to supply the names and numbers of 2 or 3 satisfied clients they have worked for recently.

A builder I used to build my first house did this without me even asking and, of course, his record was impeccable and he and his boys did a great job. And crashy; I paid top dollar and bought about 6 slabs of VB for the boys, and was happy to do it.

your serve. I've got nothing better to do. I can play this game until the Mods call full time.

I have just completed a nine month "nightmare" of renovating my backyard and it has involved dealing with various tradesmen.

Unfortunately, I dealt with more bad ones then good.

If you are going to use a tradie for a job, do your homework on them.

Check to see if their business name is registered, check out that their ABN is legit, check to see if they are registered for GST (otherwise they can not charge GST for their job), have 2 contact phone numbers from them and know their business address or their residential address (vital if you need to get a bailiff to issue a summons).

And never give them a cash cheque – regardless of their pleas.

I also ring, say the day before the job, and double confirm the time for them to turn up. And if they don't turn up at the appointed time, give them an hours grace and contact them on their whereabouts. This is so you don't spend/waste all day, waiting for someone to turn up.

Sometimes, when you spend big money on renos (IP or PPOR), you need to cover your butt and learn from prior mistakes.

Lyrae

be nice, show him where the toilet is and offer him a cold drink at least once an hour, offer to clean up any mess.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry but I cant help myself responding to this.

MY 5 year old can get himself a drink of water!!!!

It is my strong opinion that a good tradesman cleans up after the job is done and he has either been paid or the clock is off.

Wellontheway,

I agree with Lyrae , some good advice.
Word of mouth is the best way to find a tradie and I do not agree with paying by the hour as it seems to slow things down alot!
On the ocassions when we have had a bad tradie , and where we are paying by the hour, the phone seems to be constantly on  the ear.
 
Not bagging tradies as majority of mine over the years have been wonderful, including my Hubby , but I refuse to check on a grown man every hour to see if he needs anything. PLEASE!!!!! (again, including hubby)

This post just goes to prove what I have been saying to everyone about tradies-they are the biggest bunch of rip off merrchants next to used car salesman out there. They charge like wounded bulls and still expect to be treated like princesses-fer crying out loud most are on $100k a year plus and they have a little cry if they arnt waited on like royalty with drinks etc? WTF ever heard of an esky ya bludger? I cant wait for the tide to turn back around to where there is an excess of tradies to choose from and they can come back to reality.

I am paying you to do a job, full stop. And you are recieving my money in return for the job completed to a professional standard. I dont understand the part where I am paying you to allow me to be 'nice' to you or to be your waiter?? I suppose you would be understandable of waiters in restaurants only bringing youa half arsed dodgy meal in a restaurant if they wernt happy with your demenour? Wake up guys!!!

And you want to know where all this hostility comes from?? EXPERIENCE!!!! I used to do the bend over backwards Mr Nice guy bring em coffee and beers game-that was until they kept taking advantage of me and screwing me over. So now I treat like they should be treated-as a pure business relationship, no favours, and if the job doesnt get done right then no  money till it is. And guess what-my experiences with em are all rosey now!!!

Little story that was the straw that broke the camels back-had a shower that needed to be retiled. Needed the cement sheeting replaced also. Got a quote from the guy, cool, told him he had the job. Was making him coffees, even made him a sadwich for lunch etc Then he tells me 'sorry mate guna have to do a lot more work-got repack all the walls blah blah blah that will be another $500' I think geeeezus, ok whatever and agree-again being Mr nice guy and trusting him. Well I go  in 15 mins later to see that this $500 worth of work only involved using a few scap bits of sheeting to bring the walls of the shower out-a 2 minute job at best. I crack the shits and ask him where all this extra work that the $500 is? He just stares at me blankly for a few minutes liek a kid caught with his hand in the lolly jar and then for the classic 'well mate I can leave right now if you want but good luck getting someone to replace me!!'  Hows it go L.A…'Good guy'……….