Do tradesmen ever turn up when they say they will?

I live in a small market town in East Midlands. So far, I have no trouble getting quotes from tradesmen and getting work done. Mostly locals, one or two bigger companies came from nearby cities in East Midlands.

Don’t feel that the men treated me differently just because I am a woman. I am very friendly, I chat with them and make sure they got plenty of tea and coffee whilst they work.

On the subject of IQ, my dad had no qualifications whatsoever but built his own rather big brick built retirement bungalow himself. Just wish I am more like him, more hands on and can do my own DIY.

I live in an area where most tradesman don't even bother answering phonecalls or emails. We've found the answer is to find that one good tradesman (yes, I know that's difficult) and then to ask him to recommend others. We've recently had a major project completed, employing a cascade of workmen as needed,all brought in by others who've been working for us and all really good craftsmen.

Some do, some don't.

You don't surprise me Mirren re it being different in different areas of the country. A good friend of mine makes me quite envious - as she tells me tradespeople are still being as reliable as ever for her (in Exeter, Devon) whereas I can reel off time after time they haven't been for me (in Ceredigion, Wales). There are regional attitude differences I find and it's not just tradespeople - though I do get annoyed at being treated as a "woman" rather than a "person" by a noticeable number of men here. Still recalling 40 years in Exeter and never ever having anyone pulling a near miss accident on pedestrian me there - but 11 years here and there has been 3! (every single time it was a tradesman van). I still remember how supremely unbothered they were about nearly killing or injuring me - I told them off/yelled/etc and they couldnt give a monkeys quite obviously.

I think there may be more of a culture thing in some parts of the country of men expecting women to wait around for them?? As a "person" (rather than a "woman" iyswim) it really really annoys me to be treated as some sort of lesser being....even though I'm well aware myself that I'm not...and my suspicion is that local women are more prone to letting their partners/husbands act "in charge" than women from my area (who, it seems to me, are much less likely to let them get away with that attitude).

I wonder if this is regional cultural behaviour.
I grew up in the NE and , when first married lived there.
I never experienced any problems getting any work done.
It was the early 80s but I shouldn't think that was it ( not that long ago ..!)
We moved to Hull in 1985 and I immediately noticed a completely different ethos.
If I could get anyone to turn up for a quote or work etc I was very lucky.
Once a builder came to fix some leading in the valley on my roof. He did " something " but left at 3pm.
That night torrential rain resulted in a downpour in my bedroom!
A furious 3 am answer phone message had the boss on my doorstep at 8 am ,full of apologies. Workman had removed damaged leading but not replaced it with anything!
That was typical all the time I lived there...34 years. The exception was my own Godson who grew up to be a fantastic joiner ...he always turned up precisely on time and I am certain it wasn't just for me !
In 2019 we moved back to Northumberland , having bought a big house in need of attention.
I didn't hold out much hope of getting anything done but I was extremely surprised.
The ethos is the same as the 1980s.
Tradesmen turn up on time, give a quote, a date , turn up and do a fab job.
We have rewired , new windows , new roof, kitchen , floors , paving outside, decorating, curtains.... a lot of work over 5 years and I have always been delighted with the result .
Strange, isn't it ?

I totally agree as a week ago we’d arranged for an electrician to come a replace our consumer unit as we were getting a car charger fitted. He texted DH to ask if he could come earlier than agreed, as DH was working he phoned me to make sure I didn’t have any plans. I did but said I’d go out once DH got home. The electrician didn’t arrive until much later than he said he would. Was livid wasted my entire day.

Par for the course these days, I'm afraid. Very irritating and annoying

I've been very lucky with tradesmen and have just found a marvellous gardener/odd job man.. I find them all through Nextdoor and local recommendations that neighbours give on that site..

Just had a quick check of what is deemed university level IQ - and the average IQ for British university students is 113-115.

Followed by finding that they say two-thirds of the population have an IQ of 85-115 (ie lower than University average IQ). They didn't count the ones below 85 and so can't tell what percentage are lower than that.

Translates into that would be one-third max of the population capable of University - which still doesn't match half the population going there.

I had three local gardeners who did turn up, but, rather than say the job was too small ( £1500!) they said they’d get back to me, then disappeared off the face of the earth!

They pick and choose jobs probably ferry23, bigger therefore more money jobs, those local to them - less travel cost, it’s not right neither are promises to turn up never to be seen

Cabbie21

Just as an aside, my decorator has a degree or two! He was in business as a fully qualified engineer and was fed up with the rat race and decided to use his practical skills to work for himself. My relatives all use him, which keeps him busy for half the year, as he can do plumbing as well.

Yes, a couple of our tradespeople do have degrees but then decided that a more practical career suited them better.

I think many decorators seem to be on their second careers too!

I'm still waiting for the electrician who was going to come back to finish a couple of small jobs - 7 months ago!

What baffles me is the tradesmen who advertise in local magazines month after month but either don't return your calls or don't show up. They're happy to pay for the advertising but don't respond to it.

They're must be some seriously rich tradesmen out there who can afford to advertise AND ignore potential customers!

I think that more than 5% of students are capable of going to university, that sounds like the days when I was at school and only about 5% went because it was considered elitist, whatever your achievements at school.

However bright and clever they are, some young people might have a more practical streak and they might be better doing an apprenticeship, if only this was as valued as it is in some other countries.

Just as an aside, my decorator has a degree or two! He was in business as a fully qualified engineer and was fed up with the rat race and decided to use his practical skills to work for himself. My relatives all use him, which keeps him busy for half the year, as he can do plumbing as well.

Agreed that there is a shortage of tradespeople - certainly for much of the country for sure. It was a huge mistake indeed to encourage so many to follow academic routes.

The mere fact that 5% of people are capable of going to university - but around 50% go to university tells you 45% are misplaced doing so and it would be better for everyone all round if they thought of alternative career paths instead. So many people going devalues those who are really capable of a degree and it gives false hope to those who go there...but arent really up to it.

The devaluation of qualifications has been going on for a long time now and my own personal experience (as a former personal secretary) starting out back in the 1970s included me thinking "Now I've got some experience under my belt I'll get a higher level typing qualification" and proceeded to do - but just after that they devalued that qualification by passing people of a lower standard than those of us already with it. Hence I thought "How do I let employers know I'm the 'real deal' with this qualification and anyone after me may well not be.....

It's been happening across the board now for decades all round that qualifications of every description as far as I can see have been devalued. This "all must have prizes" mindset of recent years - so how do we tell who are the real prizewinners?

Hence all these people with degrees (and one has to disentangle whether they're "real" ones or no) on the one hand and not enough tradespeople on the other hand.

I am lucky never had any problems with tradesmen since I moved here but I live in the north west. When I was in the black country tradesmen didn't always turn up or even answer the phone.

What this all shows is that we need far more young people to train in skilled trades.

We've managed to book a decorator to paint the kitchen but is there any hope of him or any other decorator doing more work which is needed before the autumn? None.

There is a dire shortage of skilled tradespeople in the UK due to young people being encouraged to follow an academic routes and it was a huge mistake.
The attitude still prevails, I've noticed, that someone is "only a plumber", "only a decorator", "only a brickie" etc. I've noticed it on here too.

I have just a snippy email to the gardener who should have turned up today, but didn't.

If this is pretty widespread - it will be "bunging up" the housing market. I know part of the reason I'd think twice about moving again is the thought of not giving tradespeople the chance to break loads of appointments they've made with me again.

My current house is basically "done" renovated at last - and the thought of having to go through all those let-downs again potentially is very offputting. Though I do think it still depends what part of the country one is in and I've moved from a "reliable" area to an "unreliable" area.

I can't even get one quote for my building work. 4 people have looked at it over the year, one of them even came back accompanied by his kitchen fitter.No quote yet. As long as I get one that seems reasonable & the builder is recommended by locals I will go with that, as it could take another 24 months to collect 3 quotes from builders round here.
I have another name to try, I think I'm going to put my poshest dress on & get a manicure when he comes round - I wonder if my jeans & jumper style is making them think I can't afford it?!The work itself doesn't seem that off-putting & the parking / access is easy.

Two electricians have just arrived at my door.

The owner, whom I only contacted this morning, phoned to say they would be here in half an hour, they arrived in ten minutes!

I know it's not always the case but I think a lot of them realise they are just called out to fulfill the requirement for three quotes.

I had a plumber booked to quote for a new boiler and whilst he was looking round, I had a peep in his appointment book which he had left open. He had written some interesting comments about other calls many of them saying... waste of time.

I have been stood up five times by electricians who arranged to come round. I still haven't found one to give me a quote let alone do the job.

I have lost count of the number of phone messages I have left and e-mails I have sent.

We have friends who are tradesmen for most jobs, but for others I ask for references on our local FB site. It worked last time, three quotes for an en-suite refurbishment, all prompt and all local.