• This topic has 27 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by mrmo.
Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)
  • getting quotes off tradesmen
  • mrmo
    Free Member

    Is it just me or is it really that hard, rang 4-5 so far and so far only managed to speak to one person and waiting for them to let me know when they are free to do a quote (if they remember).

    All i want is a new bathroom is it really that hard to find someone who will return a call, i except people are busy and leaving messages on voicemail is what is going to happen. Just the never getting back to you.

    Blazin-saddles
    Free Member

    I fit Kitchens and Bathrooms and will say that this is the busiest time of year for our trade, I’m currently booked up until December.

    If a new enquiry comes in I will ring back straight away because if I don’t I tend to forget entirely! I will always state what my lead time is before I even offer to go for a look, as it’s pointless for both if I can’t do it in a reasonable time. You’d be surprised how may people expect you to be sitting around at home waiting for the phone to ring.

    Last week I looked at a Bathroom job and it took 7 days before I even had time to price it up as I’ve been doing 12hrs a day for the last 4 weeks.

    It’s bad form TBH though if people can’t even reply to a phone call.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    thanks Blazin, at least that might explain part of the problem if this is the busy period.

    ScottChegg
    Free Member

    I think all trades seem to have more work than they can handle.

    Had awful trouble last year getting kitchen blokes in.

    Having an extension, so wanted builders. Rang 5, only one turned up. Supposed to be staring on Monday because the scaffolders came out on Friday. Actually no they didn’t.

    It’s an underworld of broken promises and missed appointments. I’m not that hopeful anyone will show up on Monday to be honest.

    CharlieMungus
    Free Member

    My painter gave me
    “Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.”

    geoffj
    Full Member

    If they are good they’ll be busy and may not be the best at dealing with new customers. Repeat business where there ‘a already a relationship is easier for everyone – just difficult when you don’t already have the relationships or even reputable contacts.

    flatfish
    Free Member

    I’m struggling to find somebody for my bathroom too.
    Know anybody around the Bristol area?

    nickjb
    Free Member

    I had a load of difficulty get a builder. Over the course of a few weeks I must have tried a dozen. About half didn’t return my call, a few didn’t turn up and I only ended up with one actual quote.

    I’m struggling to find somebody for my bathroom too.
    Know anybody around the Bristol area?

    Don at http://www.easyplumbbristol.co.uk/ is a good chap.

    mulv1976
    Free Member

    Out of five landscapers and fencing guys we have had 2 written quotes. The rest haven’t bothered to get back to us.

    Three_Fish
    Free Member

    We just got sorted for some roof/window work through ratedpeople.com.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    The good guys always have a pool of previous clients who want them to do stuff, or personal recommendations etc. It’s the ones who are free you need to worry about……

    gears_suck
    Free Member

    It depends what you’re asking for. I get calls from people who want a quote to fit a bathroom. They go have a look round B and Q, find a suite for £200-£250 and then want you to come fit it. It’s not till you get there they inform you that they want the loo on the opposite wall, a low profile shower tray, a towel rail instead of a rad, tiled floor and walls tiled floor to ceiling etc etc.
    They you come back a few days or a week later with your price of about 6 and a half grand and they think you’re taking the piss.
    I’m not suggesting for a minute you’re one of those people and It’s a bad idea to prej-udge your potential customers, but I know of fitters that do.
    Having said all that, I always try to contact people who call me. Even if it’s to tell them I can’t do the work.
    As blazin saddles said, I ts a super busy time of year and a lot of guys are already booked solid. I don’t have any available time in my diary until Chritmas and most people don’t want you ripping out their bathroom at that time so everyone is trying to get stuff done before then. I’d say you’ve left it a bit late in the year TBH

    slackalice
    Free Member

    “The raven himself is hoarse, that croaks the final entrance do Duncan…”

    Oh, not that sort of quote 🙄

    alanl
    Free Member

    Saying where you are in the Country may help.
    I’d quote for you, but you’d have to be within 30 miles of Leicester.
    Alan.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    I’d say you’ve left it a bit late in the year TBH

    only bought the house recently, so timing not really mine.

    Other issue, the work needing doing by the sounds of it might be an issue, ie can’t really squeeze it in needs a few days???

    Cheltenham if anyone wants to know.

    Small room, but needs new ceiling where water leaked from flat roof above, walls need doing, tile/board/paint, new bath, new floor, etc….

    At this moment i don’t actually know what is taking the piss, what is going rate etc. as i can’t get a quote to know what i going to have to pay.

    I have managed to get an appointment with Wickes, which i guess is going to be on the expensive side, but somewhere to start.

    project
    Free Member

    The weirsd thing is every October is busy for the house tradesmen, where mostly women decide they want new doors, windows, kitchen or bathroom for christmas, so they ring round various tradesmen and are surprised we are busy, perhaps wait till january when its quiet for us and the sheds have their sales on.

    There has also been a huge move away from self employed work for a lot of tradesmen to a paid weekly /monthly set hours job, due to the current ecconomic situation, and more office and house building going on,then there are the older chaps retiring and no new blod coming into the seldf employed trades.

    If you want a responce from tradesmen, phrase the conversation so it sounds worth their while to come and spend time with you.
    Phrases like, i could do it myself, or my son/brother/uncle/milkman is a plumber, but is to busy to do the work,i want a cheap job,ill provide all the stuff you just do the labouring,but i want pay you for waiting round if i forget something or it doesnt fit or arrive.and when we arrive dont tell us to take our shoes off,because you have absolutely no chance of getting an estimate .

    mrmo
    Free Member

    @project, if i could speak to someone i would take that on board..

    Happy to do the donkey work painting etc. but plastering, plumbing, electrics, happy to pay to get the job done right…….

    project
    Free Member

    When youre driving/cycling round look out for vans and just pop to the door and ask them if theyll pop out and d o a quote etc, i have got work like that.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    got to agree with the last paragraph of projects long post.. i know how to do stuff i earn a living doing it well.. so dont start by telling me how expensive my quotes are how stuff at b@Q is only 250 so i should be able to get it for 100 trade and how much less is it for cash and telling me how long it should take.

    tell me what you aspire to let us have a two way conversation and we can work together..

    i am way busier than i want to be every day.
    next week is booked solid for one man doing soley 90 minute repairs, my labourer has 7 days work to do in 5
    tommorow i m scheduled to start with a service at 9am a commission and electrical work at 10 a boiler service at noon a new cooker at 1.30 a landlord inspection and remidial work till 5 a new thermostat/ controller and a meeting with an ongoing contract/ client at 6.30, then i can get round to to the folks wanting quotes etc.

    freeagent
    Free Member

    We had similar trouble earlier this year trying to find a builder to do our extension/loft conversion.

    Probably spoke to 6 or 7…
    one turned up and promised the earth, then we never heard from him again, another turned up and made it sound like we’d be doing him a favor, thankfully we never heard from him again.
    Another gave us a competitive quote, then changed him mind and didn’t want to do it.
    We ended up going with the only one who actually wanted to do the job, which worked out OK as they were great, but it would have been nice to have a choice.
    we were amazed how difficult it was to find someone to take £70k off us!

    mrmo
    Free Member

    this sounds like it could take some doing then….

    johndoh
    Free Member

    Finding the same myself. Still , finding a pool of good tradesmen slowly right now.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Its unusually busy time – even busier than normal for my dad just now.

    Im trying to get him to help/teach me to replace door frames and hang doors atm – got 6 to replace/hang. Hes booked 6 days a week till xmas. Mental

    69er
    Free Member

    Quote from my brickie;

    No two spirit levels are the same….

    😀

    seavers
    Free Member

    No two spirit levels are the same….

    Crazy as it sounds he may have a point. Used everyday, battered to F, they might not all be as accurate as the day they left ScrewFix

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    Best tradesmen quote I’ve seen was written on the side of an onsite container :

    “We came, we saw, we plumbed”

    Speeder
    Full Member

    MrMo

    If you’re in Cheltenham, I unfortunately can’t give you any recommendations but I can tell you one to avoid. Richard Kelly – I recommend you don’t go near him.

    Worth mentioning – just in case.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    speeder, thanks, a negative review isn’t as helpful as a positive but it is still helpful.

Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)

The topic ‘getting quotes off tradesmen’ is closed to new replies.