jimmy1986 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 My experience with tradies here has been terrible, and I wanted to know if it's just my bad luck of selecting the right tradesmen, or is this "normal"? Flooring: Recently bought our first home, it has timber flooring throughout, very old fashioned, the colour was so orange it was almost offensive. We booked 8 people to come give us a quote, only 3 turned up. First was an old Chinese guy who was very difficult to understand, he said he'd be getting people in to do the work, which flagged alarm bells that he wouldn't be accountable for the work, didn't seem to really know what he was talking about, other than money. Next were a pair of guys from the city (brothers I think), only one could speak English which meant there was lots of translation happening, which was a bit off putting, they quoted $5k when the others quoted $7k, which made me think they'd be cutting corners, also they smoke the whole time they were here, ciggy butts all over my driveway.. Oh and their car broke down on my driveway, we hadn't moved in at that stage so we just left them there (annoyed), it's out in the bush, not sure how they got home that night but there were ciggy butts everywhere and holes in the driveway where they presumably got a friend to pull them out...nightmare! Last guy was from Ballarat, who we ended up going with. He was a nice guy but dam did he drag his heels. The job itself was only about 2 weeks, but it lasted well over 3 months. Most days he just wouldn't turn up, or he'd make some excuse (lost his dog, hurt his hand, car wouldn't start etc). It was stressful, every day I had to phone him up to see if he turned up to do the work. We'd just moved into the house, so had to store everything on one side while he did the other, then swap. He did an OK job, but it's starting to peel up and there are clear obvious lines where he didn't apply it well, can't get hold of him to fix it. Handyman: Our place is out in the bush (but only 5 minutes off the freeway), it was on the market for nearly 2 years and the owners weren't there very often. They knew they were going, so they neglected a lot of things, mostly outside. We hired a handyman to help us get on top of things; rake up leaves and bark around the house, fix drainage in front of garage, few other things. He was great to start with, turned up, spoke well, did a few small jobs for free, then he started playing the disappearing act. As with the floor guy, he had a few weeks work, but dragged out over 4 months. He quoted (and we paid for) new storm drains in front of the garage (driveway is sloped down), and to run drains down through the carport as we kept flooding. When it was time to do the work he decided he wanted to do it cheap and just dig a trench. He didn't turn up for 2 weeks so I told him not to bother, I'll go to bunnings and do it myself. Balcony fencing: Handyman recommended a fencing guy to put ballustrading on our balcony (some parts were missing). Young lad turned up, baseball cap on backwards, ciggy in his mouth swigging a beer. Wanted $10k to put colourbond railings on. We laughed, that was the end of that one. Air con: We had a local, recommended heating/air con guy out to quote us on a job. We have an ancient thermostat with a glass container of mercury attached to a spring that we wanted updating to digital. We also wanted the ducted heating zoned so we're not heating the areas of the house we don't use. He gave us a quote, seemed fair, we agreed a date to get it done and he doesn't show up. Tried calling several times, never returned any calls. We had the cash waiting, clearly he doesn't want it. Pest: Critters had moved in before we did. Had Jims Pest out to sort a rat problem in the roof. Old guy turned up, could barely walk let alone get up a ladder. He didn't even get up into the roof, he just pulled the spotlights out and blindly threw bait up in the direction I said we'd heard noises. Gave a speech about how his years of working in Egypt has taught him everything about pest control. Assured me there was enough poison to kill well over 600 rats and I'd have no issues. It went quiet for about 2-3 weeks, but then they came back, and in greater numbers. Figured I'd try someone else, a Pom expat who comes recommended. He did a great job first time, baited again, got up and had a proper look, said the bait I did myself was better than Jims Pest. Booked him in to come back a month later to see how it was going, but as with the others, this guy didn't turn up. Couldn't get him on the phone, never responded to my emails/calls, I lost a days work sitting at home waiting for him to come...annoyed. Water cartage: Yesterday I had water cartage booked (we're on a tank, its very low). Could barely understand the guy on the phone, it was like talking to the old drunk guy from Father Ted TV show. We asked for potable (drinking water), he said we're getting spring water whether we like it or not. He didn't turn up, now I have to find someone else and potentially wait another few weeks... Maybe I live in the Bermuda triangle, where tradies go missing en route, or maybe it's just bad luck, but why is it so hard to get things done here? I've a list of things I need fixed (electrical, plumbing etc) but I'm worried about being messed around again. We've budgeted to do this and have cash waiting, but it seems no one wants it! I think Australia could do with an influx of Polish tradies, get the locals to buck their ideas up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speakeasy Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Bloody hoodlums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booma Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 :eek: wow never had any problems myself. you either have bad luck or you dont pick good people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speakeasy Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Always hire a tradie by word of mouth. Tell them they were recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy1986 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Always hire a tradie by word of mouth. Tell them they were recommended. Every tradie we've taken has been recommended. We've either found them by word of mouth, recommendation on the towns facebook community etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 We've had some great tradies and some bad. My biggest frustration is people not turning up when they say they will. Either they don't come to quote, or they go to the bother of coming out but never send the quote through, or they get booked for the job and either don't turn up on time or don't turn up at all. We had some new flooring put down and a new kitchen in September, and in order to do that we had to have the fireplace taken out and stored. We have been trying to arrange for the new hearth and fireplace to be refitted since January (there were some problems with the flooring so that took a while to sort out), but despite having made three appointments to come, they haven't turned up. We haven't paid anything at this point, but it is still frustrating since they have already done half of the job. At the other end of the spectrum, we had a great carpenter come and do some work for us. He was prompt, did a great job and he was a really lovely bloke. I have since recommended him to loads of people and agree that word of mouth is the way to go if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speakeasy Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Maybe give them a bad wrap over on those web pages so that someone can shine a light on their carry on. It might have been a case of friends of friends doing the recommending. Ask your own friends who they use. Everyone can have a bad day. I guess in your situation you needed a lot done at once and the errors just amplified. I do agree though that tradies world wide seem to be immune to good service at times. It's not really like retail where you can find a brand you can really trust. And because the industry is littered with men, of course they overcharge you without doing much to warrant the fee. Charging you as if they have a PhD in wielding a hammer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 There are some very good tradies and there are Cowboys same as everywhere, it's not particular to here. Didn't you never see the programme Cowboy builders, in the UK? You just not picking the right ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest241083 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 ...........sorry to hear of your experience.... ...........but if you live even slightly rural it is more difficult.....travel being the main excuse..! ...........though saying that recently had more solar panals and aircon fitted and they were wonderful... ............prompt tidy and pleasent.... .............we tend to do more ourselves.... ............though if it needs council approval it's best to use a reputable tradesman.....word of mouth the best recommendation... ............the rat problem we sort by keeping terriers..... ............and bait the roof space ourselves..... ............keeping it clear and check every few months usually solves that one..... .............good luck and hope things go a little better in the future..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Agree that there are some good and some bad, of all different nationalities. We had an excellent landscaper and a good concreter and we have recently used a good (but expensive) plumber, a good electrician and a good pest control company. We are engaging someone to install gutter guard based on the excellent and professional service of the guy that came out to quote (I just hope the guys actually doing the work are as good). However we have also had tradies that come out to quote that don't seem bothered, don't turn up when they are supposed to or don't bother sending a quote through. We haven't used any of these people funnily enough. Usually we get 2 or 3 quotes before getting anyone to do any work, although we didn't with the pest control (chosen based on ability to get there the next day) or the electrician, which was a company recommended by a lighting shop that just happens to be run by the brother of an old friend of my OHs. OP I suspect that part of your problem is being out of town. Good tradies will have plenty of work and might not be quite so keen to loose time travelling to your place for jobs. I don't know what the answer is except do it yourself or find a neighbour that can do it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Living rurally is a problem with tradies. Keen, conscientious tradies gravitate to cities because there's plenty of work there...and because they are in demand they are not interested in jobs requiring travel. We've always had good experiences with them but we're probably living in the ideal place - big enough to have plenty of choice but small enough and stable enough to suss out reputations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Same as everywhere else, it's a stress finding someone you trust but when you do, they're gold I've had 2 crap plumbers but have now found a good one. Air-con, got lucky first time. Car mechanics again it was 3rd time lucky. Electricians, had 2 poor ones, I'm perfectly capable in this space so do it myself now, and screw the silly laws. I do all my own carpentry as well. Oh yeah, we have good pest people as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraphim Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 No, tradies here are not very good, even the ones that have been recommended by word of mouth. Standards have been poor, they have been lazy, or not even quoted. There is obviously way too much work and not enough people, let alone skilled ones. often damage and lots of chasing. Currently trying to get quotes, the winner so far is only that because they were the only person to actually turn up and give a quote! I'm sure there are skilled tradies, but we don't exactly live in the sticks, and yet can't find one. Actually, the electricians we had have both been decent, and the locksmith was good, but renovators, plumbers, carpenter, landscapers, awful. Water carter BTW is quoting you spring water because they fill up from a dirty non potable farm dam for free rather than paying for it from the main, buy your own bowser, you'll thank me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy1986 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 Water carter BTW is quoting you spring water because they fill up from a dirty non potable farm dam for free rather than paying for it from the main, buy your own bowser, you'll thank me! I've noticed several people filling up in town from a water pump, whats the deal with that, is it free? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraphim Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 can't comment for Vic, but in NSW, you'd register with the water supplier as a minor consumer and there are often metered standpipes you use to calculate use, then you pay the standard rate ,but at least it's potable (well, if you clean your water tank and look after it that is!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slean Wolfhead Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 There was a discussion on ABC about the same thing, blokes just not turning up because they have so much work they don't feel the need to be punctual or even finish a job. An old lady rang in from Sydney, saying that a tradie didn't keep his appointment when she'd made arrangements, then turned up unannounced 1 week later expecting to start work immediately. The radio presenter said "What did you say?" Old lady: "I told him to F*% Off !" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.