getting off on the right foot is always important too.....
amazing how a job can flow well, is comfortable and a pleasant experience when both parties put in a little effort on both sides.
Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Tradesmen etiquette 44Nov 06, 2012 7:39 pm As someone who is a contractor and also who has employed hundreds of subbies and tradies I can see both sides of the fence but the basic rules have to prevail: 1 Tradies are there to do a job for the price and it's not a social engagement it's business. If you want social go dancing. 2 Yes you should be courteous and nice to tradies but keep professional distance.(that does not mean looking down on them) You need them as much as they need you. 3 Yes you should be aware that they will need amenities. You are the builder you must provide them. If you don't hire a loo don't be surprised if they want to use one in your house. 4 The best compliment you can give a tradie its to be professional yourself. Know what you want, be clear in your instructions, give them what they need and the opportunity to do a good job in good time, that's how they will make a good income. Then make sure you are satisfied and pay them and then tell everyone how good they are. 5 Don't forget that they have families to support and productive time wasted with excessive distractions will be detrimental to their income. I have no doubt that countless owners and tradies have enjoyed niceties and that is perfectly fine but don't forget that the wheels can fall off, and if they do it may cost you plenty. I have a good example where my client lost a VCAT case because he got just too close: http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog/b ... ontractor/ If you think what I am saying is brutal, it just means that I have been tried and tempered by experience. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Tradesmen etiquette 45Dec 27, 2019 1:36 am Ha.. I can relate so much to your story. If I had a dollar for everytime a customer (mostly women) didn't offer me a cup of anything all day I'd be a millionaire. It's hard to believe but true. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 46Dec 27, 2019 1:44 am Cathski Yesterday I had two tradesmen here all day installing ducted heating and cooling in our roof. They were here all day and worked really hard and it was only after they left that I thought - should I have offered a cup of tea? Or water? They went out for lunch so I just assumed they would have whatever they wanted then. But perhaps it would have been polite to offer. And am I meant to show them where the toilet is and say they're welcome to use it? Or is that just a given? Incidentally when they left they said everything was good to go, but my husband quickly discovered as the truck pulled away that the heater actually isn't working. I can't help wondering if I'd offered them a drink through the day they might have finished the job off properly. Have you any idea how hot it is in a roof space? If my son had worked at your place and if he were to collapse or get dehydrated, I would have made a bee line to your place to punch you in the nose. Sadly you are not alone.. think how scary the world is with people like you and other in it. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 47Dec 27, 2019 1:51 am Who would agree with me that women are the worst culprits when it comes to not offering a cup of something? Get with the program ladies. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 48Dec 27, 2019 2:07 am People who even have to think whether or not to offer a drink are beyond retarded. Think about it.. we don't work in an office where we can help ourselves to drinks or nibbles. It's common for an office worker to spend 10 minutes of every hour secretly doing online shopping or paying an online bill on company time whereas a tradies work is much more accountable. We work hard and do physical labour. If your child came back home after a bike ride and he was hot, you wouldn't think twice about fetching him a drink. If a home loan lender or accountant came over you would offer him a drink. Why not the same respect for tradies? Re: Tradesmen etiquette 50Dec 31, 2019 12:53 am I'm hoping to get my message out there one person at a time. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 52Jan 03, 2020 12:37 am Berek Not sure of the point you are getting at? Bad experience? Your comparisons don’t gel. Yes from bad experiences and many of them. Think about it this way, if you work for a company as an employee, be it a restaurant, telecommunications company, etc, they actually have a 'duty of care' policy which aims to protect both their employees and also customers. In an office environment it is air conditioned and nice and cool. I can't imagine an office environment which is boiling hot. I've worked in houses where it is boiling hot and it wouldn't occur to the customer to turn on the air conditioning, even though it was very obvious I was sweating like a pig. Many customers (believe it or not) don't bother to offer you drinks (remember, I don't work in a nice air conditioned office) so I am more than likely to get thirsty. Yet if my customer were to to go for a job interview or have a meeting with a bank manager, they would be offered a drink. Imagine you went to a workplace that didn't have a kitchen and there was no running water available, you would think your employer was very uncaring- I might as well be working in that uncaring environment as I don't get access to water as the customer doesn't offer it. Hope this gels with you more. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 53Jan 04, 2020 11:01 pm Crikey, I must be abnormal.You think the client has a duty of care towards you? What happens if he/she goes out for the day,you go thirsty and get peeved off? After more than 50 years of working in and around peoples houses,I find I want to drink when I'm thirsty,want to snack when I'm hungry.On hot days working in the sun i would go through at least 6 litres of cool iced water that I bring myself and drink at my own leisure,not waiting for someone else to offer it to me,they couldn't keep it up to me.In fact, although a nice gesture on their behalf,i cringe when I see the old lady coming out with the hot cup of tea and biscuits,because it means I have to stop work and be social when all I want to do is get the job done and get out of there and get home and have a beer. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 54Jan 05, 2020 12:40 am Oldchippy, Everyone is reading my posts in such a black and white fashion. My duty of care analogy was used loosely to explain that customers need to show a bit of kindness to other human beings as to my comparison of how office workers are treated. I get that there is no rule book about duty of care. I get there are times when the customer isn't home all day. I get that I don't expect the customers to cater to me all day long with a 3 course meal with endless drinks. I'M JUST SAYING SOME CUSTOMERS SHOW ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT AT ALL AND THEY NEED TO PULL THEIR FINGER OUT A BIT MORE! So answer this, let's pretend that you forgot your iced water (you were in a rush in the morning and left it in your fridge at home), how would you honestly feel if the customer offered you nothing all day long on a hot day where you were working very hard? Re: Tradesmen etiquette 55Jan 05, 2020 8:51 am I honestly couldn't care,I cater for myself. If i was working outside their house I'd find an empty coke can or something from my truck and fill it from their garden tap,or drink from their hose,and be reminded that i must not forget the next day to bring my own. If I am inside their house and drinks weren't offered,I would ask them if i could grab a glass of water from their kitchen - they are not going to say no- and will most likely offer something from their fridge, or a cup of coffee,which in turn i would either accept or decline -( most likely decline but thats me because I want to get on with the job),and then I have the option of refilling it as i please. They are not going to be upset if I go to their tap and fill a glass of water.I wouldn't get uptight about it as you seem to be. Get real mate- A tradie ( talking carpenters plumbers electricians painters plasterers and the like) need a lot of hydration during the course of a day,and no offer of a cup of tea,although a nice gesture, is going to satisfy our continuous bodily requirements for fuel. Maybe your in the wrong profession. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 56Jan 05, 2020 9:44 am james duff So answer this, let's pretend that you forgot your iced water (you were in a rush in the morning and left it in your fridge at home), how would you honestly feel if the customer offered you nothing all day long on a hot day where you were working very hard? Got a mouth? Ask. Not sure why you expect the customer, who might be doing other things and offering will completely slip their mind, to cater for your lapse.... frankly, your attitude... and the way you post here (including that you would punch someone in the face if your hypothetical 'son' was unable to adult successfully) would mean you get no work from me. The vast majority of people will offer something, or if not, if they're asked by a tradie (for example, if they forgot their iced water) they would offer something. But I'm sure it's not expected by the majority of tradies, who are adults and self sufficient. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 57Jan 05, 2020 10:32 am James Duff your attitude won't get you anywhere and confirms in my mind why I don't hire tradies any longer. Otoh, I wish OldChippy lived closer as I could give him some work. For many years we worked in people's houses and our only expectation was that they pay the bill, which they did without question. Some of our customers were in the high end of town but were really genuine people and (by choice) would not be home when we were working but they would either call ahead or leave a note on the kitchen bench telling us to 'help ourselves to any food or drink'. We didn't because we 'took our own' and quite often they might get upset because we didn't eat or drink from their fridge, but we were self-sufficient as that was in our nature. Like chippy, if we needed extra water we would drink from a garden hose and more than once I remember being told 'don't drink from the hose there is plenty of cold water in the fridge'. Nobody owed us a duty of care.....sheesh!! Can I suggest a New Year resolution might be worth a try, as once people know your attitude has been updated, it will help your wallet too. Re: Tradesmen etiquette 59Jan 05, 2020 11:26 am james duff said...I'm hoping to get my message out there one person at a time. Sounds like ScoMo talk to me...after his job?? I hear it will be vacant sooner rather than later. Good one, Mrs Chippy think you've nailed it! Re: Tradesmen etiquette 60Jan 06, 2020 3:34 pm A tradie told me the other day he was doing a job and asked the lady of the house if he could use the toilet, and she said he could use the one at the park down the road. When I was doing consulting work if I needed to use the toilet I would have no hesitation in asking. Just because people don't offer upfront doesn't mean they are not prepared to, or you need to suffer in silence |