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Mind Your Spanners!
Tradespeople’s biggest frustrations with homeowners revealed - as some are asked to look after kids, pets and even banned from using the loo
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Being told how to do their job and customers haggling on price are the top gripes from tradespeople, alongside not being offered a cuppa
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It doesn’t stop there - some are even roped into looking after kids and pets
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One in five trades say they've been banned from using the loo on a job
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A quarter have even been offered ‘alternative forms of payment’ for a job
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In response, Checkatrade releases much-needed guide on how to treat tradespeople
Adobe
Most Brits are getting it wrong when it comes to ‘builders' etiquette’, according to new research amongst over 500 tradespeople from across the UK. Shockingly, many tradespeople - such as builders, decorators and electricians - are asked to keep an eye on kids and look after pets. Many are even banned from using the loo or asked to remove their shoes whilst working.
The new figures - from Checkatrade, the UK’s leading home improvement platform - found that more than eight in ten (81%) say they have experienced frustration with customers and their etiquettes. To help tackle the issue, it has launched a guide to proper builders’ etiquette.
The most basic courtesy when having a tradesperson over is to offer them a cuppa. However, tradespeople say they get offered a drink (including water) by just six in ten homeowners (60%) - with the majority of tradies (62%) agreeing that not being offered one is indeed ‘poor etiquette’. Instead, tradespeople say that on average, they should be offered two drinks a day, with nearly half (48%) saying it is proper etiquette to accompany with a biscuit or snack.
However, many tradespeople face far bigger etiquette faux pas than a lack of a brew. When asked what frustrates them the most, ‘know it all’ homeowners are their biggest bugbear. Over half of all tradespeople in the study (55%) say they get frustrated at customers who try to tell them how to do their job. Second in the list is issues around payment, with 46% getting annoyed with customers who try to haggle or have unrealistic expectations of the cost.
But some requests go well beyond the job description. One in ten of all tradespeople surveyed (10%) say they have been asked to keep an eye on a child, and a similar number (9%) have previously been asked to help care for a pet while in a home - for example, feeding the cat or walking the dog.
Checkatrade
Some homeowners have also forgotten that tradespeople have practical needs - a fifth (19%) say they’ve been left frustrated by homeowners who have asked them not to use the toilet in their home, and a quarter (25%) have faced criticism for daring to take a break or their start and finish time. Meanwhile, nearly one in ten (8%) have been frustrated by a customer asking them to remove their shoes - despite them being a key part of their safety equipment.
When it comes to getting paid, a surprising 23% of builders say they have been offered some kind of payment in kind for work other than money, with male tradespeople over twice as likely to be offered an ‘alternative form of payment’ (24%) than female tradespeople (11%).
‘Can you justs’ - where tradespeople are asked to take a look at something they were not called out for or being paid for - is another big irritation. Incredibly, tradespeople say this happens on more than a third (34%) of jobs.
However, it isn’t that hard to keep most tradespeople happy. The top five things tradespeople appreciate in homeowners are:
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Prompt payment (60%)
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Trusting their suggestions (58%)
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Not hovering over them (54%)
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Access to toilets (42%)
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Being praised for good work (41%)
Meanwhile, the top five things that tradespeople say they would classify as ‘bad etiquette’ in general are:
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Unrealistic expectations of the cost of a job (50%)
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Being told how to do their job (47%)
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Being asked to look after a child (37%)
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Being criticised for taking a break/when they finished/when they arrived (36%)
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Not being allowed to use the toilet in the house (35%)
Reacting to the findings, Emma Grant, Head of Trade Experience at Checkatrade said:
“An understanding of how to get the best from your relationship with your tradesperson can go a long way. Many of the common frustrations - such as unrealistic cost expectations or hovering over your trade to make sure they do a good job- are things that can be avoided if a level of trust is established at the start of a job. The best way to achieve this is through early and clear communication with your tradespeople, written quotes, agreed timelines, and ongoing dialogue, keep it friendly and polite. To help homeowners feel more confident and make the experience smoother for everyone, Checkatrade has created a handy guide with practical tips for working well with tradespeople.”
For consumers unsure of how much a job should cost, Checkatrade has launched its Job Estimate Calculator, which equips homeowners with the information they need prior to a job so they can feel assured throughout the process, and is aimed at helping homeowners have a clear idea of costs from the get-go. For those looking for a tradesperson, Checkatrade has a network of more than 50,000 vetted trade businesses to help them with their home projects.
