Help! Rate this plastering
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essexandy
The Lake Governor
Come on Danny join the real world, you can go to some nice office and be shown what thorough checks are carried out but the truth is if this type of business (remember that's what these are not a non profit outfit for the good of the public) weedled out all the sub standard "tradesmen" out there then there site would be next to empty. Most (not all) decent tradesmen just wont entertain either paying to register, price a job or give a percentage of the price away to anyone other than the government. If these businesses just charged the consumer for the service then they would get more decent trades wanting to register and then they could afford to be truly ruthless when sorting the wheat from the chaff.
i thought that, off to his micra he goes lol
Freerider
Member
Andy - you really dont know what you are talking about, it fucks me off so much when people criticise both checkatrade AND the people who use checkatrade.
I know you think you know your stuff, and yes you know a lot more about plastering than me but you arent always right, checkatrade is ONLY an advertising company, trying to do the best an advertising company can do to give both customer peace of mind and also give proper GENUINE tradesman a chance to shine.
Yes they have faults but they do the best they can, and it works, and how on earth can you tell me as you put it 'decent tradesman' shouldnt part with any money for advertising? oh hang on a minute, we all leave school, learn and trade and immediately have umpteen amounts of customers using us only through recommendation?! we all need to advertise from time to time, and quite frankly its the best form out there by a ******* mile, and it works! it costs me £45-50 a month to be on checkatrade, thats by far cheaper than any other advertising company, esspecially for what you get.
Stop comparing it to my hammer and rated people, its nothing like them, you dont pay checkatrade for leads on jobs, they are merely an advertising company that customers write in after a job is completed and rate you either good, or rate you bad.
How can you say thats a bad thing is ******* beyond me!
spunky
Private Member
You're s**t too then lol
If you hang fire Flash I organised a discount
Tell me more mate Lol
Freerider
Member
Lol I wouldnt expect anything more from you ya ******* cuuuuuuuunt.
essexandy
The Lake Governor
So where am I wrong on this one then?
Previously Danny has stated that this company have really vigorous vetting processes in place and bla bla bla.
Well guess what this poor customer (at no stage did I slag of the customers) has had a total w**k*r turn up and bodge his job. Now if Danny has got it all wrong and the company don't do checks and what you say is correct and people just get rated by previous customers then that is so open to abuse as to be a worthless recommendation. This gives the customer false expectations of definitely getting a decent tradesman.
By advertising on there you are "registering" with them fact.
And why not compare them to the other companies you mention because they are not "just an advertising company", at no time do you look through the local paper or yellow pages and they try to show who are the best trades to use.
And by the way I know I'm not always right about everything in life who is?
And if all that fucks you of, well tough shite.
Danny
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Its all done on feedback andy....
When you go and quote you give the customer a feedback card when you do the job they fill it in and post it back to checkatrade...
customers are then randomly phoned to check their scores.....
Checkatrade regulary axe trades
I am in an area where all the locals use them all the old dears like them because if you look at the feedback you can tell if someone is good.....
Its the best way if you can get if you dont know anyone in the trade for a recommendation.....
If you turned up to quote a job round here and you are not on checkatrade and the other person who is quoting against you you are, you are not going to get the job....
When you go and quote you give the customer a feedback card when you do the job they fill it in and post it back to checkatrade...
customers are then randomly phoned to check their scores.....
Checkatrade regulary axe trades
I am in an area where all the locals use them all the old dears like them because if you look at the feedback you can tell if someone is good.....
Its the best way if you can get if you dont know anyone in the trade for a recommendation.....
If you turned up to quote a job round here and you are not on checkatrade and the other person who is quoting against you you are, you are not going to get the job....
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essexandy
The Lake Governor
The fact it's done on recommendations from customers is it's very weakness Danny, it's just so easy for people to have positive feedback from any number of friends and relatives and we both know this happens. Now if there was a trade body for plastering (something like Heatsafe for plumbers) where your work was vigorously checked and sub standard trades couldn't just buy their way in that would be brilliant, well it would be for the good ones lol.
Now you've seen my portfolio Danny and the references I have, do you honestly think that someone with a good rating on Checkatrade will trump them? Honestly now.
Chris W
Well-Known Member
i see andys point, and the checkatrade argument... my point of view is similar to andy's, as in its to open to abuse..... if what you say is correct danny, and round your way you aint gonna get the job if your not on checkatrade... then all ever pikey and his dog has gotta do is get all his mates to post bogus jobs, then give said tradesman the 'job' and post some ace number 1 feedback... who's to say the jobs actually been done?
mate theres too many scammers about... what do you do? join em if you cant beat em? by advertising the fact that checkatrade are the mutts nuts, all your doin is givin the scammers an easy way to f'ck the genuine tradesmen (that havent had to use an advertising company such as this for the last 20 years) ... over....
just my opinion.... what sort of a state are we in?
mate theres too many scammers about... what do you do? join em if you cant beat em? by advertising the fact that checkatrade are the mutts nuts, all your doin is givin the scammers an easy way to f'ck the genuine tradesmen (that havent had to use an advertising company such as this for the last 20 years) ... over....
just my opinion.... what sort of a state are we in?
Chris W
Well-Known Member
think about fensa.... 'join fensa so you dont have to use building control'... the fact of the matter is, your only supposed to get ONE percent of your installations inspected, and most people NEVER get anything inspected... fensa have there hands full just dealing with the big companies... i kid you not, i spent a good few years in the window game and know every trick in the book, but i also know how to do the job right to the letter of the regs... some of the sh'te ive seen by 'fensa' registered companies is beyond laffable...
for that reason, i always use building control, charge the customer for it (80 quid), get every job inspected and the punter gets a ticket of compliance within 3 working days.... fensa can take 6 months... thats if they ever get one cos how hard is it to put a fensa sticker on the van?
for that reason, i always use building control, charge the customer for it (80 quid), get every job inspected and the punter gets a ticket of compliance within 3 working days.... fensa can take 6 months... thats if they ever get one cos how hard is it to put a fensa sticker on the van?
essexandy
The Lake Governor
Funny you should say that Danny because some while back when pricing a job the potential client said that another guy had very similar references from the same sort of people, so I phoned the lead judge of the NHBC and he assured me that I was the only person in the UK that had been given such a reference. I then confronted the "opposition" using the statement my mate (lawyer) had drawn up and they very quickly backed down and promised not to use my material again.
I've had a quick count up and could get 79 different people (friends and family) of my phone all with different surnames to give me a reference if asked. So with a few repeat jobs I could have over a hundred positive feedbacks without ever doing a stroke of work. Quick phone call from the company, "oh yeah that Andy Chapman is s**t hot so clean and tidy and dead cheap".
The fact you are trying to get involved with this company means you have a conflict of interest Danny so you're never going to agree with me are you?
By the way I went on the Check a trade site and tapped in my post code and the nearest plastering firm on there?
Deal in Kent!
you have a point there, thats the fundamental issue with any site like this,the feedback is easy to doctor.
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i use to be a member of the FMB a few years ago, when I carried out plastering and damp proofing.
It is supoose to be vetted aswell but i know of numerous cowboys that operate under the FMB umberella they pay there fee and get 3 references at the start and away you go, very little is checked up on after that date, particularly liability insurance.
It is supoose to be vetted aswell but i know of numerous cowboys that operate under the FMB umberella they pay there fee and get 3 references at the start and away you go, very little is checked up on after that date, particularly liability insurance.
bubbles65
Well-Known Member
It would grieve me big-time to have to pay these people for me to carry on trading............
Just one thing I've noticed - If they are so confident in their tradesmen being top-notch, why don't they offer a GUARANTEE? Not the 'Checkatrade Standard' but a guarantee???
Just one thing I've noticed - If they are so confident in their tradesmen being top-notch, why don't they offer a GUARANTEE? Not the 'Checkatrade Standard' but a guarantee???
Danny
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make up your own minds but down this way they are a very well respected business....
How Checkatrade works and why you can trust our members
How Checkatrade works and why you can trust our members
essexandy
The Lake Governor
That looks really good Danny, I wonder what qualifications the guy that did that bathroom had?
Chris W
Well-Known Member
what happened to the 'plasterers forum' register of approved tradesmen, vetted by a jury of their peers, not by their freinds and family? the harshest vetting regime going...
incidentally, i can see it says 'you can be sure theyre 'vetted'', but i cant see where it tells you exactly how they 'vet' them... too much ambiguity, open to interpretation, aimed at the gullible who will read stuff like that and think its all ok then, theyre 'vetted' it says so.. 'vetted means they must be loverly people, not on the s*x offenders register, not a member of al-quaida so therefore were not gonna get ripped off', although due to the data protection act, unless theyve been declare publicly bankrupt there isnt a lot more they can 'vet'?
they only check every 10th feedback card, and thats just a quick phone call (if they actually bother, cos its not like its gonna be proven)_to say 'hello, are you joe bloggs, had some plastering done by fred bloggs? yes? thanks, bye'
the only possible good thing might have been the feedback system - but weve all had 'cowboy punters'... more than our fair share some of us...
i just dont like it... at all.... call me a cynic... go on... say "chris youre a right f'ckin miserable c'nt, why shouldnt people be allowed to manipulate the feelings of a nation towards a failing economy to offer a 'product' that is nothing more than common sense techniques employed by the general public anyway, but which is aimed at the gullible amongst us, the infirm, the elderly, the little ol ladies, lets use their gullibility to our advantage, lets give them a safe refuge from the wiley urban pikey, but instead of making the crooks pay, lets make the genuine tradesman pay! 'what a brilliant idea clarence', said ermintrude, 'ill get it over to pr for re wording right away!!' " :RpS_thumbsup:
incidentally, i can see it says 'you can be sure theyre 'vetted'', but i cant see where it tells you exactly how they 'vet' them... too much ambiguity, open to interpretation, aimed at the gullible who will read stuff like that and think its all ok then, theyre 'vetted' it says so.. 'vetted means they must be loverly people, not on the s*x offenders register, not a member of al-quaida so therefore were not gonna get ripped off', although due to the data protection act, unless theyve been declare publicly bankrupt there isnt a lot more they can 'vet'?
they only check every 10th feedback card, and thats just a quick phone call (if they actually bother, cos its not like its gonna be proven)_to say 'hello, are you joe bloggs, had some plastering done by fred bloggs? yes? thanks, bye'
the only possible good thing might have been the feedback system - but weve all had 'cowboy punters'... more than our fair share some of us...
i just dont like it... at all.... call me a cynic... go on... say "chris youre a right f'ckin miserable c'nt, why shouldnt people be allowed to manipulate the feelings of a nation towards a failing economy to offer a 'product' that is nothing more than common sense techniques employed by the general public anyway, but which is aimed at the gullible amongst us, the infirm, the elderly, the little ol ladies, lets use their gullibility to our advantage, lets give them a safe refuge from the wiley urban pikey, but instead of making the crooks pay, lets make the genuine tradesman pay! 'what a brilliant idea clarence', said ermintrude, 'ill get it over to pr for re wording right away!!' " :RpS_thumbsup:
Danny
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Some of the questions asked are can you remember your scores you put on your card etc
ie can you let us know what you rated him for time keeping....
The is no regulatory body for plastering so how the hell it can be regulated vigorously I will be damned if I know.....
I also know that you can no longer get crb checked if you work less than 30 hours a week with kids or vulnerable people as prior they insisted every member was CRB checked however they found out one of the trades was a kiddy fiddler and he was removed....
Its not the solution, but its the best your going to get.....
ie can you let us know what you rated him for time keeping....
The is no regulatory body for plastering so how the hell it can be regulated vigorously I will be damned if I know.....
I also know that you can no longer get crb checked if you work less than 30 hours a week with kids or vulnerable people as prior they insisted every member was CRB checked however they found out one of the trades was a kiddy fiddler and he was removed....
Its not the solution, but its the best your going to get.....
At the end of the day i think a lot of the general public who dont know a plasterer will go for it coz its a convincer, thats where its good coz your in the mix. I have to agree i dont like these sorts of things and when everyones slagging off courses and the recesion i think these type of things are the main reason prices are coming down more so with the bidding ones. Had a look round my way and nothing but if like what dan says in your area these are gospel what do you do? There is gonna be a plaster master list and to be on it you need atleast a level 3 or advanced craft, so if you aint got it your not getting in full stop, forget experienced worker and osat it dont wash your not getting on. It will be a rcognised list wether it takes off is another thing but its coming
NPS
Private Member
Danny mate that is not true you can get a CRB check if you dont work any hours at all and if you work for any amount of time a week with kids or vulnerable people you have to by law have a CRB check
Are you sure andy i was workin on a school last year for an agency, they had applied for mine (so they say) but i never seen it and the site had not recieved it. After a couple of months everyone on the site who had not got it had to sort it themselves and i remember a few of the lads going down to get it themselves, they were a bit pissed coz they had to pay for it and another thing you cant take them to your next job they need updating on every job.
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