Crossing paths with tradies is unavoidable, whether you are actioning renovations or building a new house. How to find and identify a good one is another story altogether. Let us explore and share some useful tips on how to identify and tell which ones are better fit.
The Social
The first port of call is the social media. Whilst not everything can be accurately gauged through platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, it is definitely a good initial indicator in order to measure popularity, engagement and how customer-centric the company is.
What are the reviews and ratings generally saying? How active are they on responding or posting? These can all be first signs to take into consideration.
Having a social presence can also mean it is extra insurance for customers, as it is a public channel which complaints and issues can be raised, if it ever came to that.
The Website
Having a web presence in addition to the social media channels isn’t absolutely essential, however is also an added indicator on the age and size of the company.
Having no website does not constitute to being an absolute negative thing, however it is definitely helpful and reassuring to any customer that the business has a level of commitment and presence in the market. If a website exists, it is also possible to look up the history and age of the domain name to give additional insight on whether the domain name has been recently registered.
Past Jobs / Portfolio
Are some past jobs and portfolio published online and publicly accessible? If not, then it could potentially be an indicator that either it is a relatively new business, inactive online engagement or some other more concerning factors. Prior to engagement with any tradies, it is always a good idea to ask for past jobs as examples, so that one can make an informed decision.
Customer Engagement
The most realistic and accurate way to gauge whether the tradie is a good fit is to pick up the phone and actively engage with them. Benchmark tradies by engaging in several different ones at the same time, so that there can be an unbiased and objective benchmark between them, in terms of:
- Responsiveness
- Level of information they provide
- Their attitude, manner of following up and how they conduct business
- Pricing
Pricing Is Your Friend
Pricing is often the single most important factor when comparing quotations for a job. However, the saying “You get what you pay for” holds true in almost all circumstances. Make pricing your friend and look out for the common pitfalls:
- Time is money – does saving a little bit of money, then spending twice the time chasing the tradie, inducing more stress, worth it?
- If the job is 20% cheaper, but lasts only half the time before touch-ups or fix-ups are required, is it smart to save the 20% upfront?
TLDR; when selecting a tradie to do a certain job, one should almost never rely on a single indicator to make a decision. Proper due-diligence should be done, prior to any sort of engagement. Investing a few more hours ahead of time to get the job done right is almost always better than rushing or penny-pinching which will almost always guarantee a sub-par result, costing more in emotional stress, time and money in the long-run.