Beware the dodgy tradie!

The homeowner admits the tradie offered them a price well below other comparable quotes, agrees to pay cash with no contract, and then hands over a 50 per cent upfront payment!

Now does that appear somewhat suspect to you? Just the thought of such a deal should have had the homeowner ducking for cover!

Sadly some homeowners stumble blindly into this situation. By doing so, they have managed to keep the dodgy tradies in business in the false expectation of saving a dollar or two. The other unfortunate side to the story is that these homeowners have further empowered these tradies to move on and dupe their next gullible victims.

The reality is that dodgy tradies are actually the most expensive option. They are costly in time and stress as well as financially, especially if the quality of work is so poor that it fails to add value to the property.  Further, extra costs can be incurred in completing or redoing the job, and possibly to engage in legal action in an attempt to rectify a wrong that should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.

We've seen a lot, and learnt even more:

• In any profession, there are good and bad - whether it’s a tradesperson, beautician, lawyer, accountant or even the local hairdresser.

• You get what you pay for. A no-frills branded chocolate will never taste as good as a quality chocolate!

We know that trustworthy, quality tradespeople do exist. We feel privileged to be working with hundreds of highly successful business teams that demonstrate care for their customers, their reputation and quality of work. We help hundreds of homeowners have positive experiences with tradespeople. Infrequently we have had tradies running a little late, or who needed to go back and fix things. Just like in any business, issues do occur, however good businesses care enough to resolve these quickly.

Have we had any horror stories or complete disasters? Never! And the reason is simple… We are committed to getting the selection of our tradespeople right!

Naturally we seek well priced businesses that offer value, but this alone is never the deciding factor.

We establish whether they:
1) Have a good track record
2) Care about their quality of work and reputation
3) Will come back should there be a problem.

Other tips to ensure the selection is right include:

•    Engaging only known tradies who have the appropriate qualifications for the job they are undertaking. Can someone vouch for them?

•    Ensuring a stringent screening process is in place.

•    For major projects, view examples of the tradesperson’s work. Never rely on testimonials and pictures alone.

There are thousands of complaints against tradesmen reported annually across Australia.  However homeowners must take responsibility for their own decisions, especially when the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear around dodgy tradies.

Good well priced, capable and conscientious tradies do exist. They can be your best investment towards a stress free home repair or renovation experience, and one that adds considerable value to your home. Now, aren’t these the guys that we should be tapping into?

About Laorence Nohra

From the jet setting corporate world of accounting and finance, Laorence Nohra is the CEO of Tradebusters, one of Australia’s first personalised tradesmen service provider.

Based on the principal that the best way to find good tradespeople is through a quality ‘referral’,  Tradebusters aims to help homeowners take away the time, guesswork and risk of sourcing good tradespeople.

As an outsourcing and operational efficiency expert, who has held a number of international posts with global corporations establishing shared service centres across the world, Laorence now works actively with homeowners, real estate agencies and trade businesses across Australia to unlock and realise the benefits of effective outsourcing.

Tradebusters has been featured in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph as well as various online, local and industry related publications.

“Tradebusters is Tradeblogging” is aimed at sharing with you real life experiences so that any home improvement or renovation job, whether it is big or small is stress-free, positive and rewarding. That’s all part of Tradebusters difference!