4% of those asked classified themselves as ‘rogue customers’ for having paid late, missed appointments or deliberately avoided paying part of their bill.
There are many trade complaints about rogue customers, a topic which receives little coverage in comparison to that of rogue traders.
Although the survey revealed that 11% of those asked had encountered a rogue trader in the past 12 months, Powered Now managed to uncover a number of rogue customers, who were happy to admit their shortcomings.
The survey revealed that print-based media is being used less and less: only 11% of those asked claimed to use local papers, Thomson and the Yellow Pages, while 18% now opt for search engines to find trade companies.
Over 70% of homeowners, meanwhile, use recommendation or previous experience of tradesmen to make their decision.
50% of homeowners considered reputation as an important factor in deciding who to give work to.
Availability to start and a keen price were also seen as very important by around a quarter of those surveyed.
Meanwhile, the professional look of company employees was deemed essential by a small 15% of those questioned.
The survey also revealed that the number of women in the trade is growing: 13% of homeowners had enlisted the help of a female tradesperson to do work for them.
The survey revealed that there has been a huge rise in using bank transfers and payment cards to pay for work.
Although cash is still the preferred payment method of choice, it has suffered a 65% drop from last year’s survey. 23% reported that they had been offered a discount for cash.
59% claimed they would pay by card if they could.
The top irritation for two-thirds of homeowners was revealed to be missed appointments by tradesmen.
75% revealed that they were unhappy about how difficult it is to get a quote or an estimate after a tradesman’s visit; 76% complained that the final bill is often unexpectedly more than the amount quoted.
Meanwhile, 71% revealed that a professional-looking quotation makes them more likely to choose a particular company, citing poor paperwork as a key fault.
Powered Now has revealed how tradespeople can use these results to grow their businesses.
Doing good work must be made a priority, as the vast majority of business leads come from recommendation; final selection often depends on reputation.
Tradesmen should also make themselves available online and ensure that they can be found on Google.
An appointment should never be missed and a tradesperson should never be late at the risk of losing trust. It is also useful to create professional-looking quotations, which can be produced and provided quickly.
The MCRMA, the industry association dedicated to the metal cladding and roofing sector, is to hold a members’ technical conference in September.
Posted in Aluminium Products, Articles, Building Associations & Institutes, Building Industry Events, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Systems, Cladding, Curtain Walling, Exhibitions and Conferences, Facades, Restoration & Refurbishment, Retrofit & Renovation, Roofs, Seminars, Steel and Structural Frames, WallsExperienced ventilation expert Tom Hemming has been appointed by Vortice as National Sales Manager for Electrical Wholesale and Merchants.
Posted in Air Conditioning, Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Facility Management & Building Services, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - HVAC, Recruitment, Retrofit & RenovationSWA member Govette Windows has been manufacturing steel windows, doors (and more) from its factory for almost 30 years.
Posted in Articles, Building Associations & Institutes, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Systems, Doors, Glass, Glazing, Restoration & Refurbishment, Retrofit & Renovation, Steel and Structural Frames, WindowsRoof Maker, the manufacturer of world-class rooflights, has given hard to reach spaces a lease of life following the launch of a new electric-powered rooflight.
Posted in Aluminium Products, Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Building Systems, Glass, Glazing, Innovations & New Products, Lighting, Restoration & Refurbishment, Retrofit & Renovation, Roofs, Windows