Where do you find Tradesmen

I'm a bit curious as to where members find tradesmen
Or maybe just doing my own market research
The options are
1/Yellow Pages
2/Local newspaper
3/Word of mouth
4/Internet (bangitup.com/ Trade Select/ Service Central etc) (Which one)
(Have I missed any)

As an Electrician Living in East Vic things are a bit quiet here so I decided to look for possible jobs in eastern Melbourne suburbs

As I did have a free trial a few years ago with one of the INTERNET based job lead places and it did nothing for me I decided to look into another.

A add on Melbourne TV revealed another of these INTERNET/SMS based company's.
There web-site revealed a multitude of jobs that I would be willing to take on (even Though some where a few hours away) of course you have to be a member to see the details.

I filled out the registration form and got to the end and there was a problem submitting the form so I decided to ring them.

When I finally got to talk to someone he told me the jobs on the web-page where the ones that no-one had taken on (in others words no-one wanted to do) (Some of these sat there for over 5 days before someone took them on)
He then quoted me (well I thought he did) somewhere in the $450 region for membership (thought he said 3 Months) and it will cost me an extra $15 per job lead.

A bit expensive for the once in a while job when things are quiet But I have to do something the bills keep coming in

After a weeks pondering I geared up to drive to Melbourne a few days a week Bought a GPS to navigate to these areas I rang them back credit card in hand.

The guy went though his sales pitch and at the end said all this for $4500 a year plus the $15 job lead fee.

Picking myself up off the floor I asked what about the $450 he had mentioned a week ago.
No you must of heard wrong he replied.

So back to square one (even thou had a bit of work come in today)

I posted this thread last week and got no reply http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=62630

As you can understand my frustration I'm told there is a shortage of Electricians the the previous mentioned website indicated this yet I sat a home the last 2 weeks waiting for the phone to ring

So the Other question is-Is anyone using these services
Are they genuine etc etc
And where do Tradespeople on the forum get the majority of work

Word of mouth usually does it for me. That, and networking with subtrades. I've also collected the odd bit of work from non-building based internet sites where people get chatting.

Still, I've got 8-10 weeks from late January that is a bit empty - unusual compared to recent times... We need to stop helping out the DIY-ers. :rolleyes:

Cheers, Adam.

Nev why not post in the employment section on this forum.
I wish you were in Sydney could help solve my problem with electrics on my lathe.
That agency is making the dollars sitting on there fat behind's while you work yours off.
Ray

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Originally Posted by wheelinround

Nev why not post in the employment section on this forum.
Ray

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Yeah I had mentioned it on another memebers thread
But have posted it again
Thanks

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Originally Posted by nev25

I'm a bit curious as to where members find tradesmen

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NOWHERE, in my experience they either don't exist or are on the endangered species list :o

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Or maybe just doing my own market research
The options are

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1/Yellow Pages NO, a waste of money being spent amongst your competition.

2/Local newspaper Good potential

3/Word of mouth THE ABSOLUTE BEST advertising. GOOD tradesmen are hard to find. If your client realizes you are GOOD they will be VERY happy to pass on YOUR name because their friends ALSO have difficulty finding GOOD TRADESMEN.

4/Internet (bangitup.com/ Trade Select/ Service Central etc) No, Your potential client base is not necessarily up to speed with the internet to use it to find tradesmen. This WILL change in about 10 years as the younger generation buy homes etc.

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The guy went though his sales pitch and at the end said all this for $4500 a year plus the $15 job lead fee.

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What a ripp off :o

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As you can understand my frustration I'm told there is a shortage of Electricians the the previous mentioned website indicated this yet I sat a home the last 2 weeks waiting for the phone to ring

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If you are a clean and tidy worker that returns clients' phone calls and turns up at the stated time you WILL get clients :2tsup:

Send out your own flyers or letter drop. If you are sitting at home you may as well go out and deliver your own flyers/letters.

Geez Nev25 In our area Contractors look after contractors I remebeer when I was quiet I put the word out in the area to other sparks in their own business and before you knew it my phone was ringing constantly, do you know of any other sparks through Electrical wholesalers for instance their you go go to the local wholsalers in the area they always know of contarcators who are knocking back work simply because they are too busy and drop your cards at the front counter let em know your after for some work its not like your begging for work you will be glad you did and dont forget the lighting shop next to the wholesaler!

Good Luck mate

Believe me Nev when I say the guys who work at the Electrical Wholesalers know where all the work is they deal with it everyday beats newspapers and yellowpages hands down and the general public always come in asking them if they can recommend or if they know of electricians who need work!

you can put a classified ad on ebay for $19.95 per month

I don't know what it's like in Melbourne, but when I was after some work here, I'd pick up Mondays Herald and look in the tenders section for contracts on offer, then spend the day running around quoting jobs.

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Originally Posted by nev25

And where do Tradespeople on the forum get the majority of work

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Ive lived in Ballarat and know what its like not to be able to find work, you wont find work sitting there scratching your nuts.

Get yourself to Melbourne, ask around, look at the new estates, ask questions, Get off your esra......get out there, the work wont find you..:doh:

You could always move to Brisbane. Here electricians just name fees at random, think of a number, add some 000's...Apparently plumbers are charging $500 just to come out and have a look. Sparkies aren't far behind...

Here people do use the yellow pages and local papers, but it's because we're desperate to get anyone to come at any price. Anyone local with a reputation is booked out 12 months ahead. Many building tradies are stressing under the pressure of the work they are being offered. Some just don't answer their mobiles anymore.

So my advice is leave that cold grey miserable place and come to the light :D

Yellow pages mostly thats how I find them. Hard to get someone on short notice though.

Local paper - not the metropolitan. like to support local tradies and pick ones who live near me as my jobs are small so if it is any distance they don't come.

In WA it is hard, a friend bought a house and wanted some renos. had architects drawings ready when she moved in and building permits within the month and a builder on contract. The builder pulled out and she has had two other builders pull out because the job is not straitfrward and there is easier money to be had.

And the winner is... MrFixIt!!... now for the prize EVERYONE go back and read that post! the most accurate honest and to the point view of "tradesmen" Ive read recently... plumbers? no such thing got their tickets out of a wheeties packet the bloody lot of them... electricians? no such thing found their tickets in the dunny I reckon... carpenters? whats that? Cabinet makers? whosawhatsit? and as for mechanics YOU ARE KIDDING RIGHT?? a tradesman mechanic? :U:U:U yeah okay delusions of grandure there for sure... calling any of these idiots "tradesmen" is a bit like calling a gnat mans worst enemy in my book

As for gasfitters... if someone who calls themselves gasfitters can arrive at a house where the owners are complaining that there is gas smell coming from the box... then by friggin god there bloody well is a gas friggin leak dipstick!!... 3 so called gas fitters later and we STILL have a gas problem!! tradesmen my aunt shirls fanny!! :~ (I gots edited for an aussie ism?? strewth!)

But when there is no choice one must rely on the white pages or the local link for so called "tradies" pay the piper for work not done or for work incomplete and suck it up and do it yourself is the rule of the day... and most times its better to just suck it up and have a whirl yourself cause theres NO GUARENTEE that anyone coming even within a ticks fart of being a "tradesman" will arrive and ACTUALLY DO the job properly :~

shhhhh now watch all the OLD tradies who loved lived and breathed quality trade work in their fields come barrelling out and blow the crap outta us/me for saying that "tradies are mongrels without a bloody brain"... but then the days of a true QUALITY tradie are over they have retired or gone fishin and the dipsticks and mongrels have the bowl :doh:

ahem... apologize to any old tradies out there or any young ones who MAY take pride in their work... in otherwords the tradies I cant find :doh:

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Originally Posted by Wild Dingo

And the winner is... MrFixIt!!... now for the prize EVERYONE go back and read that post! the most accurate honest and to the point view of "tradesmen" Ive read recently... plumbers? no such thing got their tickets out of a wheeties packet the bloody lot of them... electricians? no such thing found their tickets in the dunny I reckon... carpenters? whats that? Cabinet makers? whosawhatsit? and as for mechanics YOU ARE KIDDING RIGHT?? a tradesman mechanic? :U:U:U yeah okay delusions of grandure there for sure... calling any of these idiots "tradesmen" is a bit like calling a gnat mans worst enemy in my book

As for gasfitters... if someone who calls themselves gasfitters can arrive at a house where the owners are complaining that there is gas smell coming from the box... then by friggin god there bloody well is a gas friggin leak dipstick!!... 3 so called gas fitters later and we STILL have a gas problem!! tradesmen my aunt shirls fanny!! :~ (I gots edited for an aussie ism?? strewth!)

But when there is no choice one must rely on the white pages or the local link for so called "tradies" pay the piper for work not done or for work incomplete and suck it up and do it yourself is the rule of the day... and most times its better to just suck it up and have a whirl yourself cause theres NO GUARENTEE that anyone coming even within a ticks fart of being a "tradesman" will arrive and ACTUALLY DO the job properly :~

shhhhh now watch all the OLD tradies who loved lived and breathed quality trade work in their fields come barrelling out and blow the crap outta us/me for saying that "tradies are mongrels without a bloody brain"... but then the days of a true QUALITY tradie are over they have retired or gone fishin and the dipsticks and mongrels have the bowl :doh:

ahem... apologize to any old tradies out there or any young ones who MAY take pride in their work... in otherwords the tradies I cant find :doh:

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Have you run out of medication

Wild Dingo IF you adopt that attitude toward tradies you encounter I think they will give you pretty short shrift. I am an 'old' tradesman approaching retirement and personally find your post offensive and strongly suggest you grow up mate or bugger off.

Sure there are shonks out there, just as there are in every occupation but to come in here regularly picking the brains of tradies and then collectively tar them all with the same brush and bucketing of same will possibly see your next lot of questions wither and die from lack of response/interest.

That works both ways Jacksin slagging off at non tradies and proffessionals I am no different I am a tradie.

I am told its the Aussie way put up with it.

I have seen many that like myself at times slacken off rough work paid max $$$ and got C worth done.

Hi

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Originally Posted by Jacksin

Wild Dingo IF you adopt that attitude toward tradies you encounter I think they will give you pretty short shrift. I am an 'old' tradesman approaching retirement and personally find your post offensive and strongly suggest you grow up mate or bugger off.

Sure there are shonks out there, just as there are in every occupation but to come in here regularly picking the brains of tradies and then collectively tar them all with the same brush and bucketing of same will possibly see your next lot of questions wither and die from lack of response/interest.

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I think your comments are a little unfair.

WD does NOT tar *ALL* tadesmen with the same brush. He has used the "same brush" to tar those tradesmen (the term is used loosely in THIS instance) of which he has had experience.

As you - and probably many suscribed to the Woodwork Forums - have probably experienced, there IS a severe lack of quality workers, ie real tradesmen. This is now an unfortunate fact of life.

Everything these days is done/wanted faster. This leads to many problems not the least of which is the quality of workmanship. Training is faster/shorter hence there is not enough time to teach everything and that which IS taught is done in a basic manner.

My (late) father, a bricklayer, served a 5 YEAR apprenticeship. There are now bricklaying couses that "TEACH" bricklaying in a matter of WEEKS! Surely everyone here realises that something cannot be right with THAT kind of training. :oo:

My father was GOOD no, make that SUPERB at his job. I have yet to see a bricklayer that is his equal and that's certainly NOT going to happen ever as those that may have come close have already retired or gone on to that last great brickcourse in the sky :)

I am also a tradesman (in several fields) I am NOT offended by comments that may be derogatory to other tradesmen as it is only THOSE that ARE NOT QUALITY tradesmen that will be offended. I also have "suffered" at the hands of so called tradesmen, hence my original post. ALL and I do mean *ALL* of my friends and relatives have at some time expressed the comment that they CANNOT find tradesmen. They have had "people" purporting to be tradesmen, carry out work. Very rarely are they completely satisfied. Those that ARE real tradesmen will never be out of work because the mere fact of "word of mouth" advertising will keep real tradesmen employed - they are indeed a RARE breed.

I won't bore you with my tales of woe, suffice to say that those tales are the reasons why I do EVERYTHING myself :2tsup: If on the VERY RARE occasion I have to succumb to the use of a "tradesman" (usually because of time constraints) then I feel compelled to take on the role of supervisor.

:2tsup: well said MrFixit

I always look in the local paper, reasoning that they wouldn't have an add in if they weren't available in next few weeks or so, or immediately for repairs. Maybe you could put adds in local papers in eastern edge of Melbourne if you feel there is nothing more local. Pakenham, the Dandenong ranges, Yarra Ranges kinda area. Always seems to be develpoments going on in Pakenham if you want building contract work. Thats my thoughts anyway. Lots a luck.

W.Dindo I think you need a nice cup o' tea.

Well I am a Tradie myself and I take pride in my work as do many others although there are some rough no hopers as there are in any job.

Didn't get much fussed by digoes comments but been a while I have been reading him here.

Seems like there is a big divide, good tradies who can't get work and customers who can't get good tradies for whatever. I'd recommend the local rag. Ian007 told me once that he did well out of letterboxing with fridge magnets because they use the magnet and then when they need you your name is in front of you on the fridge holding up the kids latest drawing or the shopping list.

Studley

True about the frig magnet. That's what we did just the other day when we needed a gas man.