eddie hobbs cowboys & angels
Oct 6th, 2007 by Peter Donegan MI Hort
good reliable tradesmen are notoriously hard to find - and if you do find one, chances are they’re booked up for ages. Emily Manning gives a survival guide to beating the cowboys. from Irelands Eddie Hobbs You & Your Money Magazine.
Manning suggests three websites to find the ideal contractor. pickapro.ie and online tradesmen.com do have a place in the ‘pay to register your business industry’, the other site mentioned homewise.ie is the only one I didn’t have to but can pay for - I tried them all! Oh yeah and I got ‘herself’ to put up a comment about me [none of it is untrue - I did do her garden, she did have to wait etc..]
The point I make is that I could be Pope if I got my family involved? and what the author does not mention is a registered internationally recognised association with a rigorous vetting procedure and a stern code of conduct that ensure standards are kept to the highest level possible. Here you can’t simply hand over a few pounds and the client finds the best in the country.
I’m a big Eddie fan and he has got the nation thinking for the better, but, if the point is to avoid the cowboys and the funny stories- in my opinion - Ms Manning has got it wrong, somewhat.
UPDATE: this link has just been mailed to me & this one. The second being possibly of more interest.
Hi Peter,
I’ve just read your entry about Eddie Hobb’s magazine. As far as pickapro.ie goes, what we are providing is information for homeowners. We show photos of projects carried out by the home improvement tradesmen and professionals registered on pickapro.ie along with a description of the project. We also include interviews with their previous customers about the project. Each interview covers what type of work was done, quality of workmanship, punctuality etc. Essentially, we are providing testimonials from customers who are happy to put their name in print, stating that they recommend a particular business. We don’t include anonymous reviews that can be entered online. As you say they can be provided by friends, family or even self-generated.
Barbara Molloy
M.D. pickapro.ie
Hi,
With respect I think you are missing the point Barbara - unless you are a credible certifying organisation, with a staff actively vetting tradesmen, then your site counts for absoutley nothing at all. I can send any photos of any work carried out, pay my sub and still get listed on your service. The comments from users come after - so you’ve just recommeded a tradesman that you have no knowledge about. In my opinion this is no good at all to the property owner. I have looked at them all and onlinetradesmen.com -no affiliation with by the way - seems to be the only one that has got it right. They have partnered with recognised certifiying organisations and ensure that members belong to these. Maybe not ideal but it made me feel a hell of a lot more confident. It seems to me that businesses like yourselves are walking on eggshells - One bad end user experience that leads to a legal challenge and your business, as a recommending medium, could be in trouble. Hopefully it doens’t come to that for you but I think it is something that you should consider and something that prospective property owners should be wary of in using your service.
Regards,
Philip
A Chara Philip,
I agree fully. The article seemed to be about saving money - naturally it is - but that’s quite simple if you’re not fussed on who ‘works’ [?!!] in your garden and even more importantly your house.
The alci make you become a provisional member first. I was a member for two years before I could apply for full membership - that includes using their logo or any entry on their site. Trade references were needed by suppliers; projects were vetted, clients were interviewed; letters from my insurers are required even though a cert is supplied and every year after. The ALCI even have a mediation service. If that doesnt work you can go to the ELCA [european landscape contractors assoc.] again no disrespect to any site or their members at all but in the end the site makes money from advertisers.
My point is not to upset the websites but I do feel that Hobbs magazine [not him personally] got it wrong here.
Whilst Barbera is the only one brave enough to come online, I informed everyone that I had mentioned them, I will reiterate your point of recommendation - if there is one sad story [?] can the website do what the ALCI do? On this point I do agree Phillip [although onlinetrademan is not golden here either] in full.
Comment most appreciated and well constructed.
slan go foill agus go raibh maith agat
peter
[...] difference, I find, is piece of mind for clients, as discussed in this previous article. And whilst certain tradesmen can get a bad reputation, that’s partly the reason the ALCI [...]