The realities of rouge traders and suppliers

The realities of rouge traders and suppliers

10:26 AM, 11th July 2016, About 8 years ago 2

Text Size

deliveryAs a respectable, honorable landlord the buck firmly stops with you!delivery

However, the harsh realities is as we all know include constant chasing, booking workmen in and being let down.

Just this week I had a young plumber who has been chasing me for months about giving him a whole job to “show me what he can do”. Ten weeks in to a ten week job and £4,000 down the drain I find myself effectively at square one, with both time and money lost, but did show me what he could do! Stick to who and what you know hey?

Some say a leopard doesn’t change its spots.

There’s a bed company based in Yorkshire, and every time we place an order we have to give a false date knowing that there service is so poor they can never deliver on the agreed date with it being at least 2 to 3 days later when they turn up. They are, however, good quality and very very cheap!

It’s this drive and determination to deliver value for the absolute best price for us and our investors which makes all the difference.

Unfortunately today we experienced a whole new level of service from our bed suppliers. A week after the due delivery day the beds still hadn’t arrived. It’s funny really when you look at 30+ calls that were not returned in a day and over 10 texts giving promises and guarantees “the beds will be their today” and days later they still aren’t. How are some companies are still in business?

How do people completely lie to you about a driver being 1 hour away, then 2 hours later advising he hasn’t left?

Beyond me.

But does that mean we will stop striving for the very best in deals, for good value products, NO!

Does that mean we will manage the poor service for the very best, YES!

Sometimes enough is enough, but if you want good quality, good value beds I do know a company as long as you are not too bothered about when they turn up.

I still find it best to stick to someone local and reliable ish 😉

Contact Dan Trevidi

Dan is the CEO of Grace Charles property company Ltd


Share This Article


Comments

Paul Shears

12:38 PM, 11th July 2016, About 8 years ago

Drawing on decades of experience and having listened to advice from countless landlords and professionals, including at a recent Property118 trade show, I still do not have a clue how to find competent tradesmen. I've tried everything and there is no single answer. Even looking after previously competent people does not work as their circumstances change and they do not remain so. This is by far the biggest single problem that anyone faces looking to employ anyone.
By the way, I came across an agency recently who "service" was to act as an agent between and agent and a landlord. The market driver behind this must surely be the reality of my observation above.

Mandy Thomson

13:00 PM, 11th July 2016, About 8 years ago

I think it depends on what the job is, and how you advertise it and deal with the responses. I managed to find a competent builder through word of mouth (he is used by the management company of one of my properties). Apart from that, I use MyBuilder, as you don't just simply apply to tradesmen, they come to you. MyBuilder can also make or mar a tradesman's reputation, so most are very careful not only to do a good job, but to communicate effectively, clean up afterwards etc.

Having said that, I've had lots of trouble over the years with finding good and reliable people; sometimes it's the job itself that can be complex. I've currently got a couple of jobs outstanding that aren't very pleasant, so naturally I'm struggling to find people, even through MyBuilder (whereas I would have struggled even more without it).

Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Tax Planning Book Now