3 ways to ensure you’re hiring a good plumber
Calling a plumber. It’s one of those calls that most of us need to make at least once in our lives. However, you always need one when you least expect it. You always need to call one when it’s a public holiday and everyone is on leave or there is a crucial emergency and your entire house is starting to flood.
When you’re in a panic mode such as this, logic and careful thinking can sometimes go out the window. Most of the time, we quickly jump online, find the nearest tradesmen, give them a frantic call and hope they get to us asap.
However, this can be quite detrimental to the problem at hand, your hip pocket and also future issues. By taking the time to do a little pre planning and keeping in mind the following tips, you should be able to find the tradesman that will fix your problem and protect you from any ongoing problems that can present themselves when choosing the wrong professional for the job.
Set up a ‘tradie’ referral list
Rather than wait until the last minute to find a plumber, take the time to do up a list of referred tradies from friends and family. Most people know someone who has used a great electrician, painter or builder. Make a list of these people so when it comes to you having to use one yourself, you have a list of tried and tested professionals to call on.
Most tradesman who do great jobs get most of their work through referrals and word of mouth. Therefore, if you know a professional that people are talking about, then you know they must be good.
Make sure when asking around for referrals; ask exactly what types of jobs they did. It’s an added bonus to get a professional who has done your job before and has got great reviews from it.
If you don’t have friends or family that have dealt with the tradesman you are looking for, then simply go online and take a look at their reviews. Simply make a list of top reviews and place them away with their contact details for when you really need them.
Check their history
Before you make a phone call, it’s important to check whether your potential plumber has had any complaints against them. Just like with the positive reviews, you should easily be able to do a quick online search of negative reviews.
To check for complaints, you should be able to just type in the name of your chosen tradesman, their business name with the keyword ‘complaints’. Also, don’t just stop at complaints. If they have had some bad dealings in the past, their customers may have went straight down the legal route. Many of these documents are in the public domain or sometimes you may come across a newspaper article about the case.
Another key thing to check is whether they have the relevant license. A legitimate professional may have these qualifications on their website. However, if they don’t, they still may very well be a licensed. Go to your state government website that looks after services or fair trading. They should have a page on their website that allows you to type in their business name and/or ABN. It should then bring up a check as to whether they are registered or have the correct license.
Compare prices
Last, but not least, it’s important to compare prices. However, cheap doesn’t necessarily mean a poor job and expensive doesn’t necessarily mean the best job. In order to be informed, do your research and search out what the average price is. Once you are aware of what the going rate is, make sure you stick around this hourly rate.
If someone is charging too high or too low, then it can indicate that they might not be the professional you require. However, if they have great reviews or you’ve heard first hand from a friend or family member that they provide good work, then it may be safe to request their services.
When an emergency strikes, ensure you’re not left in the lurch or request the services of a professional that doesn’t fulfil your job criteria. Take some time to do a list, with the plumber of your choice being pre researched, vetted and their history and reviews checked. Taking a little bit of time to pre plan can make your this whole experience more streamlined and smooth.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Comments 0