Rogue Traders!

[Dan]

I think you build your own reputation up and don't both with any form of trustmark style approval. It costs you nothing and you'll get your own name about rather than advertising a trustmark or something similar.

If I had a van you'd have to pay me to stick your logo on it!

 

[mikethetile]

your right dan

the way my mind was working was that a lot of people dont know who to ask to do jobs for them

and this will reassure them

i dont think thats going to work now so i will have to rethink

i looked at dulux select but i can only use their products

and untill i do they wont entertain me so thats the end of that then

im going to have to reconsider this whole idea

cheers dan

 

[Colour Republic]

your right dan

the way my mind was working was that a lot of people dont know who to ask to do jobs for them

and this will reassure them

i dont think thats going to work now so i will have to rethink

i looked at dulux select but i can only use their products

and untill i do they wont entertain me so thats the end of that then

im going to have to reconsider this whole idea

cheers dan

Really? I'm a member and the fee you pay might only seem as you are getting a few stickers and a web listing but really you are getting more, the admin costs of the dulux scheme, the admin costs of the Trustmark scheme, the site visit, the guarantee of your work and leads that come through Dulux select all have a value.

Where the guarantee comes it only covers a dulux product which isn’t unreasonable, you can still be a member and only do one job a year that includes dulux products.

As for Trustmark I think it's a good scheme of course it has its flaws (it's Government run what do you expect!) but nothing is perfect and it does put the customers mind at rest.

What you have to be wary of is that the Trustmark scheme is administered by third party bodies like Dulux, so by getting your Trustmark through them you are only 'trustmarked' for decorating, so if you what a Trustmark to cover you for plumbing you have to go through another trade scheme and so on... That said the Trustmark logo is generic so can be used by your company it's up to you to tell the customer it's for decorating, so the system can be abused by some

 

[mikethetile]

thanks cr

the rep who rang me told me that i could only use their products

i dont have a problem with dulux trade or glidden but use zinsser in my prep

i was interested in being on their database,

the training courses are worth the membership alone

business development and their advertising


the important thing to me was the vetting process and having ici underwriting my work

customers are reassured if they have a third party to go to if there is a problem

 

[Colour Republic]

thanks cr

the rep who rang me told me that i could only use their products

i dont have a problem with dulux trade or glidden but use zinsser in my prep

i was interested in being on their database,

the training courses are worth the membership alone

business development and their advertising


the important thing to me was the vetting process and having ici underwriting my work

customers are reassured if they have a third party to go to if there is a problem

The rep who rang would be from a company called Diversity who handle the administration of the scheme, when you cary out a job under the scheme you hand the customer a form which is in effect the guarentee but it has to be signed by both parties, in it the installer can write notes that the customer has refused your profession opinion and decided to not have certain prep works undertaken, or has asked for part of the job to be done with non ICI products, so in effect the guarentee is void for the whole job or just part of it, I can upload the form if you like?

 

[mikethetile]

thanks

im going to have another look at this scheme

the vetting process is quite vigorous

i started in 91 and built a successfull business

about ten years ago i got divorced, i had to sell everything and buy my ex a house for the kids

i couldnt even rent where i was living so i moved to a new city where i could afford to buy and started again

but i didnt rebuild the business, i needed money so i went on sitework and subbed for other builders

i moved here 5 yrs ago and carried on subbing,dec09 the builder i was subbing from downsized and stopped using subbbies

thats when i realized i had made an error of judgement

instead of building another good business i took the easy option

since last year i have been building thst business but im not happy at how im being perceived by the public

before i fitted kitchens , bathrooms and decorated

i did the plumbing and electrical myself or got someone in if it was more involved

i managed the whole job

since the rules have changed on this i have dropped bathrooms and kitchens

and the plumbing repairs

that leaves decorating,tiling and carpentry...........its disjointed and doesnt make sense

so im now percieved as a handy man or worse .......a jack of all trades

with my experiance, qualifications and finish i should be standing head and shoulders above the rest

but im not and its my own fault..........so im working on this

i need to reinvent my business and getting a third party with credibility to vet my work will help in setting me apart from the dross

 

[albyshellshear]

Vance Miller again :boring:

People who spend thousands on a kitchen without checking who they are buying from are a little dim witted (not saying they deserve it)

Apart from vance and the roofng guy they were hardly taking them for thousands were they! I know that doesn't make it right by any means but I mean take that guy who was fitting aerials, £110 for a new aerial is quite a good price:lol:

Even when they didnt need a arial the specialist guy said there was nothing wrong with the one they had

 

[Colour Republic]

Even when they didnt need a arial the specialist guy said there was nothing wrong with the one they had

The guy was just incompetent and god knows there are thousands out there like that! He wasn't ripping off little old ladies for thousands from their pension, as I say it doesn't make it right but there are much bigger villans out there.

The fact there is no such thing as a 'Digital' aerial is besides the point the adverts about the 'Big switch on' have implied there are! So who's to blame? In any case the term 'Digital Aerial' has come about because some aerials are not capable of picking up a digital signal but may 'analogue' aerials are

 

[Bolter]

I like rogue traders, its a really good programme.

But whats with two guys dressed in leathers sharing a bike?

"you spoon me"

"no wait, its my turn to feel your leather on my back"

its just a little ****-erotic no?

 

[Dan]

I've always thought they could do with a bike each :smilewinkgrin: