Of all the industries synonymous with rogue traders, it’s perhaps the home improvements sector that springs to mind above all others. These days, setting up shop as anything from an electrician to a plumber to a window-fitter is technically as easy as building an ultra-cheap website and buying a mobile phone. That’s really all there is to it – precisely the reason why there are so many individuals and groups out there providing downright dodgy services at the expense of their customers.
The good news however is that as far as the experts are concerned, it is actually relatively easy to steer clear of rogue traders at all times. Even when shopping online and unable to evaluate a service provider in person, you’ll still find yourself with all the information you could ever need to make a wise and informed decision.
So if on the lookout for the very best carpenters Wisborough Green has to offer or any other home improvement services across the board, bear the following considerations in mind and chances are you won’t go far wrong:
1 – Being Rushed
First up, making clients believe that the offer on the table will only be valid for a short period of time is quite simply the oldest sales trick in the book. And an effective one too, but at the same time it is a technique deliberately geared toward fooling folk into making decisions that benefit the business, as opposed to the client. As such, you have to expect that you will encounter a lot of pushy and pressured sales tactics along the way, but you should never allow them to cloud your judgment or influence your final decision. When pressure tactics get out of control, this is often a sign you are dealing with a rather dodgy dealer.
2 – Vague Estimates
When a professional service provider knows how much products cost, knows how long it will take to get them installed and knows the kind of equipment/effort required to get the job done, there’s absolutely no reason why they cannot provide concrete quotations. Vague estimates over the phone at the first point of contact are one thing, but when you provide the very specific details of the project and its requirements to any given service provider, they should be able to give you a quote that is set in stone. If not, there’s every chance they’ll jack up the price further down the line and you will have no grounds for complaint. If the quote isn’t final, acceptable and on paper, it’s not worth the paper it isn’t printed on!
3 – Where’s the Proof?
What’s great about working in these kind of industries is the way in which every job you complete represents another golden nugget in your portfolio of work. And the richer your portfolio, the easier it is to win over clients and to charge premium rates for your services. As such, when and where you come across a service provider that doesn’t seem to have a portfolio of work to present or skirts the issue somewhat, you’d be more than justified to be somewhat on the suspicious side. After all, if they aren’t entirely insistent on making a song and dance about their fantastic achievements to date, there’s every chance there are no such achievements to speak of.
4 – Bizarre Bargains
The arguments against unnecessarily overspending are relatively self-explanatory. Nevertheless, when it comes to dodgy dealers it’s actually just as important to be suspicious of any prices or deals that seem bizarrely on the generous side of things. Chances are that no matter what it is you need, you’ll find an industry average price that doesn’t tend to change a great deal no matter who you look to work with. Some will always undercut others, but when you find a brand offering what you need for 80% less than the going rate…well, let’s just say it’s probably the dictionary definition of too good to be true!
5 – Contact Details
Last but not least, one of the most effective ways of checking out the legitimacy of any given service provider is also one of the easiest. Quite simply, take a look at the contact details listed on their website and consider what you see. If they have a registered business address, a dedicated business landline telephone number and an email address assigned into their own business domain, chances are it’s legit. If on the other hand all you see is a residential address, a mobile telephone number and a Gmail address, this doesn’t exactly paint a picture of professionalism.
