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Do you get bamboozled when it comes to finding trades you can trust to do right by you, your family and your home?
Are you sick of being given the run-around by tradesmen and women who give an appointment time or job arrival window, but never show up?
READ MORE: Are those company’s 5-star reviews you’re relying on legitimate?
Or is your fear that you’ll get stung by a rip-off shonkster who disappears with all your cash without doing the job? You know the type, they appear on our nightly commercial current affairs shows all the time.
Well, we hear you Melbourne. And Plum Trade Services is here to help.
Our guide to finding decent, reliable, professional trades
Armed with a little online research, at least three obligation-free quotes and our 11 questions to ask a tradie before hiring anyone for a job, and you should quickly be able to weed out the wannabes from those with your best interests at heart.
Word-of-mouth recommendations are always a great place to start. If your neighbour, friends, family or colleagues have been raving about their tradie’s professionalism, respectfulness, knowledge base and reliability, then of course you want to be grabbing their contact details.
Failing that, a company with a good reputation for great service will always have a swag of five-star Google reviews up its sleeve. Another great place to look for reviews is their Facebook page.
For specialised jobs such as electrical, gas and plumbing, make sure you find a licensed professional.
Your family’s safety is way too important to gamble on the word of Dodgy Dave the DIYer – no matter how cheap the quote. So best you give Airtasker and Gumtree a miss, because that Jack of All Trades is a master of none and could accidentally cause your house to burn down.
Also, it definitely pays to ring around and get at least three quotes for your job. A ridiculously cheap one usually screams buyer beware, because if it seems too good to be true, it likely is. Meanwhile, that extremely expensive quote is one to avoid, too. Somewhere in the middle is usually about right. Oh, and ask for it in writing!
11 questions to ask a tradie before hiring
- How quickly will you do the job and what steps will you take to ensure the process is hassle-free?
- Can I get a written quote?
- Is everyone on the job a licenced professional?
- Do you issue Compliance Certificates with your work?
- Will your tradies arrive on the job with all essential common parts?
- Do you supply and install high-quality products from leading manufactures? Who are they?
- How long have you been in business?
- What processes are in place if I’m not satisfied with the work?
- What insurance do you have and what does it cover (public liability and warranty insurance at a minimum)?
- What after-job care do you provide?
- How do you go above and beyond for customers?
Plum Trade Services has the best trades in Melbourne and Geelong
Plum Trade Services started out as a humble Heating & Cooling company 30 years ago.
Since then we’ve grown from strength to strength – and have expanded to offer Heating, Cooling, Electrical and Hot Water in Melbourne and Geelong.
Not only are we a one-stop shop for installations, servicing, repairs and maintenance, but we strive to provide the best customer service in town.
Plum staff live and breathe our 6 core values of trust, reputation, friendly staff, honesty & integrity and responsiveness. This family-owned company was founded on these values more than 30 years ago.
Our staff and tradies are highly trained and skilled professionals in their field, who offer superior guidance and exceptional service that we are incredibly proud of.
And our customers agree. They’ve left more than 1500 five-star reviews on Google – an accomplishment we challenge any of our competitors to match!
Call our friendly team today on 8360-9622 in Melbourne, or 5292-2219 in Geelong.
