"raden" wrote in message
...
In message , Gavin
writes
Paul Andrews wrote:

snipped
Supply and demand is the primary driver. If a consumer has plenty of
choice,
the worst practitioners will struggle to find clients, if there aren't
enough plumbers to satisy the clients, they have no need to improve
their
act.
Of course, good plumbers will always be good plumbers and cowboys
will still
be cowboys and there's plenty of grey in-between.
Paul


True, but as these people were recommended by friends etc you would
have hoped they would feel some "guilt"/"need"/"whatever" to try to at
least contact me to let me know they can't make it. I think it's called
"good manners" ;-) All they have achieved now is a) not being used by
me b) not being used by any friends etc due to negative feedback, in
the long run this must affect their business.

I agree though, all the time they are busy I can't see this changing.
It is just so annoying!!

Almost as annoying as people who whinge on about tradesmen in a DIY
group

Almost as annoying as people who whinge about people's posts... ;-)

Good tradesmen are just that - good at their craft and good at handling
their customers. I think that the OP, just like the rest of us, should be
able to expect that people do as they say they will, or let people know what
the problem is or alternative arrangement. I think that the trades is one of
the few sectors remaining where customers can be treated badly and the
tradesmen can still remain in business - simply because demand exceeds
supply.

Anyway, us DIYers will try and minimise the use of tradesmen, but we'll
always need them and I certainly appreciate people who do a good job for me.

Paul

--
geoff