Broadback wrote

I need someone to refurbish my patio and paths, I've become too old for
all the bending. How on earth does one find a reliable tradesman?

There isnt any easy way in your situation. If there was, we'd all do it that
way.

I know no one who has had similar work done, so recommendations are out.

You could try asking the candidates for examples of the work they
have done and ask the owner how they like the result, but obviously
they aren't going to tell you about the work they ****ed up completely.

Even net sites that allow people to rate tradespeople they have
employed suffer from the problem that its too easy for them
to get their mates to put up bogus recommendations.

I picked 4 out of the telephone book/internet. One came, gave an estimate,
well and good, but I would like to be able to make a comparison. I have
had no reply from 2, another said he would visit last night to give a
quote, you've guessed it he has not turned up. Why do tradesmen do this,
if they don't want the job why not just day so!

Presumably he does want the work and just ****ed up actually showing
up to quote for some reason. The two that didn't bother to reply obviously
don't want the work or aren't worth employing even if they did.

On Saturday 13 July 2013 23:48 Rod Speed wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Broadback wrote

I need someone to refurbish my patio and paths, I've become too old for
all the bending. How on earth does one find a reliable tradesman?

There isnt any easy way in your situation. If there was, we'd all do it
that way.

I know no one who has had similar work done, so recommendations are out.

You could try asking the candidates for examples of the work they
have done and ask the owner how they like the result, but obviously
they aren't going to tell you about the work they ****ed up completely.

Even net sites that allow people to rate tradespeople they have
employed suffer from the problem that its too easy for them
to get their mates to put up bogus recommendations.

And the biggest problem is that there is no ubiquitous site, let alone an
independant one.

cf Tripadvisor - ubiquitous and community driven. Yes, people do put up fake
reviews, but it's pretty difficult to drown out a load of genuine negative
reviews.

I picked 4 out of the telephone book/internet. One came, gave an
estimate, well and good, but I would like to be able to make a
comparison. I have had no reply from 2, another said he would visit last
night to give a quote, you've guessed it he has not turned up. Why do
tradesmen do this, if they don't want the job why not just day so!

Presumably he does want the work and just ****ed up actually showing
up to quote for some reason. The two that didn't bother to reply obviously
don't want the work or aren't worth employing even if they did.
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

On 14/07/2013 09:41 Tim Watts wrote:

cf Tripadvisor - ubiquitous and community driven. Yes, people do put up fake
reviews, but it's pretty difficult to drown out a load of genuine negative
reviews.

It's not the site it used to be.

After talking to three different hoteliers in New Zealand, it appears
that they can now have their rating improved by responding to comments:
hence the rising number of identical responses from some. They also told
me that cash needs to be passed between them and TripAdvisor for some
elements (I can't remember which) of the 'service' offered. It was
noticeable that wherever we went there were 'Recommended by TripAdvisor'
notices prominently displayed and the owners were desperate for
additional recommendations judging by the many requests we received.

As for negative reviews. I submitted one for a B&B in the UK this week
and, five days later, it's still pending. TripAdvisor don't seem to be
keen to publish it.

--
F

On Sunday 14 July 2013 10:21 F wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 14/07/2013 09:41 Tim Watts wrote:

cf Tripadvisor - ubiquitous and community driven. Yes, people do put up
fake reviews, but it's pretty difficult to drown out a load of genuine
negative reviews.

It's not the site it used to be.

After talking to three different hoteliers in New Zealand, it appears
that they can now have their rating improved by responding to comments:
hence the rising number of identical responses from some. They also told
me that cash needs to be passed between them and TripAdvisor for some
elements (I can't remember which) of the 'service' offered. It was
noticeable that wherever we went there were 'Recommended by TripAdvisor'
notices prominently displayed and the owners were desperate for
additional recommendations judging by the many requests we received.

As for negative reviews. I submitted one for a B&B in the UK this week
and, five days later, it's still pending. TripAdvisor don't seem to be
keen to publish it.


I have sent some really bad reviews in within the last year and they got
published.

But I hope it does not turn into a "he who pays the piper" outfit.
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

On Sunday, July 14, 2013 10:21:40 AM UTC+1, F wrote:
On 14/07/2013 09:41 Tim Watts wrote:



cf Tripadvisor - ubiquitous and community driven. Yes, people do put up fake

reviews, but it's pretty difficult to drown out a load of genuine negative

reviews.



It's not the site it used to be.



After talking to three different hoteliers in New Zealand, it appears

that they can now have their rating improved by responding to comments:

hence the rising number of identical responses from some. They also told

me that cash needs to be passed between them and TripAdvisor for some

elements (I can't remember which) of the 'service' offered. It was

noticeable that wherever we went there were 'Recommended by TripAdvisor'

notices prominently displayed and the owners were desperate for

additional recommendations judging by the many requests we received.



As for negative reviews. I submitted one for a B&B in the UK this week

and, five days later, it's still pending. TripAdvisor don't seem to be

keen to publish it.



--

F

Which despite pressure is why I won't use it to advertise our holiday lets.

Jonathan

On 14/07/2013 13:28, Tim Watts wrote:
On Sunday 14 July 2013 10:21 F wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 14/07/2013 09:41 Tim Watts wrote:

cf Tripadvisor - ubiquitous and community driven. Yes, people do put up
fake reviews, but it's pretty difficult to drown out a load of genuine
negative reviews.

It's not the site it used to be.

After talking to three different hoteliers in New Zealand, it appears
that they can now have their rating improved by responding to comments:
hence the rising number of identical responses from some. They also told
me that cash needs to be passed between them and TripAdvisor for some
elements (I can't remember which) of the 'service' offered. It was
noticeable that wherever we went there were 'Recommended by TripAdvisor'
notices prominently displayed and the owners were desperate for
additional recommendations judging by the many requests we received.

As for negative reviews. I submitted one for a B&B in the UK this week
and, five days later, it's still pending. TripAdvisor don't seem to be
keen to publish it.


I have sent some really bad reviews in within the last year and they got
published.

SWMBO and I have hardly ever sent in anything other than good reviews,
simply because we've so rarely had bad experiences to report... the
reason? We are avid tripadvisor users and use it all the time to vet
and choose places we are thinking of going to, and rule out the dross
before visiting so we don't experience them.

You certainly do have to be careful though - take time to actually read
reviews, check out other reviews submitted by people who've sent in
particularly good or bad ones (which can sometimes be very
enlightening); sometimes even contact other reviewers direct. It's not
that hard to smell the rats (and they are certainly out there) and we
find it an incredibly powerful and useful tool if you're spending £000s
on a holiday.

--
David

On 16/07/2013 08:28 Lobster wrote:

On 14/07/2013 13:28, Tim Watts wrote:
On Sunday 14 July 2013 10:21 F wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 14/07/2013 09:41 Tim Watts wrote:

cf Tripadvisor - ubiquitous and community driven. Yes, people do put up
fake reviews, but it's pretty difficult to drown out a load of genuine
negative reviews.

It's not the site it used to be.

After talking to three different hoteliers in New Zealand, it appears
that they can now have their rating improved by responding to comments:
hence the rising number of identical responses from some. They also told
me that cash needs to be passed between them and TripAdvisor for some
elements (I can't remember which) of the 'service' offered. It was
noticeable that wherever we went there were 'Recommended by TripAdvisor'
notices prominently displayed and the owners were desperate for
additional recommendations judging by the many requests we received.

As for negative reviews. I submitted one for a B&B in the UK this week
and, five days later, it's still pending. TripAdvisor don't seem to be
keen to publish it.


I have sent some really bad reviews in within the last year and they got
published.

SWMBO and I have hardly ever sent in anything other than good reviews,
simply because we've so rarely had bad experiences to report... the
reason? We are avid tripadvisor users and use it all the time to vet
and choose places we are thinking of going to, and rule out the dross
before visiting so we don't experience them.

You certainly do have to be careful though - take time to actually read
reviews, check out other reviews submitted by people who've sent in
particularly good or bad ones (which can sometimes be very
enlightening); sometimes even contact other reviewers direct. It's not
that hard to smell the rats (and they are certainly out there) and we
find it an incredibly powerful and useful tool if you're spending £000s
on a holiday.

Been there and done all that for trips all around the world, including
the latest within the UK. It's only the second not to have measured up
to its (extensively good) reputation. The owners were just incapable of
dealing with a situation that arose that wasn't out of the ordinary and
that was eminently solvable.

--
F

On 16/07/2013 08:28, Lobster wrote:
.....
SWMBO and I have hardly ever sent in anything other than good reviews,
simply because we've so rarely had bad experiences to report... the
reason? We are avid tripadvisor users and use it all the time to vet
and choose places we are thinking of going to, and rule out the dross
before visiting so we don't experience them...

There used to be an excellent trade only publication that gave warts and
all reviews of hotels around the world. The independent travel agent I
used in those days would always look the hotel up in it for me. That
saved me from some poor choices, like the otherwise very attractive
place in the middle of an area populated by scrap yards.

Colin Bignell

On Tuesday 16 July 2013 08:28 Lobster wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 14/07/2013 13:28, Tim Watts wrote:
On Sunday 14 July 2013 10:21 F wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 14/07/2013 09:41 Tim Watts wrote:

cf Tripadvisor - ubiquitous and community driven. Yes, people do put up
fake reviews, but it's pretty difficult to drown out a load of genuine
negative reviews.

It's not the site it used to be.

After talking to three different hoteliers in New Zealand, it appears
that they can now have their rating improved by responding to comments:
hence the rising number of identical responses from some. They also told
me that cash needs to be passed between them and TripAdvisor for some
elements (I can't remember which) of the 'service' offered. It was
noticeable that wherever we went there were 'Recommended by TripAdvisor'
notices prominently displayed and the owners were desperate for
additional recommendations judging by the many requests we received.

As for negative reviews. I submitted one for a B&B in the UK this week
and, five days later, it's still pending. TripAdvisor don't seem to be
keen to publish it.


I have sent some really bad reviews in within the last year and they got
published.

SWMBO and I have hardly ever sent in anything other than good reviews,
simply because we've so rarely had bad experiences to report... the
reason? We are avid tripadvisor users and use it all the time to vet
and choose places we are thinking of going to, and rule out the dross
before visiting so we don't experience them.

You certainly do have to be careful though - take time to actually read
reviews, check out other reviews submitted by people who've sent in
particularly good or bad ones (which can sometimes be very
enlightening); sometimes even contact other reviewers direct. It's not
that hard to smell the rats (and they are certainly out there) and we
find it an incredibly powerful and useful tool if you're spending £000s
on a holiday.


Also pay attention to whether the reviewer has reviewed anything else at
all! The shills are unlikely to have a broad range of reviews as you allude
to above

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet