Trust a Trader, an opportunity or run away???

[estwig]

I don't like trust a trader or any other kinda directory, YP, Thompson any of 'em, not for me, but......

I have had 3 enquiries in the last couple of weeks, for garage and loft conversions from people who contacted trust a trader, looking for the aforementioned conversion work to be done. Only to be sent plumbers, decorators and a couple of muppets who couldn't dress them selves in the mornings. They were a bit annoyed about it.


So is trust a trader just useless at sending the right people out??

Has trust a trader got an ulterior motive in giving leads out to the wrong people, along the lines of, 'we have given you x number of leads, Mr Tradesman, not our fault you can't convert them'??

Or is there an opportunity to fill gaps in the trades on their books???


My money is on one of the first two questions, (I'm a cynical old b*st*rd) interested to hear if anyone else has any views or experience of trust a trader or similar directories??

 

[sas carpentry]

I am a member of a few to mention but trust a trader is nothing but a money scam for the owners they charge tradesmen around £300 for a year member ship.
There are plenty of free ones out there I get loads of leads from findagoodone.com and doesn't cost me a penny.

 

[maxine]

I guess any ulterior motive is along the lines of a) revenue from the tradespeople and b) having loads of trade suppliers on their sites to respond to enquiries.

I regularly get "special offers" of free leads coming through and can only assume they haven't got enough of a trade supplier quota already or wouldn't have to resort to giving them away for free.

The other thing I am vary wary of is giving consumers a platform via the directory site to whinge and complain about things that are outside of the contract they enter into as perception and reputation is key and a lot of damage can be done with a few remarks out of context (remember that plumbing thread on streetslocal?)

 

[streetslocal]

I guess any ulterior motive is along the lines of a) revenue from the tradespeople and b) having loads of trade suppliers on their sites to respond to enquiries.

I regularly get "special offers" of free leads coming through and can only assume they haven't got enough of a trade supplier quota already or wouldn't have to resort to giving them away for free.

The other thing I am vary wary of is giving consumers a platform via the directory site to whinge and complain about things that are outside of the contract they enter into as perception and reputation is key and a lot of damage can be done with a few remarks out of context (remember that plumbing thread on streetslocal?)

Hi Maxine,
The plumbing thread was a customer which had left a negative review.
Reviews are a great way for honest business owners to actually generate new custom.
Out of the whole streets local life time this one trader was the only one we have ever had an issue with.
Reviews can benefit your business too many people do not realise this.

 

[maxine]

Streets,

Can't go back over all this again as I don't have the energy but key aspects from my point of view for any directory

* Reviews can be great, yes, and there could be hundreds of them but the value wiped out in an instant by one allegedly "poor" review.
* The "poor reviews" runs the risk of being an emotional view rather than a reflection of what has been agreed or breached contractually and having worked with consumers for years it's a path I personally would avoid. It can also potentially do harm if ever there was a case for mediation (proper/legal/construction/specialist type mediation before court action) where comments might be made by both parties inappropriately.
* I do realise the power of reviews, testimonials, photos of work but just not on directories where there is the risk of an unfair slating for the trade company.

It's just my personal view and one with a credit management and sales slant I'm afraid

 

[streetslocal]

So from your view point would you like the option to be able to choose if your listing shows reviews?
For example the ability to turn them off?

Our review system is currently under review as we speak so this is something we could look at offering.

We are in the process of offering a sort results by ratings option for the user so this would encourage people to gain reviews but if they wanted to turn off reviews then obviously they would lose that benefit.

 

[maxine]

Well at the danger of hijacking Eswig's thread ... I would not want to use the option of turning them off either if there are two options on the directory as otherwise it looks like you have something to hide.

I think a rating system such as neutral or good could be an option and the neutral is where a statement such as "issue pending" is given rather than a whole load of allegations. If the complaint is upheld after a proper process then maybe a red light with an objective outline of the complaint. What makes me nervous is that people cast judgement very quickly, look at the debates on this forum alone for example around trades issues. Perhaps if the site was operated under Trustmark or other governing body as part of consumer/OFT/trading standards it might be different. Maybe you can get some ideas from here http://www.justice.gov.uk/civil/procrules_fin/contents/protocols/prot_ced.htm

It might also be a bit more balanced to have a customer review system too (only kidding but the idea is fun!)

 

[Yourlocaltrades]

I don't like trust a trader or any other kinda directory, YP, Thompson any of 'em, not for me, but......

I need to keep my comments to myself then!

All i will say is this, its trial and error!

 

[david williams]

all of these so called job sites for tradesmen are only intrested in makeing money out of people looking for work .i have in the past subscribed to several of them all a waste of time and money.they all say they only have a few tradesmen in each area,but on phoning several leads supplied by them people complain of too many tradesmen phoning them.also most of the people who use them are only looking for a cheap job as they know there will be many tradesmen chasing to few jobs. so my advice would be to ask for a list of satisfied tradesmen that you can contact to see how well they preformed for them

 

[sas carpentry]

I've been a member for two years now very good and give you a 6 months free,I've gained a lot of business from them,much better than trust a trader!

The good thing about www.findagoodone.com is the customer gets to choose who they want to go with,they don't charge you for requesting customer details,and the customer calls you!
Then the customer leaves feedback on work done!

Great site the only reason I'm banging on about them is because I've earned a few pound out of them.

 

[Electric Zone]

I have been a member of trust a trader for over a year. And I am amazed at the two posted comments.

Trust a trader financially for the trader is around £50 pm, paid on a yearly subsciption for my trade. For this I have received a large proportion of my work [30%]. When you consider that yell is £200-£300 for basic lineage with no results. local papers are £100pm, for what I have found is best to be described as random customers who do not have a pc.

All the other web sites are if you consider the quarterly and job charges are far more excessive. My figures show that 10% of my work last year was through another web site, the total cost was around £600 to gain this work.

For the customer, it is the only site that actually checks that the qualifications and affiliated organisations are genuine, all the others complete NO checks. Ratings are also check on registration at random from previous custom.

With regard to the issues, the customer approaches the trader and covers what is required, NO ONE IS SENT OUT.

As we all know, the most important advertising is word of mouth.

The rating system although a best friend can be also be a worst enemy, which is why on a personal level I want to increase the word of mouth custom to above 60%.

I don't like trust a trader or any other kinda directory, YP, Thompson any of 'em, not for me, but......

I have had 3 enquiries in the last couple of weeks, for garage and loft conversions from people who contacted trust a trader, looking for the aforementioned conversion work to be done. Only to be sent plumbers, decorators and a couple of muppets who couldn't dress them selves in the mornings. They were a bit annoyed about it.


So is trust a trader just useless at sending the right people out??

Has trust a trader got an ulterior motive in giving leads out to the wrong people, along the lines of, 'we have given you x number of leads, Mr Tradesman, not our fault you can't convert them'??

Or is there an opportunity to fill gaps in the trades on their books???


My money is on one of the first two questions, (I'm a cynical old b*st*rd) interested to hear if anyone else has any views or experience of trust a trader or similar directories??

 

[Lee Jones Jnr]

I have never heard of TAT before, but mybuilder.com is free and a good way to find tradesman if you need work doing or work if you are a tradesman, as people put jobs to tender and you can quote online.

 

[estwig]

I have been a member of trust a trader for over a year. And I am amazed at the two posted comments.

Trust a trader financially for the trader is around £50 pm, paid on a yearly subsciption for my trade. For this I have received a large proportion of my work [30%]. When you consider that yell is £200-£300 for basic lineage with no results. local papers are £100pm, for what I have found is best to be described as random customers who do not have a pc.

All the other web sites are if you consider the quarterly and job charges are far more excessive. My figures show that 10% of my work last year was through another web site, the total cost was around £600 to gain this work.

For the customer, it is the only site that actually checks that the qualifications and affiliated organisations are genuine, all the others complete NO checks. Ratings are also check on registration at random from previous custom.

With regard to the issues, the customer approaches the trader and covers what is required, NO ONE IS SENT OUT.

As we all know, the most important advertising is word of mouth.

The rating system although a best friend can be also be a worst enemy, which is why on a personal level I want to increase the word of mouth custom to above 60%.

 

[DotNetWebs]

...I think a rating system such as neutral or good could be an option...

I know this is an old thread that has been bumped but this is the conclusion we came to when thinking about adding a reviews sections to Visit Horsham.

In the end we decided to create and integrate a Facebook application that uses the Facebook 'Like' system.

It's a simple 'positive or neutral only system' and is less open to 'fake' reviews (as people are using their 'real' identity).

It's still in the early stages but, as you can see from our home page, has positive benefits from those collecting a lot of 'Likes' (i.e the top 3 are automatically featured on the home page).

Regards

Dotty

 

[maxine]

Just had a look - what a good idea and great that you have the top 3 featured automatically

Hopefully things like that and the twitter recommend system etc will cause these trade directories to die a natural death eventually

(I shall have to find a way to use the facebook "likes" now)

 

[smecouriers]

Hello all ive just joined this forum to commemnt on this thread a few of you on here have'nt a clue what your talking about.

First off'' do you even know how a trade exchange or other kinds of exchanges work, i dont think you do and if someone sings the praises of any exchange then of course you assume they must either work for or own the exchange.

I'm a courier owner driver and have been for years and i couldnt survive without being a member of some exchanges point being when i drive from darlington to london to drop your urgent delivery off it means i've got to come back empty but if im a member of an exchange i post a return journey & wgat time i'l be clear in london or wherever, on the exchange from my mobile fone, once ive done that the site will then send email aerts to all members in london notifying them that i;m in a small van what time i'll be there and where i;m heading back to & if any jobs are posted on the site enroute back to darlington then i'l receive a text alert then i fone them up and get a load back. theres a lot pf sub-contracting work goes on between the members of these exchanges.

I'm not member of a building exchange and dont know how they work but to brand all these exchanges as rubbish makes my blood boil some exchanges are crap you should never join any exchange and expect it to be the sole source of your work, you should never join any exchange that doesnt allow its members to network and sub contract between member to member, or put restrictions on how many members are notified for each job posted, all exchanges should have sms text and email notifications. if you join a site that looks like its held together by paper clips then it probably is and you can't winge about it, and then come on here and say things like you cant wait till they've all gone bust.

Some of these sites like trades 4 work dot com & courier eexchange dot com and mtvan dot com cost upwards of 20 or 30 grand each to have built the technology behind them is mind boggling. if i get just one job a year from any of these exchanges it covers my subscription for a year and then theres profit on top.

It makes me think when i read these threads on here and see the same ones constantly pulling every exchange mentioned to bits that they have ulterior motives.
I don't know maybe you own an exchange ???

Here is a tip thats always talked about on all the forums on all courier sites and its always a newbie that its pointed at.

Don't just join and expect the work to come flooding into you. if your contact details are even slightly incorrect then you will not get job alerts
if you dont post your availability onto the site then how will anyone know your available for work in a certain area. How will the site know to send you alerts for jobs in the area you are currently working or delivering to if you have'nt posted it on the site. but most important of all chat on the forum by doing this other members are getting to know you.

Its called networking and thats what a good site gives you the opportunity to do.

Yeah there are typos on here ya think i care

Anyway rant over

 

[*Lexxy*]

genuine question, why would actual members of these exchanges/directories be searching for posts/links etc on the net so they can give us their feedback?

i'm a member of various groups but i've never gone trawling the net actively looking to put my feedback about them out there. if it comes up in conversation, yes i'll give my thoughts, but to go looking for somewhere to post, just seems a bit odd to me...

 

[smecouriers]

your another paranoid nut do you really think i come on here to search for threads ??? i come on here just to have a look around to see if theres anything happenning in the courier world but there never is. but the reason i came on and joined was to find out about radio advertising. and to answer this thread, anyway why have you came on why have you answered this thread

2 can play this game well come on why have you specijicaly posted a question as to why i posted a reply

This is supposed to be a business forum for members to find info
not to rip all and sundry to pieces
i for example hate telemarketers but it doesnt mean i would come on here and start ripping into them

 

[*Lexxy*]

like i've already said, i find it odd that 2 new posters very 1st posts are to praise something like this. you've said you've been visiting for ages & only just posted, fair enough.

i have no idea why you feel the need to use phrases like "your another paranoid nut, 2 can play this game, rip all & sundry to pieces".

perhaps forums might not be the place for you if you react like this to an honest question?

 

[smecouriers]

because its true ive been coming on here for about 2 year and having a look around i couldnt be bothered to register until today but i needed some info on advertising while i was here i thought i'l post on this thread.

The reason i use i used thoe terms is because they ring true
people have ulterior motives on here;
i'l answer another 1 of your questions as well
the reason i'll defend certain exchages is because the more work posted on them means more work and less empty load space for us.

instead tittle tattling on a forum maybe your time would be better spent doing some networking of your own.

right im off to do some work

 

[estwig]

smecouriers, you are confusing what you call exchange websites, which I am sure are wonderful places for couriers and are to be applauded.

With......

Trust a trader, there are many, many websites of this ilk and all are designed purely to rob tradesmen of money.

You are confusing completely different types of website.

 

[smecouriers]

maybe your right ive just had a look at their site are they really charging 500 quid a year, i thought they be good as ive heard them on the radio when ive been down south.
No courier would ever join that site as it looks like its held together with paper clips. its just a directory no freebies or anything offered to help its members. you cant even post jobs or jobs wanted etc
courier sites work in a diferent way. yeah your right

 

[estwig]

Tar mate.

On an unrelated matter, have you checked out Boxby, lovely lady, long time member on here in the same line of work as you. I believe she offers one of them exchange websites you talk about.

 

[smecouriers]

Thanks
ive had a look at it before but i think its mainly next day and trunking where as i tend to stick to sameday urgent delivery exchanges you tradesmen are stumped for a decent exchange where as we hve dozens of good ones to choose from ive been looking around at all the ones mentioned on this thread and yeah there all crap. i think theres a couple of courier sites that offer tradesmen a chance of work i'll have a look around for you.
some courer sites give their members jobs everyday that tat is no more than a directory.

 

[roofing solutions]

Im a member of one of these called "My Builder". I joined because there was a strip and re-tile on there which was in my town so i thought id gamble on the £40 quaterly membership and go for it. No reply from the customer after i had messaged them through the site and have just seen the job now being done by a local roofer who isn't one the site. I have also contacted 10 or 15 more jobs on there without any success. I think people put there details on there to get an idea of price then use a local trader anyway, so id say not worth it.

 

[smecouriers]

its got about 40,000 members on there n 3000 jobs not surprised you got no work.
dont go for the biggest site just because its famous (not that im saying you did) you want something that has just a few thousand members.
and only join a site that allows its members to sub contract work to other members, that way theres always plenty of work to go around, you get work off the consumers and work off the other members.
courier sites are the same but most of them dont allow the consumer to post work, its all member to member,

Its a tough job finding the right site to join, but its the members who make a site work or fail. ive seen hundreds of sites come n go if youve joined stick with it you only need one job to pay your subs and probs make a profit.
but one things for sure you tradesmen will never find a site to work for you in the same way as us couriers. not because theres none out there for you but because you dont make it work.

Heres an example
i know a site that would work for all tradesmen no matter what trade your in but im not going to tell you the name of the site and never will. not because im spitefull or anything.
but im a member of this site myself and on there there are couriers and tradesmen i get free advertising and everything so does everyone else. on there, but some of the tradesmen on there sign up and dont even fill in their profiles or add pictures of their previous work or add references etc to their profiles & when a member of the public posts work on the site these members will never get a job off there because of their profiles being empty etc.
and then they'll come on forums like this and say there all crap and that could have an impact on me because forums like this are ranked very high on google and these threads are there for the consumer to see and could change the consumers mind about posting work on a site.

You never hear a courier say all sites are crap on an open forum like this.
and 40 quid a quater is a snip most courier sites the best ones charge about 30 quid a month.

 

[buildit]

Unfortunately most of these builder sites are a rip off, their looking to take money from you as you sign up with them.
A friend of mine knows the developer of a new form of site to help us builders I have signed up and although work seems to be slow at the moment it is definitely one of the better FREE products out there

check out tradefinda.com or put in findatrader into google its one of the top results pointing to findatrader.org.uk


It seems they have made it into a place to pick up work as well as a public directory for those who just wish to call a number & they have added features to allow me to make it into a home page and do daily blogs or updates.

 

[buildit]

did post but has not worked.
After using a few of these services and wasting a bit of money I came across tradefinda .com recommended by a friend who knows the developer. This seems to be a new project but unlike the rip offs out there they are offering quite a few services even allows a builder to run a blog off their profile page.

 

[sas carpentry]

No the site your looking for that don't rip you off is findagoodone.com
put that in google and see what you get !!!!
It works for me!!!

WARNING!!!! Do not Join any Any one who Phones you and tells you that they can get you on pg 1 google For £600 per year!!
The ones i know are bt customer streets(scum),yellow.com,Trustatrader@
find a trader,bt again!!Scum!!

Free sites same results won't cost u a penny and give you (seo)
google any below!
UK small buisness directory
hot frog
friday adver
google places
yahoo maps
bing maps
Thompson dirct
London dir

IF YOU KNOW ANY MORE WITH FREE LINKS PLEASE PM ME
THANKS ALL

 

[MASSEY]

No the site your looking for that don't rip you off is findagoodone.com
put that in google and see what you get !!!!
It works for me!!!

WARNING!!!! Do not Join any Any one who Phones you and tells you that they can get you on pg 1 google For £600 per year!!
The ones i know are bt customer streets(scum),yellow.com,Trustatrader@
find a trader,bt again!!Scum!!

Free sites same results won't cost u a penny and give you (seo)
google any below!
UK small buisness directory
hot frog
friday adver
google places
yahoo maps
bing maps
Thompson dirct
London dir

IF YOU KNOW ANY MORE WITH FREE LINKS PLEASE PM ME
THANKS ALL

I wouldnt say they give you anything particulary good link juice wise but they are better.

Its funny you should mention bt i got conned by them on a site before i knew anything about the interwebz. Cheeky toseers sent me an email demanding money because i binned them off as it was a con. I think im gonna report them to trading standards hopefuly they will piss off.


I also find sites like trader and similar rather waste of doe in my opinion.

Whats also funny is google "trust a trader" and we are doing well on the seo.

 

[sas carpentry]

Find atrader.com has NEVER contacted me!
I would like to say once more!!
The one that sticks in customers mind in http://findagoodone.com
this site is the nuts for tradesmen!!!
the guy even texts you the customers details for no cost!!!!!!!

Thanks rob your the man

 

[MASSEY]

Find atrader.com has NEVER contacted me!
I would like to say once more!!
The one that sticks in customers mind in http://findagoodone.com
this site is the nuts for tradesmen!!!
the guy even texts you the customers details for no cost!!!!!!!

Thanks rob your the man

Rob you own that site dont you

 

[ardeshirg]

I am begging any consumer not to use trust a trader to find a trader. It is owned by a man who is very unprofessional. I chose a bathroom fitter from his site(<<<Name removed>>>). he was an amateur and the worst workman one could imagine. he fitted our main bathroom. when we came back from holiday we saw he had used completely different tiles from those we had chosen. the job was worse than a DIY job. the tiles were uneven not in line which other, bumpy and damaged at places. He also left our on-suit unfinished taking £1700 and the tiles in our garage and did not return (the value of his job in our on-suit is £700). when I left a review for him on the trust a trader web site he refused to release the review. he release any good review without any investigation for the trader. some of them might have left by the traders themselves or their friends and family. when I pressurised him he told me if a surveyor find him guilty he would take him off the site forever. the surveyor described him as unskilled and unsafe and poor workman. he recived the report from the surveyor but refused to take him off the web site. He attracts lots of amateur tradesmen who could not find jobs via recommendation from other people or companies.

 

[Beachcomber]

I am begging any consumer not to use trust a trader to find a trader.

I have to agree - any site that recommends tradesmen without any kind of vetting procedure is not worth it's salt.

Another reason why I like the Trading standards 'buy with confidence' scheme. Proper vetting procedures and an ongoing monitoring to ensure you are not only a decent trader at the time of application but ensure your standards dont slip.

 

[Matt1959]

the Trading standards 'buy with confidence' .

do all trading standards in the UK promote this or is it only in some areas?

 

[AnnetteT]

we were approached by Trustatrader soon after starting out. We asked the guy to quote how many searches were done for Locksmiths in our area on a monthly basis and he came back with some pretty honest - low figures so we didn't bother going ahead. I was quite surprised at the time as he didn't try to pressurise us or big up the numbers like alot of directories do.

One of our associates, an Electrical Contracting Firm advertise with them and have got some big contracts from it aswell as the smaller domestics. I think there was a big radio advertising campaign earlier this year in & around London which helped.

From a personal point of view we wouldn't join. We trust our workmanship and pride ourselves in being honest but there's always someone who wants to slate you for slatings sake. We had one customer who was raving about the work we carried out then started sending offensive emails accusing us of being dishonest because she had not received some paperwork (had been sent but had not been received by her). With this in mind I am wary that you can't please everyone however hard you try and one negative review on these sites can be pretty damaging.

 

[estwig]

do all trading standards in the UK promote this or is it only in some areas?

Not all, they have a nice map to see if you can join in the fun.

 

[Matt1959]

Not all, they have a nice map to see if you can join in the fun.

thanks Keith!

£100 + Vat pa - wow thats quite a lot. I wonder how much the general public know about this set up, certainly everyone knows trading standards. I think it could be quite a positive thing but £100 odd a years a fair whack...

 

[estwig]

thanks Keith!

£100 + Vat pa - wow thats quite a lot. I wonder how much the general public know about this set up, certainly everyone knows trading standards. I think it could be quite a positive thing but £100 odd a years a fair whack...

Got mine for £50.00.

I can say I have been thoroughly vetted and approved by KCC trading standards and adhere to, blah, blah. That's a very big trust sticker, if you do b2c.

I was paying the FMB nearly £400.00 a year for something similar, bunch of self serving t*ssers!

 

[Matt1959]

looking at the website, whats with the CRB checks for tradespeople who work in domestic property? Have we all got that? I know I havn't...