Does seem to have caused a stir but think it is something we are going to get used to as pensions go down and the younger generation try to suck their parents dry
People are living longer and are going to have subsidise their income
There is a lot of lost experience lost when a tradesman hangs up his tools and I find it hard to understand why this is not harnessed more in the educational and commercial systems
People pay thousands for private training,dare say they could get a personal tutor/trainer for less and learn a lot more
But getting back to the post
I work in the London area and have built up quite a good net work but it can be a difficult place to find trustworthy,honest tradespeople to carry out bigger jobs, never mind the smaller ones in busy periods like we are having now,with the bad weather
When boilers or heating goes down,as you know,in this weather,you have to respond straight away,you can not say see you in a couple of days,like other trades,so everything else gets pushed back,the bread and butter jobs for customers,that are so important to keep,for work during normal times,if you let slip,customers go else were
These jobs are ideal for a part time retired person,they can nip round,repair taps,free off thermostatic valves,even check out problems and report back for you to order parts and go back your self
They can work when they want,get a little extra income,at at reasonable rate and many semi retired people do this and declare as they go along
My friend is a builder and has a retired joiner go in the office a few mornings a week and check materials ,ring round customers ect as he has a back ground and knowledge to discuss and sort things out,he pays him a fair rate
You may only need them when you are busy,good for them as they do not want to be having to go to work everyday
When you are doing maintenance work or jobbing like op,you have to leave the person to get on with it with out supervision,maybe he does not want to get to big or a one man band,it is very hard to keep on top of everything this time of year,you can give a retired person four of five little jobs with tel no and say potter about over next few days or week,in your own time,when it suit you,you know it will be done and he has not disappeared on his own boiler change or bathroom swop
In London ,you can get very busy,very quickly and you can earn good money,there is no loyalty,anyone who is any good ,is usually very busy this time of year,suddenly tradesman you used to use and sub contracted normally are doing there own stuff and charge a lot more to carry out simple works,this extra charge you can not pass on the your regular customers/clients,you need good tradesmen to do your extra short term work load.
You sit there at night,thinking ,what are you going to do,how can I try to keep everyone happy,how can you make sure you do not loose customers it has taken you so long to gain,yet can be lost within a few week mad cold patch,were you have to be 5 places at once
And I think coming up with the idea of a newly retired,experienced,trust worthy person maybe helping out here and there is not a bad idea
And it maybe unfair to jump to other conclusions
I have been there,still am sometimes,I have started at 8.am and finished at 2/3am in the morning,sort term at peak times of the year,many a time I have sat in the van,thinking wish I had a unattached,free available person to do bits and pieces during such periods
As long as it suits both parties,all,s well and good
Like it or not retired people are going to start working 'x' no. of hours a week,if fact I can see companies starting out based around this fact,having retired people on there books who only want to work 5,10 or 15hrs a week or so many weeks a year and there is no reason ,they should not get paid a decent wage for their efforts and declare what they have to
And before you go on about earning prober money,in real times earnings have been falling since the seventies and will continue to do so,now most need two incomes into the home when working and that is set to move into when you retire also
Live long and prosper,as long as you are well enough to....................work
imho
