Checkatrade?

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Discuss Checkatrade? in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

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kb76

On another subject here but do any of you boys use checkatrade to promote your business? I never have and all my work prior to me moving from London to Devon where i'am now was generally through word of mouth and my old website via Google. I had a meeting with them last week, checked out all my docs, gas safe, insurance and ID etc but have still not decided. It's pricey at over £700 for the year! I'm interested to know if it works well for you fellow boiler men out there?
Thanks
Kevin
 
It works very well for several forum members. Use the search function on the forum to see previous threads.
 
like any form of advertising it brings in a few customers, your Devon locals wont use it, but if your in a 2nd home area, all those trooping down at weekends to their holiday home do qs they dont know the local tradesmen. It takes a while to get going and build up a decent set of reports, and remember checkatrade themselves dont say they are an advertising media, just a means of winning quotes and giving you an edge over other tradesmen
 
Funny you should say that, if I put a search in no one comes up for 20-25 miles so I'm thinking is that good or bad? Good maybe because if locals are looking and no one comes up other than me then I'm in! Or bad because nobody uses Checkatrade locally and could be wasting my money?
 
I'm in West Sussex and have been with checkatrade for 3 years now. Works very well for me but it did take 6 months before it really started to get going.
 
Just south of Exeter. I've heard it does take a little while to start working for most but won't really know unless I bite the bullet and cough up!
 
Joined a month ago and as yet not one phone call , however willing to give it time and see what it brings in .
 
Slow to get going, but steady away after about 6 or 7 months.
 
Have just set up my meeting to enquire joining. I'm going to give it a try and see what happens.

Roughly £750 for the year, so all it needs is a few decent jobs to come in to cover it.

Will update how many calls/jobs I get.
 
mikeyc said:
Have just set up my meeting to enquire joining. I'm going to give it a try and see what happens.

Roughly £750 for the year, so all it needs is a few decent jobs to come in to cover it.

Will update how many calls/jobs I get.
Click to expand...

Will probably sign up too, what's your area? I'm South Devon and not many engineers/plumbers using it down here.
 
Was going to sign up until the annoying sales woman came out to see me. She just expected me to sign!! Told her I would have a think about it and she went in a right huff,
 
dsmart said:
Was going to sign up until the annoying sales woman came out to see me. She just expected me to sign!! Told her I would have a think about it and she went in a right huff,
Click to expand...

Similar here, the dude arrived and we went through it all and next thing he's asking for dosh. Said I'd have a think and wasn't made aware I was expected to sign up after the meeting. Having said all this I'll still give it a try. See how 1st year goes...
 
kb76 said:
Similar here, the dude arrived and we went through it all and next thing he's asking for dosh. Said I'd have a think and wasn't made aware I was expected to sign up after the meeting. Having said all this I'll still give it a try. See how 1st year goes...
Click to expand...

I'm going to sign up and was thinking about giving money on the meeting. But after reading these posts about them being pushy I'm really going to make him squirm for it
 
I'm on it but I think lame is right that down the south west you won't get many locals look at it. Most people I speak to when I say about it don't have a clue what I'm on about.
 
took quite a few weeks to take off, then got 2 boiler swaps in a row, had a few bites since then
 
Really unimpressed with checkapants,

Had a chat with them today over the fact i had a negative review over an appointment i couldn't get to , in a nutshell i was given wrong address and tel number. Suddenly the only time i have heard from checkapants is over a bad review. They refuse to listen to my end so the review stays, hey ho at least i eventually had a phone call from a cust out of it .

At £650 this lot is looking like the biggest bottom feeder of the lot another outfit to shaft the tradesman.
 
Im not renewing mine. Just going to set up a cheap and cheerful web page.
 
think we should all get together and start a national plumbing ,heating company web site ,covering all the areas we are in and then float it in a year or two ,let it be snapped up by the pension funds ect and then we can retire....

our own Silicon alley ....
 
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drip-dry said:
think we should all get together and start a national plumbing ,heating company web site ,covering all the areas we are in and then float it in a year or two ,let it be snapped up by the pension funds ect and then we can retire....

our own Silicon alley ....
Click to expand...

Hmmmmmmmmmmm............
 
drip-dry said:
think we should all get together and start a national plumbing ,heating company web site ,covering all the areas we are in and then float it in a year or two ,let it be snapped up by the pension funds ect and then we can retire....

our own Silicon alley ....
Click to expand...

I'm in, ran by plumbers for plumbers. Viva la revolution.
 
Should also have a closed area with rate a customer!! Keep the idiot ones away or at least warn of time wasters and late payers!!
 
Rather then a directory we should just set up a national plumbing company.

We all put £1000 in each for advertising etc then ofer a service that covers the entire country. Fixed price servicing, repairs etc we've already got a merchant on board we just need to convince one of the admins to operate a call centre for us and issue the jobs out. Think of it like a cooperative bg. We're taking back control of our industry
 
gasmanrob said:
Rather then a directory we should just set up a national plumbing company.

We all put £1000 in each for advertising etc then ofer a service that covers the entire country. Fixed price servicing, repairs etc we've already got a merchant on board we just need to convince one of the admins to operate a call centre for us and issue the jobs out. Think of it like a cooperative bg. We're taking back control of our industry
Click to expand...

Don`t need a call centre lads, systems out there where the customer calls in via their landllne and the call is then diverted to the nearest member. The idea is workable with enough people in it.
 
gasmanrob said:
Rather then a directory we should just set up a national plumbing company.

We all put £1000 in each for advertising etc then ofer a service that covers the entire country. Fixed price servicing, repairs etc we've already got a merchant on board we just need to convince one of the admins to operate a call centre for us and issue the jobs out. Think of it like a cooperative bg. We're taking back control of our industry
Click to expand...

Oh I can imagine trying to agree on fixed prices.
 
But you would need leaders and you know what happens to leaders, they end up more equal.....
 
jonnyswamp said:
But you would need leaders and you know what happens to leaders, they end up more equal.....
Click to expand...

so you were the kid by him self at school on the front row,whilst '' Animal farm'' was being debated...looked up once,when someone mentioned how clever the pigs were,thought to myself ,they were not that clever last weekend,when me dar,nicked all the lead of the station roof....

:34:
 
Like so many of these things they may work but over time become over populated and ends up just one big poop fest again until the next biggest scheme...
 
Checkatrade offer you your money ey back if your not happy, I signed up today meeting was great until they asked for £150 upfront
 
Mine expired the other week. They have been pestering me for two months about renewal. Told them definitely not renewing and two days later received a snotty letter about having 28 days to remove all checkatrade or they will sue me. Nice.
 
Had some bits n bobs to price via it now but same old type of don't want to pay much for my new heating system. The big problem with it is the don't give a fudge about the tradesman who pays the money out to sign in .
 
i only get Londoners with 2nd homes using it to find a pulmber, worked well for me on that side :)
 
Having thought about it and reading the posts here I decided to sit on it for now. They chased me for a month or so but seem to have given up now. It appears to be all set up with 10 references I gave etc. Busy at the moment so no rush. Might give them a shout in the autum ready for the big winter switch on as only interested in service and repairs these days...
 
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