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He was polite, helpful, charming and he didn't charge me a penny. Where did he come from?

6 November 2007

Trade secrets

by Jacqueline Alexander

Bleary eyed and suffering the after effects of a busy weekend, I awoke on Monday to find a distinct lack of food in my kitchen. Determined not to go hungry but acutely aware that I looked remarkably like a cross between Nebuchadnezzar and Catweazle, I scraped my hair back, donned my sunglasses, grabbed my keys and bolted out of the door in search of emergency supplies. Then came the horrible moment of realisation. My door key was not on my key ring. I stood staring at the keyhole praying that the power of positive thought could open doors. It couldn't.

Hoping that I had picked up some sort of criminal ability from the hours invested in Morse and Murder She Wrote, I retrieved a credit card from my wallet. I carefully slid the card up and down the area where the catch should have miraculously released itself. It did not.

I had left a window open so, fearlessly ignoring the fact that the aperture was on the second floor, I walked around the grounds to see if there was any way of reaching access to my home. The drainpipe looked appealing but as I looked harder I realised it was less inviting and more intimidating. I let wisdom prevail.

At that moment, I spotted a workman parked up with a rather long ladder on top of his van. Neither a workman nor an inanimate object had ever looked quite as attractive as they did at that moment. I politely explained my predicament and asked if the ladder would reach my window and, if so, could I borrow it.

I have always liked the idea of climbing. I have to admit that small mountains or big hills were what I really had in mind but I had to start somewhere and climbing back into my home seemed as good a place as any. Luckily, it was. Although still foodless, I was very relieved to be home and expressed my delight and gratitude to the tradesman who had helped me out - he was polite, helpful, charming and he didn't charge me a penny. Where did he come from?

We all know the stories about tradesmen. Even if we have not experienced it for ourselves, we hear the tales of terror courtesy of various television programmes designed to whittle out the rogue traders and we all know about the stereotype who tuts, shakes his head and charges large amounts of money for a little amount of work. So where do all the good ones go? Not all tradesmen are unreliable, expensive or shoddy so they must be around somewhere and there must be a way of finding them.

I soon discovered that I wasn't alone in my thoughts. Trustatrader.com is an appropriately named web site that was not only thinking along the same lines, they thought of it over two years ago and have been busy creating a place where we can all find reliable, reputable tradesmen in our local area. The result is a comprehensive web site dedicated to giving you details of carpenters, builders, electricians, plumbers, carpet fitters, damp proofers, glaziers and gardeners to name but a few. But that's by no means all this web site does.

Once you have registered with the site and located the tradesperson you require, a text is sent to him or her via your computer. The tradesperson will receive all your contact details and call you back. If, for any reason, your first choice cannot do the job, your details will be sent to other trusted trades people in your area meaning you don't have to waste an afternoon on the phone trying to find someone to help.

Each person or company listed is exposed to a stringent vetting process before they are added to the site. Five references from recent customers have to be submitted and all five are checked to verify they are genuine and accurate. Trades requiring registrations with official associations have to have their paperwork in order and trustatrader.com has to see a valid public liability insurance certificate. Just to minimise any further risk of rogues infiltrating the listings, each tradesperson is required to have been trading for at least two years.

Even when the listed company has ticked all these boxes, anyone using their services via the site has the power to rate the company and leave a critique meaning that each company is subject to an ongoing assessment of the quality of their service. I can't see many cowboys wanting to join this particular party but if one or two were to slip through the net, they would quickly be blacklisted. Apparently, according to the owner of the site, Gary McEwen, if a service is rated below 60% effective, they operate a 'three strikes and you're out' policy. If, on the other hand, the service is rated below 40%, once the complaints have been checked and verified, the trader is out. No strikes, no second chances, gone but not forgotten as they are not allowed a second bite of the cherry.

Of course, the site doesn't tell you whether or not the tradesmen would loan you a ladder to get back into your home but it does support community projects. Two such projects are highlighted on the site but there are more in the pipeline. One particular after-school club benefited from the generosity of both trustatrader.com and some of its community spirited members. All labour and materials were donated as the volunteers painted all the walls, supplied the fixtures and fittings, replaced the floor with top quality laminate flooring, fitted new fire doors, replaced ceiling tiles, built new computer desks and, because they thought it was a nice idea, built a DJ booth. A year later, Gary went to see how the club was getting on and was very impressed to find that everything was just as he left it.

I always delight in recommending sites that are doing something to help the world so it is a pleasure to recommend this site that not only gives something back via its community work but provides a great service in helping you to find a trusted tradesman. I knew they were hiding somewhere - and now I know where.

Trustatrader.com

Jacqueline Alexander presents Web Watch every Tuesday at 5.45pm on BBC Radio Berkshire on 104.1FM, 104.4FM, 95.4FM, 94.6FM and DAB Digital Radio. To listen in, just visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire.

What is Web Watch?

Web Watch is broadcast on BBC Radio Berkshire, published in the Henley and South Oxon Standard and published online right here at web-watch.info.

As a cross-media project, Web Watch is designed to help you find the best sites here on the Internet.

You can catch Web Watch on air every Tuesday at 5.45pm when Jacqueline Alexander sits down with Phil Kennedy during the Drivetime show on BBC Radio Berkshire to chew the virtual fat.