Home & Garden Selecting a tradie

[SJ]

How the hell do you do it?

Go on YellowPages.com.au and there are thousands of electricians.

I need to find an ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority)-approved electrician to get my phone line checked, but have no idea how to select a decent one.

Advice?

 

[azreal]

Ask friends or colleagues or go to www.stopbeingapussyandjustpickone.com

 

[Gabbie]

Ask a friend as usually word of mouth is the best reference.

If it's your phone line don't Telstra do that? They have for me.

 

[SJ]

Yeah have been asking around but not many people my age (25) have had to personally use one before.

Nah I need a phone line checked on the property, my internet provider said I needed an electrician.

 

[Caesar]

God I hate tradies. There's not a single group of people on the planet I dislike doing business with more. The vast majority are out to screw the private customer.

Word of mouth is the only way, picking one randomly out of the Yellow Pages will get you grief more often than not.

 

[GoTheSwannies]

Yeah, tradies are a rort, just like alot of mechanics. Then you've got car dealers, real estate agents etc. Any person that works in an industry that people tend to not have much knowledge in will screw their clients.

The other week, we had a guy come over to fix our fridge, he fixed the initial problem, then 2 weeks later we started hearing a noise coming from the fridge like the fan was grating against something (possibly a loose wire that ocassionally got too close to the fan) so we call the guy out again, he opened it up again and wanted to charge more money to replace the fan (aparently the fan had gone this time). We told him to piss off cause we weren't paying another cent to repair it and would buy a new fridge. He left in a huff all angry n stuff, suddenly the fridge no longer makes any sound, so in the process of opening it up he must've moved the wire away from the fan.

Have plenty of stories of people coming to instal stuff, air con, water heater etc, breaking tiles on the roof and not telling us. We've gone for the cheaper option, the more expensive option, no difference really, they're all crooks

 

[Kram]

Nah I need a phone line checked on the property, my internet provider said I needed an electrician.

Why does it need checking? What's the problem with it?

 

[WCErevival]

Do you have an operating phone line? In other words do you use a home phone? If not, then whoever is setting up the line whether its Telstra or whoever will do it themselves. If you do have a phoneline connected and operational I dont see why they want to check it.

 

[Caesar]

Had a thought earlier - do you know any builders? They subcontract to tradies all the time so they tend to know who's the best going around.

Our next door neighbour growing up owned a private building firm, and dad always used to go to him for advice whenever he needed someone. Tradesmen are a surprisingly well-networked community.

 

[SJ]

Why does it need checking? What's the problem with it?

I live in an apartment complex and my internet provider has asked me to get an electrician to check the phone line from where it enters to the complex to my phone outlet as I have had ongoing ADSL problems.

 

[Caesar]

Surely that's a problem for the strata to deal with?

 

[SJ]

Surely that's a problem for the strata to deal with?

That's what iPrimus suggested too but I rang the body corporate and they said they don't deal with phone lines. I have to get a quote from the electrician and if they want to do anything I have to seek approval from the body corporate.

 

[Kram]

Does it have an individual connection box at the front of your unit or does everones just go straight through and join into telstra togeter out the front somewhere?

 

[SJ]

Does it have an individual connection box at the front of your unit or does everones just go straight through and join into telstra togeter out the front somewhere?

I am under the impression it is the former but I am not certain.