When something goes wrong in your home or office, most homeowners and business owners rely on the expertise of a tradesperson to help identify the problem. It’s important that you can trust the advice you’re given. But how do you know that you’ve been given the solution that’s best for you – and not for the tradespeople you’re relying on?

Supporting Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice

We’re proud to be members of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. Through the Chamber, we heard that fellow member Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice in Ash Green, Coventry, were having a spot of bother with a leak in their only disabled toilet.

Zoe’s Place is a charity that provides palliative, respite, and end-of-life care to children and babies. Clearly, they needed their facilities to be working, but they’d been informed by a tradesman they contacted that their ten-year-old toilet had reached the end of its life.

Like all charities, Zoe’s Place has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. A big plumbing bill was certainly not going to help. Luckily, they followed one of the key rules in working with unknown trades – they got a second opinion by reaching out to fellow members of the Chamber for help.

While at Alan Heath we are specialist bathroom fitters, we do not normally do ad-hoc plumbing jobs. We also know, however, that toilets don’t come with such a short life expectancy, so, for such a worthy cause, we were happy to visit the hospice and see how we could help.

With two parts totalling the grand sum of £6 and some elbow grease, the toilet was working again in about 30 minutes.

Top tips for finding a tradesperson you can trust

Clearly not all tradespeople are equal – but how can you find a tradesperson you can rely on?

Here are just a few tips that should help give you more confidence in your choice. 

1. Always get a second opinion if you’re not sure the advice you are given is sound, or if you’re looking for a quote.
2. Research your trades online. Most trades have a website or presence on the most common social media sites, such as Facebook. With a little bit of research, you should be able to establish how long they have been trading, and read some reviews from previous customers.
3. Check that the business is registered with a recognised and reliable body. Alan Heath are members of the Chamber of Commerce, Which Trusted Traders and The Guild of Master Craftsmen, all of which are clearly marked on our website.
4. For larger jobs in particular, always ask for references and contact them yourself. A good tradesman will be able to provide the details of previous, happy customers.
5. One of the best references of all is word of mouth. Ask friends and family for recommendations – or ask on your social media feed. If the same name is repeatedly offered, you will have more confidence in their reliability.
6. Always ask your tradesperson if they can show you a certificate for insurance. Established businesses will have insurance, and most likely a logo on their company van as well.

Bathroom design and fitting services

As we mentioned, we don’t usually do plumbing jobs, but we were pleased to be able to step in for Zoe’s Place when they needed a little help, and we’re happy to be able to offer our expertise to support this worthy local charity.

If you would like some advice designing and installing your bathroom refit, we’d be pleased to help you too. Just contact our Coventry showroom for a quote – we’re happy to provide you with plenty of fantastic references from happy customers.