The Costs of Waiting In

28 Apr 2010

Brits spend more than two weeks of their life waiting for tradesmen, according to shocking new research.

Over the course of a year, the average Brit has to wait in for three different tradesmen for a total of six hours and three minutes.  That's a total of 366 hours - equivalent to 15 days - waiting for workmen to arrive over the average adult lifetime.

But some are left waiting even longer as 82% polled said a contractor turned up late, while more than a third said they arrived on a completely different day to what was agreed.

The research, which was carried out by TrustMark, the Government backed, not for profit quality mark for tradesmen, also found that 60 per cent even said they have spent an entire day waiting in for a tradesman who failed to show up at all.

Roman Russocki, Chief Executive of TrustMark said: "Many businesses aren't able to give specific times of arrival for tradesman, so instead you are normally only given a vague window.

"But this can be a nightmare for homeowners who have work and other responsibilities as they have to spend ages waiting for tradesmen to arrive, sometimes to do a job that's only a few minutes long.

"To make it worse, it seems that some turn up on a different day or even fail to turn up at all, which leaves homeowners having to wait around for two days, just for a single job.

"Choosing the right tradesmen can really help reduce the chances of this happening. The best way to cut down on the time you spend waiting is to look on the TrustMark database - it's easy to find a reliable and trustworthy tradesman in your local area."

Plumbers have been named as the worst for keeping people waiting, with Brits having to wait an average of 59 minutes into an allocated 'window' before they turn up for a job.

Heating engineers leave people waiting around for an average of 58 minutes, followed by builders who show up after 55 minutes.

Electricians arrive 54 minutes after the estimated arrival time, while aerial or satellite engineers turn up after 53 minutes.

Conservatory erectors, tillers and tree surgeons keep their customers waiting for 25 minutes while workmen due to fix security systems and gardeners arrive after 26 minutes.

But bedroom fitters were revealed as the most reliable tradesman, leaving people waiting for an average of just 23 minutes.

The survey revealed the top five tradesmen most and least likely to keep you waiting:

Tradesmen most likely to keep you waiting

1.	Plumbers	59 minutes
2.	Heating engineer	58 minutes
3.	Builder	55 minutes
4.	Electrician	54 minutes
5.	Aerial/satellite engineer	53 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

Tradesmen least likely to keep you waiting

1.	Bedroom fitter	23 minutes
2.	Conservatory erector	25 minutes
3.	Tiller	25 minutes
4.	Tree surgeon	25 minutes
5.	Security engineer	26 minutes
6.	Garden landscaper	26 minutes