Skills and service – one and the same

The requirements of a typical building’s maintenance covers a range of trades, electrical, plumbing, as well as small renovation and decoration works. The skills required to fulfil all the likely requirements of a caretaker or handyman are not often found to an adequate standard in individual. In the past a “make do and mend” attitude would get you by as a building owner. In the twenty first century we are governed, rightly, by sets of regulations designed to ensure safety. You can read our blog from last month to learn more about these.

There are several problems that can occur when dealing with “one man bands”. The main one being paperwork. Work orders, invoices, piles of paper that don’t get dealt with accurately or on time all contribute to an air of confusion and unreliability. Many property services companies will now have eliminated paperwork altogether providing the client with an emailed copy of the work being carried out the materials, expected time on site, the name of the person carrying out the work (often with a photo) and the invoice, all in one easy to manage file. This gives you clarity about what you will get, and the security of knowing who will be on site when. The Guardian recently wrote a piece on the problems that can be caused by “semi-professional” tradespeople, and how to select a reliable partner to carry out your work. It amounted to appoint a company, not an individual. There overall conclusion being; “Be wary of firms only willing to give you a mobile number.” The area of preparing to get work done that causes the most contention is quotations. This is where the contrast between the professional business and the handyman is most marked. A detailed, written quotation with start and finish times and agreed payment terms gives reassurance and, again clarity.

When looking at a partner to provide your maintenance and repair requirements it pays to look at their paperwork process, their quotes and presentation. You can learn a lot from these about a business’s overall approach to their work. Chaotic paperwork often means chaotic work. A clear concise set of information and prices tells you exactly what sort of work you are likely to get.

Express Property Services aim to provide a professional service to all our customers, and work with them to ensure their maintenance requirements are covered all day every day. Get in touch to discuss how we can help you.

Categorised in: Property maintenance

This post was written by Express Property Services