How to use Ratedpeople to find a workman

Finding a recommended workman is easy with Ratedpeople.

I put a new job on today and that’s why I thought I’d write about my experiences with Ratedpeople. I started using Ratedpeople in August 2009 when I needed some garden clearing work done.

I was new to the area and didn’t know who to trust. Yellow Pages or Google give details of companies or individuals but at that time not as many people were reviewing, so I turned to Ratedpeople – a sort of Tripadvisor for workmen, where tradesmen compete for your job and previous customers rate their experience with a tradesman.

In terms of a bargain, I like Ratedpeople as:

1. You can pick how much you have to spend for a job – of course no one is going to tile your roof for £10, but if you have a budget to stick to, the workman knows this up front.
2. You get to be in – I always put in my job description that the job needs to be done in the evenings and weekends, so I don’t have to take leave.
3. You get up to three quotes – so you can see which meets your needs.
4. You see what others thought – the workmen are rated by previous users.
5. You can use the workman again easily and keep up to date with his work history. Through an online dashboard you have access to the workman’s details and can check up on his latest reviews.
6. You can access some cheap labour – through Ratedpeople, I have found fully qualified electricity and gas people, who will do the job in their spare time to make some extra money. They have all the correct qualifications, but would cost more if they did the job through their day jobs.

I have used the service for many jobs and found that the workmen are eager to please and value for money has been great. One plumber came to fix my sink for £15….as opposed to a plumber I found in Yellow Pages, just the call out charge was £75!!! I had a gardener sort out front and back gardens for less than £50, a Corgi registered gas check for £55 and loads more jobs done at very reasonable prices and delivered at a time suitable to me.

I don’t pay Ratedpeople, but the workmen have to pay for my lead. You put the job online and then the workmen contact you. Some will ask to see the job and then quote. For some jobs, I have paid for materials up front, eg paint, but the rest of the money is paid after the job is done to my satisfaction, usually by cash or bank transfer.

Once the job is done, I wait a two weeks (just in case any snags appear after completion) and then rate the person, so someone else can benefit from my experience.

Here’s a cool TV ad that Ratedpeople just did which explains the service in a little more detail.

Let me know what you think of this service or know of any others that are just as good or better.