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[furryneddy]

Hi, what do you all think of that recent AA advert where the woman says to John Cleese "no need to call your COWBOYS" as there's water pouring through the ceiling as he looks through a paper "Il'l call the AA" she say's. I find this deeply offensive as they're implying that anyone found in the local rag/paper is a cowboy/no good. Do you think this should be allowed ? It say's in the small print at the bottom of the screen ad "approved contractors used" where did they get them from then to work the regional areas - local paper ? Pay the AA a large fee and become AA approved ...........?

 

[justlead1]

Hi A lot of big companies have tried to cash in on this market and failed however there legacy has been the inflated rates we can now enjoyt. AA is a good brand and dealt well with the motor break downs. It will depend if the money they are prepared to invest in marketing is sufficient to establish domination. Must sign off now and open a butchers just in case i get a call.

 

[Avatar]

We are all tarred by the same brush unfortunately.

What people dont realise is that the problem isnt the specialised tradesmen:

- it is diy proffessional 'handymen'
- Bodge the Builder (he is the biggest bodger)
- Polish plumbers
- 1000 of 'get rich quick' fast trackers, who inflict themselves on the general public, without enough self respect and thus charge penuts for crap work . . .

(I am a fast tracker who has persevered to learn the hard way, be careful and do good work. I now have a limited company, other time served tradesmen work for me, and as a concequence I charge more money than when i started. I do know a lot of you guys here are like me . . .
Respect for doing it the hard way I say)

Bloody rouge trader/cowboy builders have a lot to answer to.

Maybe we should get thousands of disgruntled tradesmen together, and sue them for encouraging the public to believe that all tradesmen are cowboys . . . .

 

[WaterTight]

Some of those programmes are shamefully sensational. The worst one is actually on the BBC with some mountainous bouncer presenting it which I was suprised by because I thought the BBC might be slightly more responsible. If you made a spoof sending up how these programmes set out to over-hype, terrify people and distort reality you woulnd't make anything worse than what they already put on the air.

Shots of crying, disabled old ladies while the camera pans in and out to stirring orchestral music and the voiceover tells you that these "heartless, shameless crooks and cowboys won't shed a single tear for the trouble they've caused poor Nora."

I've no doubt 99.9% of time they're on the tail of some real cowboys but the programme makers are only interested in terrifying their audiences for good ratings. Uncovering bad work is a means to an end.

 

[Avatar]

The blame for so called 'cowboy tradesmen' is firmly in the hands of the English people.

If we wasn't so tight, and trying to cut corners all the time, the bodge jobbers would not have had an oppertunity to get a foothold. In fact it is our willingness to get the job cheap, instead of GOOD that has created the cowboy builder . . . .

In the 80's england had horrible food for the same reason - the public wanted cheap, not good. Now the climate has changed, and the food in our supermarkets have changed accordling.
Funny enough, other european countries look at england, and wonder why we are so stupid, in demanding cheap crap!!!
I wonder how many cowboy builders get on in Germany for example, some where that demands a better standard.

Look at the contracters who work on the roads out here, and take months to do a job which would take days in other countries who would do the work efficently . . .

The English people have their selves to blame.

(this is why I have actually put my prices up, instead of coming down to compete with the credit crunch. If you want quality work than you have to take it.)