How important is your presentation to you ?

[shezzaar]

I think that its the first thing new customers see (excluding the van sometimes) and the first few seconds someone sees you, they judge you a lot so you need to get it right. so for me i dress (builder)smart as i call it.
snicker trousers, polo shirt (with company logo), builders fleece/coat (with company logo).
always carry spares in the van, just in case something happens before you arrive at a customers house

 

[Centralheatking]

Clean socks, fresh shirt everday. A clean reliable looking truck, sign written with a landline number
and the mobile web address. Clean dustsheets - and a smile when they open their door CHK

 

[Riley]

I'd get more than a smile if I turned up just in clean socks and a shirt :wink5:

 

[Ermintrude]

Shoe cover when you step into house..... Gives them a false sense of security and that fitter will treat house with similar respect!

 

[Riley]

Ha ha true

 

[Mickyplumb]

Nice to hear that there's neat and tidy plumbers out there !

The shoes off thing or shoe cover thing i think really tells the customer straight off the bat that you respect them and their property. This something we always do, i have customers saying it's refreshing to see a tradesman that cares.

Don't know if it's true but apparently BG guys can't remove their footwear in as much as if they drop something on their toe and it is found that they weren't wearing footwear then they won't get sick pay if they have to take time off ???

 

[lame plumber]

Clean socks, fresh shirt everday. A clean reliable looking truck, sign written with a landline number
and the mobile web address. Clean dustsheets - and a smile when they open their door CHK

got it in one, especially landline no, means they can get you, only problem is the old folk always leave messages on the land line coz mobiles are more expensive to ring!!!

 

[kirkgas]

Nice to hear that there's neat and tidy plumbers out there !

The shoes off thing or shoe cover thing i think really tells the customer straight off the bat that you respect them and their property. This something we always do, i have customers saying it's refreshing to see a tradesman that cares.

Don't know if it's true but apparently BG guys can't remove their footwear in as much as if they drop something on their toe and it is found that they weren't wearing footwear then they won't get sick pay if they have to take time off ???

That's not exclusive to BG, think about it, you are told you must wear company workwear and safety shoes/boots so how can you take them off cause the customer has a nice clean carpet, blue paper shoes on at the door every time, even if the customer says don't bother, I always say it's no prob, I would rather put them on, TBH in some houses it helps keep my shoes clean, and in the clean ones it just removes and doubt that you left a mark on the carpet
I would never take my shoes off in someone's house, you could injure your foot, then who pays the wage while you recover, and anyway I'm not walking about people's houses in my socks, I mean they need to last me all week

 

[TBServices]

Always in proper work trousers, don't have any branded shirts cos I hate polos, but I always wear plain black/blue dickies/snickers tee shirts. Gas safe and bpec cards round my neck.

I wear trainers generally. Primarily cos they're easy to slip off when I walk in the house.

My biggest problem is resisting the temptation to cover all my clothes in silicone, paste and flux.

 

[kirkgas]

Always in proper work trousers, don't have any branded shirts cos I hate polos, but I always wear plain black/blue dickies/snickers tee shirts. Gas safe and bpec cards round my neck.

I wear trainers generally. Primarily cos they're easy to slip off when I walk in the house.

My biggest problem is resisting the temptation to cover all my clothes in silicone, paste and flux.

Not sure what's worse, trainers or taking your trainers off

 

[TBServices]

Not sure what's worse, trainers or taking your trainers off

Why? I still gots all my toes!

I should prob point out that I don't work in no footwear. It's just a first impressions thing.

 

[kirkgas]

Why? I still gots all my toes!

I should prob point out that I don't work in no footwear. It's just a first impressions thing.

You can be lucky 100's of times but you only need to be unlucky once

 

[woodytheplumber]

allways worktrousers ususally snickers 100s and usually snickers polos with my logo on I were black sambas unless im on site and normally carry a little file to keep all my paperwork in order and also keep a tape mesure and about 15 pens in there nothing looks worse than asking the customer for a pen to write the job in the planner

 

[TBServices]

You can be lucky 100's of times but you only need to be unlucky once

I might be running out of luck then.

 

[Killy Bing]

I must admit to being a bit of a tramp, jogging bottoms and casual top as i feel comfortable in them.
This year though I'm going to get proper work clothes with company labels stitched into them to try and upgrade my company image :lol:

check out engelburt strauss workwear.

great hard wearing stuff and they can out your logos and such on.

look at the style es stuff.

and they do summer workwear that has got ventilation and uses more breathable material!

just you cant wear it in the winter or you end up with an icicle and a pair of snowballs very quickly!

they do winter workwear thats more insulated too actually.

 

[tomplumb83]

I wear overshoes ifim only going to be ther a short while. Otherwise I just make sure i've got clean shoes.
Company logo on my polo shirts, jumpers,coat and trousers. I try to keep the silicone free!
I also bought some blue oxford shirts about 6 months ago from Primark for about £6 and got my logo on them for pricing but Ive not worn them yet.
Van is sigwritten although I wonder whether its worth it.....

 

[tomplumb83]

Its bull **** really.....
.....But it works!!!

 

[TBServices]

Overshoes are a health hazard.

 

[cr0ft]

Exactly.

I went on a sales course once as a Worcester approved installer, probably 15 years ago now. It was more geared around being able to offer finance to customers (long before strict FSA rules).

We were given a list as to pick out the most likely reason that a possible client may choose you over another htg eng.

In the list were cheapest quote, puntuality, etc, etc.

2nd top answer was you would be chosen because of your presentation.

Top answer was surprising......you would have more chance of wining the job if you were a 'normal' person and was able to converse with client about everyday things as opposed to just plumbing and boilers !

Being chosen for being the cheapest was right down the list, mind you, people had a bit more money back then.

My experience is that this hasn't changed at all. I always spend a bit of time chatting to my customers during the quote and getting to know them. I'm not always tidy when I turn up, especially if I have been tiling, but I am always in our branded workwear. At the very least I put on a clean t-shirt before quoting!

 

[village idiot]

spare set of clean clothes behind seat in van for if im doing a quote stright from tools , van is ALWAYS clean and tidy as some come out to greet you or wave off. if they come to wave off i make a point of opening side doors so they can see inside is clean and tiday too.

That rules me out.
Whenever I am on a job and custard insists on helping me get stuff from van into house, I practically beg them to stay put. Infact, my van is so crowded I know I have a fitting, but can't find it? So I make my excuses and go to get one. Two weeks later, I find two of same in the van. WTF. Disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful.