Clean It Up

UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: kinder clean on July 05, 2008, 08:27:02 am

Title: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: kinder clean on July 05, 2008, 08:27:02 am

I have been reading about this on the net, just wondered if anyone had joined and if it was getting you any more work.

How much does it cost, they don't tell you on the website, you have to call them.

Are there similar schemes that are better??

Paul

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus) on July 05, 2008, 09:44:40 am

I joined them 6 months ago - costs me £ 75 a month, this is for my supply and fit company. Every customer you do a job for you leave them a pre-printed form to give you marks out of ten for various aspects of your service.

This is then listed on your page on their site. The idea being the more positive comments and marks you have the more potential customers will be inclined to use you.

I've got a good ranking now, but I have only had one successful job from it, however, it was for £ 1400, so it has paid for the whole year.

Not sure how successful it would be for the cleaning side, bearing in mind that in the main our work is relatively low in ticket price.

I'm gonna stick with it for the time being.

Also, twice a year they distribute a folded flyer to 50000 homes in your area and guarantee no more than 2 companies per trade listed on it. I didn't get a single phone call from the first batch that went out in April.

As I say, I have a listing for the supply and fit company, don't think I will bother for the cleaning side.

Steve

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: kinder clean on July 05, 2008, 10:53:21 am

Thanks for that Steve.

Paul

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: lands on July 05, 2008, 11:49:35 am

Paul

I did it a few years ago and got very little from it. It's quite expensive too.

Pete

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: spencer davies on July 05, 2008, 03:51:19 pm

I get much more work than that by being Trading Standards approved, free inbound link from their website too.   ;)


Regards


S

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: lands on July 05, 2008, 07:31:44 pm

Quote from: spencer davies on July 05, 2008, 03:51:19 pm

I get much more work than that by being Trading Standards approved, free inbound link from their website too.   ;)


Regards


S

Hey Spencer, you get my msgs? Need to talk to you about something else too.

Pete

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: Gerry Styles on July 05, 2008, 10:49:56 pm

£75.00 a month, £900.00 a year thats a lot of carpets to clean before you start earning

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: Karl Wildey on July 06, 2008, 11:21:25 am

never heard of it,
would avoid this even if I had

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: kinder clean on July 06, 2008, 02:05:19 pm

The trading standards approved,  do you need to have been trading for a while for that one? I enquired about woolsafe last week, they told me I need to have been trading for 4 years!! seems a bit OTT.

Paul

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus) on July 06, 2008, 02:19:10 pm

I'm Surrey Trading Standards Approved and I have had absolutely nothing from it, despite me using the logo on all my stationary.

Just goes to show that all these things are unreliable to some extent or another.

I've had work from checkatrade, someone else hasn't.

Spencer has had work from Trading standards, I haven't.

Doesn't help much in answering your question I know - like all these things, you can only look into them and make your own commercial decisions.

Steve

Title: Re: Checkatrade - anybody a member?? getting any work from it??
Post by: spencer davies on July 06, 2008, 08:26:37 pm

Hi Pete,

I will post off a package tomorrow, thanks for that.

I will give you a ring tomorrow.


Regards



S