Wickes: 45% of People Would Pay More For Well-Attired Tradespeople

New research from home improvement retailer Wickes has revealed that those well turned out for work can expect to earn more cash, as nearly half of us (45%) will pay more for a well-attired tradesperson.  

The research showed Brits prefer a well-dressed tradesperson, with almost half (49%) claiming they would be more likely to hire a person in professional clothing, and only 30% willing to hire a tradesperson in ‘everyday’^[1] clothes. If you’re a tradesperson and you turn up for a job in scruffy or dirty clothes, watch out - 65% of customers are less likely to hire you. 

Three quarters (77%) of us also admit to critiquing tradespeople based on how well presented they are, with low slung jeans or trousers (37%) being the most off-putting items of clothing, followed by ripped (23%) or dirty clothes (23%).

The findings also revealed the most irritating habits of tradespeople to be wearing dirty boots through the house (29%), closely followed by 28% of people claiming lateness and causing damage to property to be their ultimate bug bears.

Our attitude to tradespeople in uniform was also examined in the survey, revealing that 8 of 10 of us would consider a tradesperson in uniform to be more professional, with almost 80% of us expecting a person in uniform to provide a more reliable and friendly service. Over half of us (57%) would have more confidence in their ability to complete the job.

Brits' Top Ten annoying habits (for tradespeople):

1) Walking through the house with dirty boots (29%)
2) Arriving late (28%)
3) Accidentally damaging things in the house and not admitting to it (28%)
4) Swearing (28%)
5) Smoking (21%)
6) Not respecting the bathroom (17%)
7) Taking too many breaks (14%)
8) Not bringing a dust sheet (14%)
9) Leaving early (14%)
10) Offending the neighbours (13%)

When it comes to gadgets, a third (34%) would be more likely to trust a tradesperson using technology. Identifying a shift in the way tradespeople carry out their work, 2 in 5 (44%) have experienced a tradesperson using a smartphone to quote or carry out a job, followed by a tablet (32%) or notebook/laptop (24%). Interestingly drones are also now part of the tradesperson's armoury, with 4% of those surveyed having employed someone who has flown one above their property to provide a quote.

Once hired, almost half of people (48%) will happily offer use of the bathroom to tradespeople working on their property, whilst 47% often offer use of the kettle and a quarter (25%) are happy to offer their driveway for easy parking.  9% of respondents would even allow a tradesperson free reign of the food in the fridge. 

Shelley Allison, Head of Marketing - Core, Wickes, said: “We want to help tradespeople make the most out of their businesses and our research shows wearing professional workwear from brands such as Scruffs and Rhino really does pay off. We can clearly see that customers consider tradespeople in professional workwear to be more reliable, friendly, experienced and even admit to paying them more; making this change in a small business could have great impact.”

Source : Insight DIY Team and Wickes

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