The title is somewhat misleading; the real reason for exclusion would be his reaction.
Here’s the situation:
A tradesperson offered me a service on MyHammer. He is new to the platform (or using a new account) and has zero reviews. So, I searched for his company on Google to check the reviews.
The reviews paint a very confusing picture. There are some very old reviews, all very negative (1 star). To me, these do not seem genuine. Almost all come from reviewers who only ever wrote that one review about this company and nothing else. I suspect these are either competitors’ work or other fake reviews. Following those, there is a whole batch of positive fake reviews. The company has over 40 reviews, and based on a quick sample, I would estimate over 90% are fake. This is clear especially because nearly all 5-star reviews are from “people” who a) find everything and everyone on Google absolutely great, and b) coincidentally all the people who rave about this tradesperson also rate the same ice cream shop in xyz and the erotic massage studio in Hannover as amazing. This is the classic pattern of a Google profile polished by some marketing company.
I confronted the tradesperson about the Google reviews.
His response was simply, “Like fake news, I know nothing about it.”
Somehow, my gut feeling now tells me it’s probably better not to hire him. If he reacts defensively to a simple question about his Google profile, I don’t know how easy it will be to deal with him if there are any issues with his work.
Besides, I don’t believe his answer is honest. People usually don’t write fake positive reviews for free. Companies generally pay for that, so I’m quite sure he knows about it.
Am I being too picky, or does this seem reasonable?
Here’s the situation:
A tradesperson offered me a service on MyHammer. He is new to the platform (or using a new account) and has zero reviews. So, I searched for his company on Google to check the reviews.
The reviews paint a very confusing picture. There are some very old reviews, all very negative (1 star). To me, these do not seem genuine. Almost all come from reviewers who only ever wrote that one review about this company and nothing else. I suspect these are either competitors’ work or other fake reviews. Following those, there is a whole batch of positive fake reviews. The company has over 40 reviews, and based on a quick sample, I would estimate over 90% are fake. This is clear especially because nearly all 5-star reviews are from “people” who a) find everything and everyone on Google absolutely great, and b) coincidentally all the people who rave about this tradesperson also rate the same ice cream shop in xyz and the erotic massage studio in Hannover as amazing. This is the classic pattern of a Google profile polished by some marketing company.
I confronted the tradesperson about the Google reviews.
His response was simply, “Like fake news, I know nothing about it.”
Somehow, my gut feeling now tells me it’s probably better not to hire him. If he reacts defensively to a simple question about his Google profile, I don’t know how easy it will be to deal with him if there are any issues with his work.
Besides, I don’t believe his answer is honest. People usually don’t write fake positive reviews for free. Companies generally pay for that, so I’m quite sure he knows about it.
Am I being too picky, or does this seem reasonable?
fach1werk schrieb:
The task is thankless. But if you contact all the companies from this trade in the immediate area, sometimes you can still get a small piece of help.
Good luck!
Gabriele Thank you! The idea isn’t bad at all—I hadn’t tried the classic approach of calling nearby companies yet. I think with building projects, I need to break away from my usual "everything via internet/email" habit. Many craftsmen are probably not exactly digital natives.
Tassimat schrieb:
I can only recommend going around in person when dealing with finding tradespeople, house building, etc. Suddenly, you have a shared topic with colleagues you usually just greet politely but never discuss anything with. Especially with older colleagues. You will get recommendations there. And when you call a tradesperson and mention who referred you, they usually come right away.
Or ask a colleague skilled in trades who might help out for a small "fuel money," e.g. about 100€ (about $110). Good idea! I’m currently on parental leave but I can ask around in work chat rooms. Unfortunately, most colleagues stayed in the city (where they built 3-4 years ago). Now it’s so expensive that we have to move a bit outside. I don’t know if tradespeople from the city are willing to travel that far for small jobs, but asking around can’t hurt. A colleague of my husband used to live in our future home town, so I can definitely ask him.
Altai schrieb:
I would also try to hand over that "small job" to a tradesperson who’s going to be on site anyway. That would be ideal. We’re doing all the washbasins ourselves. But for the plumbing connections, we will need a professional on site, right? If I have the washbasins ready when they arrive, maybe one of them can do it right away. That’s how some friends of ours handled it too.
P
Pinkiponk30 Apr 2020 09:59Tarnari schrieb:
Regarding materials used by craftsmen and those from DIY stores, I can personally confirm (from my own experience) that craftsmen do go to DIY stores to buy materials. It’s quite similar to restaurateurs, whom I know also shop at their local Aldi or Penny.
Pinkiponk schrieb:
It’s similar to restaurateurs I know who also shop at the local Aldi or Penny.Although very few things are actually cheap. Hardware stores tend to have prices more like a pharmacy, unless you count special offers and clearance sales.
Similar topics