work

[sgd tiling]

any fellow tilers help me out here,not busy at all up here in scotland,anybody sort me out with work.cheers stevied,if its NAME REMOVED,they dont pay

[tilerjason]

no joy in blackpool either pal , not been working for 3 weeks now, its dead

[Brian the Tile]

same here in north wales waiting for the phone to ring

[tilerjason]

yehhhhhhhy phone rang for the first time today, went to price the job up only to find a beloved plumber coming out on my arrivel, i priced the job at labour only for 45m2. no reply so called him at 18:00 and suprise suprise, the plumber had quoted , i might as well jack the trade in now lol

i need work im going out of my mind

[whitebeam]

Remember lads your talking prices in the open forum, don't want your customers seeing what you price.

[tilerjason]

sorry lol , just frustrated

[Ceramico tiling]

what kind of tiling can a plumber do anyway,,not the quality type I bet

[timeless john]

I can understand the frustration you may well feel with losing work to other trades, however you should be asking the question WHY?
We have been doing work for a Bathroom Co. and one of the partners does his own work as a one man band, plumbing/tiling/joinery, and he is always booked up for months. He turns out a very respectable job and has called us in on a couple of occasions to help keep his schedules on track. On top of that his Bathroom Co interest provides 3 bathrooms a month for us and they have only been going for 8 months.
Why - is he doing his own tiling? An experienced tiler should be able to undertake the work at a competitive rate.
Why - did he win the job? Does he have the desire/enthuisiasm/confidence that the client is looking for.

But on the other hand - he could be cheap and end up making a right mess.

[tilerjason]

in blackpool especially with hotels people want cheap work ( thats if they pay you) hotels are being hit hard and i know of 6 tilers this month who have been knocked by people getting tiling done then either moving out and selling the property or just going bust as you only get a 14 day notice when they repo a hotel its a mine field , if you try and estimate a decent price people dont want to know yet travel 5 miles into st annes and quote the same price youll get the job all day everyday, i didnt spend 4 years training to get qualified to end up graffing for peanuts , its just a dog eat dog town

[enduro]

in blackpool especially with hotels people want cheap work ( thats if they pay you) hotels are being hit hard and i know of 6 tilers this month who have been knocked by people getting tiling done then either moving out and selling the property or just going bust as you only get a 14 day notice when they repo a hotel its a mine field , if you try and estimate a decent price people dont want to know yet travel 5 miles into st annes and quote the same price youll get the job all day everyday, i didnt spend 4 years training to get qualified to end up graffing for peanuts , its just a dog eat dog town

Cant understand your post!! One minute your saying you cant get any work..then the next post you say 'Travel 5 miles into st annes and quote the same price you will get the job'. So i think you should try pricing work a little further out, and looking at how you sell yourself to the customer.

[andy allen]

I can understand the frustration you may well feel with losing work to other trades, however you should be asking the question WHY?
We have been doing work for a Bathroom Co. and one of the partners does his own work as a one man band, plumbing/tiling/joinery, and he is always booked up for months. He turns out a very respectable job and has called us in on a couple of occasions to help keep his schedules on track. On top of that his Bathroom Co interest provides 3 bathrooms a month for us and they have only been going for 8 months.
Why - is he doing his own tiling? An experienced tiler should be able to undertake the work at a competitive rate.
Why - did he win the job? Does he have the desire/enthuisiasm/confidence that the client is looking for.

But on the other hand - he could be cheap and end up making a right mess.

i'll tell you the reason why, its because the plumbers are short of work (well they are in my area) so as they would normally get me to do the tiling, they do it themselfs and as there allready there they can under cut you on price and make it up on the plumbing, i caught one of the plumbers i work for loading tiles on his van the other day, and i think he nearly died when he saw me pull into the car park, he was full of apologies but he said it was a case of do the tiling himself or sit at home doing nowt, so untill things pick up and trades stick to there own trades, were never going to get out of this hole.

[timeless john]

In the last 38 years there has been a few 'slow' periods in the building industry and it usually cuts out the fringe players across the trades.
During the busy times it's important to look after your clients with a level of service that will be noted by future referrals and try to build up a range of contacts that will return for the next project.
In the last 3 months we've undertaken a numbers of large domestic contracts for clients who previously had tiling done by us 8-10 years ago.
This IS the best job in the world.

[sgd tiling]

timeless john im looking for work no a pep talk,my post is looking for work

[Colour Republic]

timeless john im looking for work no a pep talk,my post is looking for work

Ironically you have just demonstrated TJ's point beautifully. With an attitude like that is it any wonder you are looking for work?

Just randomly asking strangers for work without giving any sort of background info on yourself seems rather odd to me, why should they give you work? just because you asked?

[jwatson]

In the last 38 years there has been a few 'slow' periods in the building industry and it usually cuts out the fringe players across the trades.
During the busy times it's important to look after your clients with a level of service that will be noted by future referrals and try to build up a range of contacts that will return for the next project.
In the last 3 months we've undertaken a numbers of large domestic contracts for clients who previously had tiling done by us 8-10 years ago.
This IS the best job in the world.

Cheers for this useful post john, as far as i gather from all the "vetrain pro's" on here lol,
it is a reputation business as proven by the work you have got in from previous job 10yrs ago, there is gonna be hard times and in these hard times we will have to deliver a level of service second to none. Great customer service,design help, educating customers, and ultimatly a great end product/finish. imo all these will be needed by anyone hoping to survive in thse testing times when the market seems to be saturated by tilers.
in a wierd way i am glad things are lean at the moment as the hunger, determination and fight for work needed can only be good for me.

[timeless john]

timeless john im looking for work no a pep talk,my post is looking for work

SGD - At my age it's differcult to keep a concerntration level for any length of time, and as usual I got embroiled in the later posts which I felt were providing you with a rather negative viewpoint as to the state of our industry.
There is work out there however I realise that for the newer/less experienced tilers these must be testing times.
I have in previous threads contributed a number of suggestions for obtaining work and I try to remain positive in my replies when advice is sought.
The best advice I feel any member should take is to use this forum to its maximum, and to use the immortal words (altered to ft the current theme) of JFK - Don't ask what this forum can do for you, make this forum work for you.
It gives you a platform to show your work, provides you with all the technical knowledge you will require, and allows you to communicate with the trade you are involved in.
Fill your profile albums and show all your customers that you are part of the biggest and best TILERS FORUM on the internet.
Enjoy your trade and the work will look after itself.
AMEN.

[Sir Ramic]

timeless john im looking for work no a pep talk,my post is looking for work

Well lets all fall over ourselves to throw work your way...in fact lets not ! If you spoke to me in that manner, you would be the last to get any help. Play nice or dont play at all!

[sgd tiling]

with respect colour republic,i dont have attitude problem,been member 4over 2 yrs,tiling 14yrs self employed,so i thought timeless johns post was rather patronising,dont have a problem just looking for work

[sgd tiling]

no probs bud,just thought that 1 was wee bit below the belt,mybe just me by the looks of it,appoligise alround

[Colour Republic]

with respect colour republic,i dont have attitude problem,been member 4over 2 yrs,tiling 14yrs self employed,so i thought timeless johns post was rather patronising,dont have a problem just looking for work

SGD - I know how long you've been a member as I checked through all your posts before I commented above.

There is a pattern were you have appealed for work over that time. I understand times are lean for some but there must be something you can do to improve your situation. The advice above can be ignored or actioned, it's up to you.

You have also made a few posts calling out other companies on public forum for 'ripping' you off. Now I don't know who you are or what your work is like, I also don't know who these companies are so by default I have no idea if you or these companies are in the wrong. Maybe you are in the wrong who knows?? Why would someone employ a tiler that if all doesn't go well is likely to bad mouth them in public???

[hillhead]

Reputation and good contacts is the key.
I was low on work there for a few weeks but now i'm under pressure, some turn around let me tell you.
It all boils down to how good you can tile IMO.
Good luck to all who are finding it tough, hard times and this is where our rep comes in strong if we have one.

[andy allen]

have you thought about a web site, ive only got one i did myself didnt cost anythig to set up, and i got a 50m2 floor from it today, and a couple of bathrooms, so im starting to pick up again to.

[sgd tiling]

i appreciate,when i read tjs post,it was certain fella who put a like 2 it,i have some contracts but not busy,when i say looking for work,im basically looking for advice or pointers,which r appreciated

[sgd tiling]

andy not good with computers,thats why no pics,am old school

[andy allen]

belive you me mate the first time i turned a computer on was last christmas, if i can do it anyone can.

[sgd tiling]

wait a minute hear,done work for the same companies,and still doing work for them 14yrs,not just i but number of us got bumped,who participate on this web page,so u who those it all,my situation is fine just not busy last couple of weeks,is that fine by u,had wee blips a few times,during recession

[sgd tiling]

andy i try,but keep getting lost with these things,when u write things down,its only the piece of paper u need 2 look after,computers its mental,took me months just 2 work this page lol

[kilty55]

hi sgd, i understand times are difficult workwise i think the website is a good idea.
if you want to pm me im happy to chat to you about how i went about setting mine up and how i use it as it does get me work and isnt all that expansive once setup

[sgd tiling]

kilty al take u up on that,al pm u during the week on a school nite,thanks

[kilty55]

yeah no probs,