For a homeowner, there is nothing more frustrating than finding out your house requires some repairs. Plumbing issues, in particular, are very difficult to deal with because more often than not, these issues are directly related to the cleanliness in your home. This is why it is essential to have a local plumber whom you trust and can easily reach out to whenever you need their services. Finding a plumber that you can trust, however, is not as easy as it seems. Before you can find the right one, there are many things you will have to consider. You will have to find out their work history, their qualifications, and most importantly, just how much they charge for their services, among many other things. Moreover, in a city like London, where there are more than 8 million people who are essentially sharing the same pool of resources and services such as plumbers, you really just cannot be sure that you’ve found the right one by just calling the first one you come across. And so, to help you find the best London plumber near you, I’ve come up with some tips you should consider:
Ask around
One way to find a good plumber is reaching out to your family, friends, and neighbours. Ask them about their contact plumber and ask for a recommendation. Referrals or word of mouth advertising are crucial in such businesses, so if someone you know gives you a referral, chances are the plumber has already proven themselves to be excellent and trustworthy.
If you choose to take the old fashioned route and contact a name on a flyer, or an online or phone book listing, you may also ask your prospect plumber for references for other people they have done work for.
Use The Power of The Internet
Visit online referral websites which chronicle consumers’ experiences with and feedback for local businesses. You will probably have to sift through thousands of those, seeing as London is a huge city with a lot of plumbers offering their services. To make your search easier, come up with a criteria or standard for the plumbers that you should be on the lookout for. You may, for example, only opt to consider plumbers with four stars or an 80% approval rate. Most plumbers are also classified as either an apprentice plumber, a journeyman plumber, or a master plumber.
You may also want to look at sites which could connect you to good, trustworthy plumbers. Such sites make sure to vet their service providers and make sure that they are trained and qualified to provide the services that you need. Because such companies hold their partner service providers to a certain standard, plumbers affiliated in such companies are much more likely to do a good job.
Do Not Settle
Again, it is no secret that finding the right plumber is difficult. However, that does not mean you should settle for the first decent plumber you come across. You will have to accept several pitches or quotations and compare every single one of them in order to determine which plumber best suits your needs.
During the process of finding the right plumber, do not forget to ask as many questions as you can. Ask them about their qualifications, what related experiences they have, the warranty they offer, and most importantly if they have any type of insurance that protects both of you in the event of an accident or mishap they may encounter while on the job.
Set their expectations
Because you will expect transparency and honesty from your prospective plumbers, it will be best for you to show them the same transparency and honesty. One way to do this would be to be upfront with what type of work you expect them to do.
On the other hand, if you don’t really need a plumber at the moment and are only looking for a plumber you can have on-call in the event of an emergency, you may also discuss with them just how you want your working relationship to be in the future. This will give the both of you a chance to decide if working with each other someday is something you would want to consider.
