Do women get a fair deal with tradespeople/mechanics?

[Mikkel]

What man would even consider for a second to leave anything technical or mechanical to his spouse? I mean seriously, I wouldn't want to meddle in the cooking or the washing so I even letting her talk to a mechanic is out of the question. Dropping off or picking up the car is not a problem though...

Jokes aside, if you don't engage your skepticism when dealing with people you don't already know you will get ripped off sooner rather than later. When I request the services of a professional I very much expect them to know more than myself on the subject, if they don't I'll find someone else. If I get a feeling that they start telling porkies or are unable to explain something that is within their field of expertise I'll find someone else.

And, indeed, your gender doesn't matter - much. If you are dealing with something of which you are completely ignorant you will always be an easy target for fraud.

I have automotive repair shop in newmarket and we pride ourselves on being honest to our customers. We hold all parts removed from vehicles untill customer has left, Parts are shown to anyone who wishes to see them and in a lot of cases we show the customer the faulty or worn parts before they are even removed so they can see for themselves if they are unsure.

Hehe, I had to laugh seeing that plate. "Nar" is the danish word for fool

Good practice btw. Witnessing the slight mechanical destruction of one's vehicle firsthand increases the appreciation of the need for maintainance.

[Tank]

I worked really hard for my customers for years and years, and it got me precisely nowhere - they just crunch me for an even BETTER deal every time and go spend the money they "save" on their $60,000 boat, or their teenage kids' $11,000 dirtbike. They didn't "save" any money at all - they just took it out of my pocket and stuck it in theirs.

So what you are saying is that they are all smarter than you.

[scracha]

2 different breeds of people realy:
the bloody good value honest as gold competent real Kiwiblokes....half the time charge bugger all for little "help you out-ers"

Yeah, but there's a fair few crooked, lying, bad paying customers out there too who treat tradesmen like sub-humans. I sleep well at night as I have honestly never ripped anybody off but I certainly don't go out of my way to help or give discounts to (the minority of) customers who can't be bothered to pay me on time and/or are quite frankly, bloody rude.


Females getting ripped off? Quite the opposite. Women tend to be much more pleasant to deal with and therefore my human nature tends to give them a better discount. A lot of blokes are quite offish, sometimes even blatantly aggressive in their questioning (they seriously give you the third degree) as they seem to consider tradesmen a dent on their fragile macho ego because they can't do the job themselves.

I can empathise with DB's point about customers taking money out of his pocket. Honest day's pay for an honest day's work and all that.

[Tank]

I can empathise with DB's point about customers taking money out of his pocket. Honest day's pay for an honest day's work and all that.

People negotiate (well smart people do).

If you dont like the $$$ being offered you have the opportunity to walk away - simple really.

If you dont - then you must still be happy that you are being paid appropriately.

People need to look it from the other side as well - Most traders charge as much as they believe they can get away with. Not what what is necessarily fair.

And to think that its money from your pocket to theirs is simple thinking - and shows a lack of understanding of business at a very basic level.

They are not taking money from your pocket - you didnt have any to start with - they are putting money IN your pocket - but with a poor attitude - they will take their money elsewhere in future. And thats you putting a whole in your own pocket.

[scracha]

People negotiate (well smart people do).
If you dont like the $$$ being offered you have the opportunity to walk away - simple really.

I often do. But anyhoo, I'm talking about the "smart people" who negociate once you've arrived to do the job. Even if I walk away, I've wasted time and fuel getting there, and that means less money in my pocket.

People need to look it from the other side as well - Most traders charge as much as they believe they can get away with. Not what what is necessarily fair.

Traders are not the same as tradescmen. Your above statement is nonsense. Most tradesmen have spent years learning their skill(s), work long hours, give discounts to the less well off and put a hell of a lot back into the community.

And to think that its money from your pocket to theirs is simple thinking - and shows a lack of understanding of business at a very basic level.

Yes, it's simple thinking. How you can extrapolate that to make assumptions about my understanding of business is amazing.

They are not taking money from your pocket - you didnt have any to start with - they are putting money IN your pocket - but with a poor attitude - they will take their money elsewhere in future. And thats you putting a whole in your own pocket.

Nobody's "putting" money in my pocket. I'm working for it. Lets see you arrive at work (or even do the work first) and then have your employer "negociate" your wages.