Why nobody will come out for a small job

How common is it?

Very. In a 2023 survey by Markel Direct, an insurer of tradespeople, 46% of UK homeowners said they had struggled to hire a tradesperson for a project or a repair. The most common reason was simply that nobody was available, given by 46% of respondents. The next was a shortage of that trade in their area, given by 34%. Electrical Contracting News reported the survey.

In a village, both reasons apply at once. There are fewer tradespeople nearby, and every job is a longer trip for them.

What does a small job actually cost a tradesperson?

Not the hour of work. It's everything around it.

• The drive. Out and back, often longer than the job itself. When one of us needed an immersion heater fitted, the plumber drove forty minutes each way.
• The visit to quote. Most tradespeople won't price a job they haven't seen, so a small job often means two trips, and the first one isn't paid.
• The gap in the day. A morning booked around one small job is a morning that can't take a bigger one.
• The waiting. A tank draining, sealant setting, a part on order. Someone pays for that time, and on a single job it's you.
• The paperwork. A quote, an invoice, sometimes a certificate, and sometimes chasing the payment. It's the same for a small job as for a big one.
• The cost of finding work. Some job websites charge tradespeople for each lead, or a monthly fee, and that costs the same whatever the size of the job.

Our own example is in the note on the immersion heater: ten minutes of work, two and a half hours on site, and a bill of £160. Nobody was being greedy. Almost all of the cost was the drive and the waiting.

Why don't they just charge more for small jobs?

Many do, with a minimum charge or a call-out fee. But a minimum charge for a ten-minute fix feels wrong to most people, even when it's fair, and it leads to awkward conversations. So rather than quote a price that will upset someone, a lot of tradespeople quote high to put you off, or don't quote at all.

Why don't tradespeople get back to you?

It's rarely personal. A tradesperson with more work than they can take has to turn something down, and the small jobs go first. Saying no takes time and often starts an argument, so it's easier to say nothing. That's frustrating, but it's the same arithmetic again: replying about a job they can't make pay is more unpaid time.

Is it just a shortage of tradespeople?

Partly. The survey points to availability and local shortages, and both are real. But even where there are plenty of electricians and plumbers, a single small job in a village doesn't add up for them. More tradespeople wouldn't change that on its own. Changing how the work is put together would.

How can you get a small job done?

• Save small jobs up. Three or four jobs for the same trade make a visit worth doing. Keep a list and ask for them together.
• Send a photo first. A clear photo lets a tradesperson price the job without a visit, which takes away one of their costs.
• Be flexible on timing. If it can wait, say so. They can then fit you in when they're working nearby.
• Ask neighbours for a name. A tradesperson is more likely to reply to someone recommended by a customer.
• Use the right person. A handyman is fine for many small tasks. For electrical work, use a registered electrician, who can certify it. Gas work must, by law, be done by someone on the Gas Safe Register.

What does a village day change?

Put the first three of those together across a whole village and you get a day worth doing. When four jobs in the same village need the same trade, we find and check one tradesperson and book them to do all four on the same day. They drive out once. Each job comes with photos, so there's no visit to quote. The waiting at one house is spent working at the next. And the day is full, so it's worth their while.

You get a date two to four weeks ahead, a two-hour slot and a price before anyone comes. We haven't booked the first day yet. When we do, we'll write up what it cost, what it paid and what went wrong. How it works has the detail, and How we'll check a tradesperson sets out the checks.