How much further can the Accreditation marketplace go following the introduction of another trades independant scheme from Which?
There are a growing number of schemes in operation which all purport to be the best 'must belong to' scheme. They all appear to have the consumer's best interest at heart, but aren't these all 'commercial' organisations, who as businesses, must have a business plan to make ££££'s at the expense of small, often confused Contractors who may feel sidelined if they do not belong?
So, how much to belong to TrustedTrader, RatedPeople, MyBuilder, Which?, SAFEContractor etc. Then we have the Trade Product schemes, linked to Manufactures/Suppliers....where does this leave the consumer when looking for a trader/contractor ?
In the commercial world, the required accreditations are often dictated by those you wish to work for, but the Domestic market appears to be running mad due to issues surrounding Rogue Traders. I have looked at the Which? scheme due to the potential 'weight' it may carry, but currently waiting to see how it affects our marketplace.
So what in your mind makes a scheme unique, trustworthy and appealing to the consumer & Contractor?
What success have you had with these schemes ?
Do you feel there is a demonstrable ROI or does the "feel good / belonging" factor overrule business sense?
Is the only trade 'independent' scheme the Trading Standards "Buy With Confidence" Scheme ? I understand it performs all the same checks as the others schemes. With such as low cost, is it a no brainer ?
I wonder - will there be a backlash from Contractors fed up of paying through the nose for a badge, website listing & certificate ?
Interesting times ahead - what do you think ?
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I am not a member of any scheme and am still picking up new customers every week thanks to recommendations, neighbours seeing our work and wanting us to achieve the same with their lawns along with the web site and advertising.
Question.If you had not read about the which scheme on here would you know about it? I would not and chances are most potential customers are no wiser.
I once followed Which best buy advice and took a pension out with Equatable life, They went bust.
When did you last see one of there magazines, now you need to pay online to view what ever they want to inform you about you are unlikely to come across them without subscribing.
I bet hardly any person under 50yrs old know who they are
Excellent point - I had forgotten it included a CRB or BDA.
Phil Voice said:
As a small business owner there isn't one that stands out to me as the one to go for.
Here in sunny Northern Ireland we don't even have access to Trading Standards "Buy With Confidence" Scheme
None of my marketing has indicated the need to join any of the above schemes for the time being anyway.
In a way this gets us back to the trade associations debate, probably a safer bet to get accreditation...
personally there is too many of them its just a giant cashcow for them especially with shows like cowboy builders who are sponsored by what ever company it is that has some approved list of contractors or rated list. which is a con as they are paid by the builders so negative reviews are removed or edited as at the end of the day anyone with bad reviews is less likely to keep paying them a fee.
Personally never even read which or used it for any kind of reviews if I was to sign up to one of these it would be the council run buy with confidence due to it being the cheap and having better ties with the council.
My biggest fear with all of these companies is that you may never get any return from what ever payment you make
We have quite a few different accreditations, most of which were required by the big companies if you wanted to do work with them. The Which? scheme is more a trust thing for me. We will be accredited with it by early next week, just in the last throws of it now. What I do like about it is that the checking and accrediting is carried out by Trading Standards Officers and Which? are a nationally trusted brand. And trust me, if you dont run your company right you wont get passed. Having the appropriate training and qualifications is also a must have, along with waste carriers licence, a valid CRB / DISCLOSUREscotland cert is also required. Legal and proper T & C's and right to cancel documents on your paper work and website are also must haves.
I am becoming more cynical about accreditations the more experience I get. I am still acquiring new work for large commercial organisations and don't feel I am being held back.
The fewer 3rd parties I have to deal with in my business the better. They are all profit-making companies that are selling something that I genuinely don't need.
I joined the 'Guild of Master Craftsmen' probably 30 years ago..........for one year! Realised they didn't vet as rigorously as they promised, £130 per year(back then) was a lot of money for a few stickers that any Tom, Dick and Harry seemed to use. Since then I have had a very cynical view of any similar scheme, steered clear of them and let our work do the talking...........how old fashioned!!
We're similar in our views in many ways. I want to see what happens with Which?. I am right, in that they have not launched yet ?
I can see Which? scheme being prominent, along with BWC as a totally independent and trusted scheme for consumers.
I feel there has to be a rationalisation of schemes - As for the rest - who knows?
Brian www.mibservices.co.uk said:
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