Dear Gentlemen, Please Grow A Pair

Dear Tradies

To all the painters and electricians, handymen and plumbers, garden guys and tilers I implore you:

Please grow a pair!

And I am not talking about a pair of trousers, but what is in them.  Toughen up lads.  If you're tough enough to drive a shiny new ute with enormous chrome wheels and a stereo system that would put GunsNRoses to shame, then you're tough enough to say 'No' to a person you have never met, a person who is not even standing in front of you, who doesn't know your face, someone on the end of the phone.

It's not that hard fellas.  If you have no intention of showing up to give a girl a quote for a job, then just say so.  Don't fob her off with 'I'll give you a call and we'll make a time for me to come out'.  Because you never call back.  You never make a time. 

Let's practice the following sentences:

'I'm sorry but I'm very busy at the moment, and I don't really have time to come and give you a quote'.

'I'm sorry but I can't really be arsed driving all the way out to your place'.

'I'm sorry but I don't get out of bed for a job worth less than $1,000.'

'I'm sorry but your job sounds too hard and I really can't be bothered.'

'I'm sorry but the surf is too good this week and I don't plan on doing any work let alone give free quotes to a landlocked suburb too far from the beach.'

All a girl wants is a little bit of honesty.  If a tradie told me that the job sounded too hard/too small/not profitable enough I would probably reward them for their honesty and give them a call the next time I had a bigger, more expensive quote.  Have the balls to be honest with your customers.  If you're not interested - say so!

This year I have had electricians, who live only a few streets away from me, twice fail to turn up to give me quotes.  The job ended up being worth well over $1,000.  They missed out.  Bathroom Renovators who never returned my calls missed out on a job that ended up being over $5,000.  Painters who took too long to get me a quote missed out on a job worth over $7,000.

Grow a pair fellas.  You'd be amazed how far it could get you.