I’m posting this as off topic because it isn’t just about heat pumps, but it is absolutely about homeowners, tradespeople, expectations, professionalism… and whether something in the industry has shifted. Because honestly, I’m curious if others here are seeing the same pattern we are.

We’re extremely accommodating homeowners. Always have been.

We’re polite, respectful and easy to deal with. We offer endless teas, coffees, biscuits, and if a job runs through the day, we prepare a homemade lunch. We’re clear about expectations. We give tradespeople space. We never micromanage. And importantly, we rarely choose the cheapest quote... quite the opposite. We will happily pay more for someone who presents themselves as competent, organised and trustworthy, because we want a quality job.

But this year alone has been a shocker.

Five jobs with tradespeople… and four out of the five have been genuinely poor experiences.

A quick snapshot:

1. The tiler who vanished: Highly recommended, vetted, booked… then disappeared into thin air on the day. No call, no message, nothing. We still have the tiles lying the garage.

2. Another trade who over-promised and entirely under-delivered. I’ll spare the full details, but it was the same pattern great chat, great pitch, then virtually no follow-through and work we ended up having to complete ourselves.

3. The heating engineer cowboy. This one was on a different level. One of the worst, most careless experiences we’ve had. The system was left in a terrible state... 

4. Enter @chas-b and @pirate-rich, and this is important: Where others let us down, these two stepped in and reminded us what true professionalism looks like. Chas and Richard remain the benchmark. They turn up when they say they will, do what they promise, communicate clearly, take pride in their work, fix problems properly, without excuses and go over and above expectations, Their competence and integrity highlighted just how far the bad experiences had fallen below even basic standards. They’re the kind of professionals who restore your faith in the entire sector and they absolutely deserve the credit.

5. And then comes the most recent episode, the one that prompted me to write this post. The conservatory woodwork job! 

We needed urgent woodwork and structural support replaced in our conservatory. Serious stuff and not something you rush. We found a highly rated local tradesman in early October. Very professional in person. Great reputation. He said he was fully booked for six weeks but could start mid-November. Perfect. We appreciate good trades are busy.

Mid-November came… and went. No update until we chased. He eventually confirmed he could start this Monday. Job was quoted for two full days.

He arrived on time at 8:30, we cleared the entire garden room (now piled inside the main house) and he began. The workmanship he completed looked good. Then at 15:00 he inexplicably packed up, said he couldn’t continue that day, and would return on Tuesday.

Later that evening came the text: he couldn’t make Tuesday but could come Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday arrived. No updates. At 16:00 (in the dark) he finally appeared. Much of the job is exterior work. He did some, missed a lot, and promised to return Thursday after 90 minutes with us.

Thursday morning came. No arrival. Midday text: He’s delayed but “will be with us soon.”

By 17:00 still nothing. Another text: he could come at 18:00. We declined. This is structural woodwork. Not a job you rush with a torch after dark to get it done. This is an expensive project, and it feels like we've been demoted to an after hours project. Now he says he can only back early next week. Meanwhile we have the contents of garden room scattered around the living and dining room. 

And it’s led me to a bigger question. Is this just us? Or has there been a real decline in tradesmanship and professionalism?

We’re respectful, communicative and willing to pay well. We treat tradespeople extremely well. Yet the level of unreliability, broken commitments, vanishing acts and chaotic scheduling this year has been honestly astonishing.

And the contrast between the bad experiences and people like Chas and Richard, who set the gold standard for how professionals should operate, has made the issue even more noticeable.

So I’d really like to hear from others. Are you finding it harder to get reliable, professional trades even when choosing the most reputable and expensive options?

And tradespeople. What’s going on?

Is it demand? Burnout? No-shows becoming normalised? Something cultural?

I’m genuinely interested in your experiences.