[CraigHaycock]

Can anyone tell me if checkatrade is a good route or is it just for throwing money away?

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

I know some people do really well out of it, however, my gripe is how come every one listed has an average of  9.9 out of 10 score ?

It's not in Checkatrade's interests to show bad reviews or ratings because ultimately they are receiving revenue from everyone listed on it.

[steve cardy]

Hi Craig, 
Have a look at some of the carpet cleaners near you on checkatrade, see how long they have been members and look at their page on checkatrade and decide if you didnt have a friends recomendation would you choose them over just some website or yp ad.
  regards steve

[CraigHaycock]

Yeah thats another issue as I have my own review form asking them most of what checkatrade rates, yet especially with the older customers, they say that my service is better than x company and that they are over the moon with the results but on the form most of the time they tick very good results very rarely excellent or outstanding so that would mean that out of 10 i would only get an 8 from them see example http://proclene.com/carpet-cleaning-reviews/customer_reviews/jennymundigian-2nd-review-redacted.pdf

[steve cardy]

Reading your clients comments im sure on a scale of 1 to 10 she would have givern you 10, although sometimes you can get fantastic remarks and the odd funny score but if you get enough good feedback you will get work. This does depend on how well checkatrade is know around your area though. On the south coast it holds more sway than say fulham but it is growing and lots of people use it for all different trades.

[CraigHaycock]

Steve, what are they charging you? the site say's from £10 (must be retired carpet cleaners) you would have thought they were a bit clearer.

[steve cardy]

i couldnt see any prices on thier website but i know there doing a good discount for the first year if you are a member of tacca.

[CraigHaycock]

well ive filled the form in for them to contact me, cheers Steve

[*Hector*]

but... why should it cost you, to be part of a recommended trader scheme??

If the scheme was run purely on merit and being a good trader, it should not cost a lot of money to be on it...

All it tells me is, that any trader on the scheme has paid £500 per year for example, for a different method of being in a trade advert magazine...

[steve cardy]

The way checkatrade is run does cost money, if you just wanted to be listed on a website like the ncca or tacca then its not going to cost but if you want someone with staff to monitor feedback and local/ national advertising you are going to have to pay. Also like a buisness they need to make money.

[Tony_C]

I know some people do really well out of it, however, my gripe is how come every one listed has an average of  9.9 out of 10 score ?

It's not in Checkatrade's interests to show bad reviews or ratings because ultimately they are receiving revenue from everyone listed on it.

It absolutely is in Checkatrade’s interest to publish bad reviews and they do - the vast majority of businesses that join, do so to differentiate themselves from the cowboys, they wouldn’t renew their membership year after year if the cowboys were kept on board. You may not have seen bad reviews because the businesses that get them leave Checkatrade for obvious reasons, then all their reviews are deleted.
Knowing that your customer’s scores and comments (good or bad) will be published on the internet for the whole world to see is great motivation to provide the best service you possibly can, hence the high average scores.

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Does checkatrade work well for you then Tony ?
Last time I looked into it, it worked out around £65 per month but that included their leaflet

[Tony_C]

Does checkatrade work well for you then Tony ?
Last time I looked into it, it worked out around £65 per month but that included their leaflet

It works for me Steve in as far as I’m a crap salesman, it allows me to point potential customers to my Checkatrade page which give them the impression that I know what I’m doing. Also custies that come from checkatrade are usually looking for quality and are prepared to pay a premium for what they perceive to be a premium service.

[Richard Joyce]

I am with checkatrade and its cost £980 a year that's to be on the website and in the leaflet that goes out twice a year to the same homes which is 50,000 each time. It's a lot of money but worth it.