Gas and heating engineers are Britain’s most trusted traders for 2016 – closely followed by electricians and plumbers, a survey has revealed.
More than one in five UK homeowners (22%) opted for gas and heating engineers as the nation’s most trustworthy tradespeople in the 2016 poll, released by UK home assistance company HomeServe during Gas Safe Register’s Gas Safety Week.
Electricians (11%) rated second among more than 2,000 UK homeowners questioned in the OnePoll survey, followed by plumbers (8%), painters and decorators (7%), landscape gardeners (6%) and joiners (5%). The 2016 list is propped up this year by pest controllers and builders, at 3.5% and 3.55% respectively.
Trustworthiness (67%) is the most important attribute expected of traders by homeowners – with honesty, reliability, high quality workmanship and qualifications also ranking highly in the HomeServe-commissioned study.
However, it appears traders can leave the jokes at home – as smart clothes, compassion, good humour and a smile are deemed to be least important.
HomeServe chief marketing officer Greg Reed commented: “Before we let tradespeople have access to our homes, often for a number of hours, we obviously need to be completely confident we can trust them to do the job with competence and honesty. Hundreds of our engineers are working in homes across the UK every day, so we know how important this is to our own Customers when they turn to us for help.
“With the busy colder months ahead, gas and heating engineers – including our own – will play a vital role in helping to repair people’s homes, so it’s fantastic to see them recognised in this survey,” Greg added. “Gas Safety Week is a great way to celebrate those engineers who work hard to help us when we need them most.”
In total, 85% of homeowners who responded in the study deemed qualifications and accreditations to be essential ingredients (either extremely/very important) for choosing their trusted traders of choice.
Gas Safe Register chief executive Jonathan Samuel added: “Having any kind of work done can be stressful, and knowing that the person who is undertaking work is a suitably qualified professional like a Gas Safe registered engineer is a great help. We always say ‘Trust the Triangle’, and always use a Gas Safe registered engineer.”
The study also shows that when it comes to the tricky decision about picking a trader, knowing them personally (39%) and word of mouth recommendations from family and friends (36%) prove to be the most popular choices.
