Last week I used an online trades quoting site to help find a tradesperson to replace a benchtop in my laundry. The financial cost will be measured in the hundreds of dollars (it’s a very small benchtop).
The emotional cost was much higher than that. Here’s why.
The online portal of this trades software allows you to tick a few boxes, enter a detailed description (with measurements), upload photos, download the corresponding app on your phone and wait for the quotes to come in. So, a little setting up was required but I told myself it would all be worth it if I didn’t have to stay home to let in each tradesperson to measure etc. for a quote.
And it worked. I got a few responses very quickly.
Except, every tradesman who responded wanted the same information already provided (measurements, photos, materials, detailed explanation of the job and more). All of which I provided again. Again, thinking it would be worth it.
In the end, they all wanted to show up and measure for themselves.
Which meant I had to be home to let them in. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. So, all that time setting up the app, taking photos, measuring etc. was wasted. But I digress…
Tradesman 1 set up a meeting for Tuesday at 4:30pm. At 3:43pm he asked me what my address was (by text). I responded at 3:44pm and made sure I made it home by 4:30pm. At 9:42pm he sends a note saying he can’t make it. The following morning he texts again wanting to come back on the Thursday and asks which times suit me.
By now I’m just in it for the amusement and to see how far this particular tradie’s audacity extends. Just to see how this will play out I send through a few times and he responds with “none of those times work for me”. Kill me now. No apology for missing the appointment the previous day. No suggestion of an alternate time. I just stopped responding. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want the job.
Tradesman 2 gets his assistant to contact me for an appointment the following week. It took six phone calls to nail down this appointment (so much for the app doing all the work). Again, I have to be there to let him in – so I need to ensure that my work calendar is clear and that my clients are not inconvenienced. Having just been burned by Tradesman 1 – and if it took six calls to nail down an appointment… – I told them this didn’t work for me as they already had all the information to provide a quote. Truth was I didn’t trust them to show up.
Tradesmen 3 to 7 were discarded because their only response (via the app) was to send me a link to their website. Given the time of year I can only assume this is an automated response.
All of this was done via an app that’s meant to automate and therefore simplify this whole process of getting quotes. The app promises if I input the details of my job by the magic of AI I will be inundated with quotes. The problem – as is the problem with all automation – is when human beings get involved. It’s been over a week now and I’m yet to receive a single quote. However, I’ve had several discussions over the phone and even been asked if I have a fax machine.
In the end, I just contacted the son of former basketball coach who’s a cabinet maker. In other words I used my network.
Which brings me to online mortgages. I have written about this before but some things just need repeating.
If I can’t get something as prescriptive as a benchtop for my laundry to be quoted online, how do you get something as complicated as a mortgage to be quoted?
Let me explain.
A benchtop – once you decide which one you want is the same no matter which trades person installs it for you. The variable is their labour charge. But a mortgage?
Last year there wasn’t a week that went by when either the regulator or a bank didn’t make a policy change which affected terms and conditions and/or price for the many different types of mortgages offered by lenders. Now multiply that by 23 (the number of lenders we’re currently accredited with) and you start to see the complexity of what we’re dealing with.
We find that each borrower has special circumstances which make their requirements slightly different. This means we need to advise them of what’s available and the likelihood of success. For some clients – whom we think may struggle – we recommend an initial no-cost meeting with a trusted financial planner just to ensure they’re doing the right thing.
We can do all of this with the nuances that can only be picked up by a human being. We can tell when they’re uncertain or nervous about such a large financial decision. We can tell when it’s all or nothing for some people and we can tell when they really shouldn’t be getting themselves into debt for thirty years for something that is currently a dream but could very well turn into a nightmare for them.
It’s a little like my car which has automated emergency braking. It’s wonderful technology that has saved me from an accident once but on all other occasions I do the braking. I just wouldn’t want to rely on it to save me every single time.
The benchtop? That will be installed next week.