I think the problem varies by location . I've had some no shows but I've never had to wait more than a day or two for somebody .I found a guy that does drywall repair and loves small jobs . I've had him show up the same day I called .Plenty of A/C people around here so no long wait for them . I did have a fence company that was supposed to work up an estimate for me and took two weeks to call back with the numbers . They were off of my radar by the third day . Plenty of fence companies here too .

I called a plumber last Wednesday about our kitchen sink leaking. Had to leave a message but got a call later saying he would see when he could get to me. He finally left me a VM last night. Also rough quote of $250. Fortunately I have another plumber I have used, he came out the same day and charged me $140. I called the first plumber back and told him I got it handled. He seemed surprised I didn’t need his services now.

One option that I have used is firemen. Most are on a shift and looking for ways to boost their income. Side jobs such as simple plumbing and carpentry are often supplmentary sources of income.

Yeah, a lot of firemen have self-employed side gigs like that. Electrical, plumbing, furniture making, real estate, landscaping, HVAC, handyman services, etc.

Easy to do when you work ~2 days per week (24 on/48 off). Leaves lots of free time for another basically full time job, especially stuff like skilled trades when you can schedule appointments around your frequent off days.

But those fireman skilled tradesmen are often just as busy with trade work as the other non-fireman skilled tradesmen, so there's no guarantee that they'll be able to get back to you any sooner.

Residential type work is only half the problem of lack of skilled trades workers. I am a Trades Supervisor for a University and all the skilled HVAC workers have retired or are in the process of retiring.

The skill set to take care of old commercial grade HVAC systems does not exist anymore. Steam traps, condensate tanks...What are those? Pneumatic Controls...Huh? I should be able to just plug in a computer.

I deal with this problem of shortage of trade workers every day. I am down to just hiring people that are willing to learn and not be afraid to get their hands dirty. Even those people are hard to find.

quote:

But those fireman skilled tradesmen are often just as busy with trade work as the other non-fireman skilled tradesmen, so there's no guarantee that they'll be able to get back to you any sooner.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It helps if you are friends with some of the guys. I know a lot of them because I have been in this community many years. I also have quite a few in the family although they reside out of state. A lot better than Angi.

On the flip side of this, sometimes getting called back very quickly can be a red flag too.

I had some crumbling concrete stairs to my front porch and was looking for quotes from a masonry expert to repair them and called this one guy who was all over it right away and gave me bad vibes, so I passed on him.

The guy I ended up getting took a couple weeks to get to me but he did excellent work and I've used him several times since then.

I prefer someone who, when required, is licensed. Seen some "stuff" from unlicensed "electricians that made me leery of non-licensed workers.

I have a great plumber and his beautiful daughter is now a licensed plumber working in his business. Not cheap, but reliable, always calls me back and always show up when they say they will plus very personable and they are gun people, too. Can't ask for much more.

Bob

Jumping back in because of what I saw at moms last week.

She had a guy named Pat who does carpentry stuff for them. My dad doesn’t do wood-but if you want anything made of metal he’s your guy. Anyway, after he finished replacing a few deck boards due to rot, mom slips him some cash-like a grandma might do to her grandchild.

I waited till she was alone and asked her. She said she does that with anyone who she feels like does a good job at any repairs they might have. She said she had called him a year ago and he showed up and fixed something the same day she called. She calls it her retainer fee. She’s found if you drop them a twenty off the books, that they answer a phone call and will show up for a small job without complaint.

She’s figured out a system that works.

(I would have done the work while I was there visiting, but she had already called Pat before I got there. I did hand him tools and gabbed)

When I did residential electrical work, tipping definitely worked. Repeat customers got my cellphone number, I didn't set appointments, but I could at least tell them my openings.

I do handy man stuff on the side. I try to get to every job. At the same time if its out of my league I let them know and refer them to other contractors I know.
I think sometimes its the size of the job that determines if they show or not.