TV Home Renovation Shows Sets Unrealistic Client Expectations

TV HOME RENOVATION SHOWS SET UNREALISTIC CLIENT EXPECTATIONS

We’ve all seen reality home renovation TV shows like ‘ The Block’, ‘Selling Houses Australia’, ‘Better Homes & Gardens’. Us tradies watch in awe (or horror) as they completely renovate a four bedroom, two-bathroom house PLUS a full deck and landscaping in under four days. To add insult to injury, they make it look so simple and easy— like it took barely any effort, and boast about how they did it on a budget that seems suspiciously cheap. As tradies, we watch this screaming over how “there’s no bloody way that waterproofed that bathroom in half a day… look how sh*t that vanity looks it’s not even straight!...I bet they didn’t undercoat that paint it’s just slap-dashed on.”

Our clients watch these shows, and suddenly have stars in their eyes.

They don’t have the technical know-how to understand the impossibleness of what we just witnessed. They only see that Shaynna Blaze from Selling houses did a whole bathroom in a day, so surely a professional plumber can too. These TV shows give the impression that micicales can be worked on a shoestring budget, in just a few days. It’s so unrealistic that it’s almost funny.

So, it’s no wonder clients’ jaws drop and they look dismayed when us tradies say it will take weeks... if not longer... to finish their one job, and will cost an arm and a leg. “But surely you can get it done faster...or cheaper” they protest as we struggle to explain how it is just not achievable. And in the end, we feel like we’re letting THEM down, how crazy is that!

It’s all TV magic.

These shows work with highly professional teams, working around the clock in unison to deliver a TV ready finish — all for that all important before and after WOW moment. Often they have retail partners and advertisers who either offer massive discounts, or pick up the tab for them in return for them promoting the brand and cooing at how amazing it looks. On screen the homes look finished to perfection. With the help of a professional stylist and lighting teams — the rooms glow and look almost unrecognizable. But in reality, it’s a bit of a bodgy fix. Nothing has had the time or care it deserves, it’s a rush job, and under that shiny surface, we hedge our bets that it’s not up to scratch. The only benefit to these shows, is it does generate more work for tradies.

So how does this help tradies?

The general public sees how with just a few fitting changes, maybe some paint and a bit of elbow grease, how their home could look like new. It’s so aspirational, but feels so achievable.

• THE RENO LOOKS SO EASILY DONE ON

THE TV, PEOPLE THINK THEY CAN JUST

DIY.

But after they’ve started the demolition themselves, and start pulling out fittings... they realise it’s not as easy as they think. So after they’ve made a right mess, then they seek a professional tradie (us) to come in and fix it. At the end of the day, we are the tradies, and we are here to educate our customers. Through being transparent around costing structures, sharing detailed timelines and keeping expectations realistic, you can build a fantastic relationship with your customers and develop a great reputation within the industry, without over promising or buying into the TV magic.

• IT’S HIGHLY INSPIRATIONAL.

They’ve watched it on TV, seen how excellent a facelift could look for their home and get the motivation to get the home renovation they’ve always wanted. It gives them solid ideas to work from, so they can show you exactly what they’re trying to achieve.

• THEY’RE EASY TO MARKET TO.

These types of shows have people HOOKED. If you can tailor your marketing, and be smart with your strategy, this is a great demographic to target.

WOW them on your website with amazing before and after photos of other home renovation projects, so they can see that YOU are the best person to deliver them their dream home.

Don’t over promise to get the quote approved, and then underdeliver.

The most important thing of all is to manage your clients expectations. There’s no point in promising a final product like they’d see on TV, it’s just not good business. You need to be clear and firm with your pricing and delivery dates — and if Billy-Bum Crack says they can do it in half the time for half the cost. ... Well it will be half as good. We can cross our arms, and grumble about how these TV shows are bull and our clients should know better. But at the end of the day, these shows are GROWING in popularity and are probably not going away anytime soon. Instead, focus your energy into building trust with your customers, and proving to them that YOU ARE the person for the job and can deliver their dream… within reason.

YOU’RE A TOOL

MGS Physiotherapy + Lifestyle Tradie

Your body is your most valuable tool, so invest in it! Andy’s been seeing the Physio’s at MGS Physiotherapy for over 30 years and follows their guide religiously. Over the years, they’ve educated Andy on how to get his body in peak working condition so that he could be in the best physical shape to run his plumbing business, Dr DRiP. We spoke with Matt Geister, one of the owners of MGS Physiotherapy, to get some professional advice on how tradies can avoid injuries and keep ourselves in great working condition.

Matt’s top tips for avoiding injury:

1. Prepare your body.

Matt notes that preparation is key; Increasing your body’s flexibility, core strength, and stability helps your body handle the loads required within your general workday. There are so many effective and safe Gyms, studios and trainers around such as Code 5, F45, Vision or Crossfit Gyms. An experienced PT or EP is the best thing for your body — Matt recommends “anywhere a trained professional is guiding you is the best option if you are able to partake in it regularly”.

2. Be body aware.

When you feel a little ‘niggle’ or some early-stage symptoms of impending injury, don’t ignore it; listen to your body and address its needs.

Please seek professional advice, start stretching, icing or resting to look after a potential injury when it first starts to bother you before it becomes a full-blown injury!

3. Being aware of your limitations

Many tradespeople are guilty of doing tasks the ‘quick and fast way’, which is not necessarily the right way.

For instance, when moving bags of concrete, traditionally there has been a stigma of don’t be soft and just lift it — rather than taking the time to get the trolley out or asking for help and sharing the load. Matt sees this all the time at his practice, where tradies injure themselves because they “just wanted to get it done quickly, were under other time pressures, or their apprentice was too far away.” At the time they sometimes don’t think about the potential repercussions of their actions until it is too late. Operating like this leaves you at higher risk of injury, such as a slipped disc which can take up to six weeks to heal. Imagine if you or one of your staff was off for six weeks; what kind of financial impact would that have on your business?

4. Stretch it out.

Building muscle and core strength is excellent. But if your muscles are tight, you still leave yourself at a higher risk of injury. Learning to stretch your glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, chest, and pecs will help take the load off the spine. Teaching your hips to be able to handle deeper squat positions and more mobility can avoid painful impingement conditions occurring. Tradies’ work is so varied, that they need to be the MOST body-conscious and be stretching consistently to minimise their risk of injury.

How to work exercise into your routine.

We hear you. You’re up at the crack of dawn, you spend eight hours a day on the tools, and you come home exhausted. The last thing you can think about is hitting the gym, so Matt suggests bringing the gym to home. Matt noted to us; “I’m a big fan of the self-motivated exercise. If you’re someone who’s great with selfmotivated exercise, TRX is one of my go-to’s… especially when combined with a chin-up bar and some kettlebells”. With the right routine that includes stretching, this setup can give you a full-body workout and strengthen your core without spending big on a gym membership. It’s low impact and isn’t super time consuming because it’s in your own home and it covers the entire body parts as opposed to just floor based push ups, sit ups and plank eg.

Do I have to do this EVERY DAY?

No! Matt’s recommendation is to action your routine a minimum of 3 - 4 times a week. We get it, especially with young kids at home; it can be hard to find the time. You don’t need to work out for a full hour either; a solid 20minute session following a routine, with a 5minute stretching cool off, can do you wonders.

Repetitive injury strain

“We get a lot of tradespeople who suffer from elbow tendonitis from overuse injuries. A tip for avoiding this is just mix it up, so you’re not always using your dominant hand all the time and give periods of rest in between.” - Matt goes on to recommend a few basic on-site stretches for overuse injuries. Overuse injuries can often come from the tools tradies use every day. A great way to help keep the forearms and elbows moving are ‘median nerve stretches’ like putting your palm flat against the wall and extending your arm, which gives a nerve stretch in the arm. Glute stretches are also great. Matt joked that you could pop down the ute rear tray and throw your leg up on it during smoko. This simple stretch will get right into the core of your glute and relax the muscles. You may bare the butt of some of your fellow tradies heckling and jokes, but trust us, you’ll be the one laughing in the end.

Matt’s overall recommendation: do everything smarter.

Think about the long term impacts of your actions — just because you CAN carry those bags of concrete because you’re young and fit doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Good nutrition is also a given to achieving peak body performance. We all know the classic saying “you get out what you put in”. Is the Meat Pie and Can of “V” really necessary for a 7am breakkie start? Getting yourself into good, safe working habits whilst you are young is the best way to ensure you can have a long career and keep yourself safe from serious injury. As trade business owners, you have a duty of care for your staff and should encourage these practices and strongly discourage bad ones.

Seek professional advice.

Stretching and strengthening are vital to keeping your body in work-ready condition. However, it’s not always enough — seeking professional advice from a GP, chiro or Physio like our friends at MGS can be a significant next step to ensuring you don’t end up out of work from an injury. As a trade business owner, you have to see yours and your staff’s bodies as your primary source of income. Teach your tradies how to look after themselves, and ensure that safe working practices are implemented and enforced within your business.