Hello,
Is there an ongoing list here of recommended service providers on the forum?
e.g. Plumbers, tilers, builders, roofers, boiler guys/girls?
List of Traders, Builders, Services
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
No. You'll have to do a search to see the various recommendations in the Offers section.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
There *is* a rather mixed one on the Virtual Norwood forum, though - it allegedly covers Sydenham.clembot wrote:Is there an ongoing list here of recommended service providers on the forum?
e.g. Plumbers, tilers, builders, roofers, boiler guys/girls?
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Which is difficult because they are deleted after a short while. Some sort of stand-alone compilation would be very useful.mikej wrote:No. You'll have to do a search to see the various recommendations in the Offers section.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
I did one once. it's here: https://sydenham.org.uk/info/category/directory/
The problem with these is keeping them up to date. Would anybody like to volunteer to help out?
Stuart
The problem with these is keeping them up to date. Would anybody like to volunteer to help out?
Stuart
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Would it then perhaps be possible to open a new sub section on the Forum on the lines of Town Businesses & Services of something to that effect? I have found people's advice invariably crucial and have often thought of copying and pasting all of it for when the need arises. As it stands, when "the need arises" I end up spending hours searching in the various Towns (even Town Hall!) and offers and supplies etc etc , using different names, writing contrasting sentences etc.
If the admins felt that would be possible and others would also find it helpful I wouldn't mind making a contribution - ie by working with someone else/a few others perhaps. Being a bit anal I seem to enjoy that kind of slow, time consuming, painstakingly mind numbing kind of work - provided I can see the point of the end product of course.
If the admins felt that would be possible and others would also find it helpful I wouldn't mind making a contribution - ie by working with someone else/a few others perhaps. Being a bit anal I seem to enjoy that kind of slow, time consuming, painstakingly mind numbing kind of work - provided I can see the point of the end product of course.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
The trouble with the Virtual Norwood Forum is that they do not allow negative reviews as they are *very* scared of legal action so the reviews are very one sidedThere *is* a rather mixed one on the Virtual Norwood forum, though - it allegedly covers Sydenham.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
I suspect the same would happen here but as long as our admin/admins did write an initial note stating that negative critical posts are not acceptable for obvious reasons then I am sure it could still work for us.
All we would have to do, maybe, would be if/when we happen to disagreed with a glowing recommendation to write something along the lines that was not my experience, please pm if you want to know more. Is that kind of thing possible admin/s?.
As I say, I am prepared to help if I won't be working on my own and if this emerges as a distinct, easily recognised new Town section - rather than get lost throughout all the "Towns" as it is now, and me having to constantly re-direct them to the right site. In other words and as stated before, only if it is found both viable as well as useful by you all.
All we would have to do, maybe, would be if/when we happen to disagreed with a glowing recommendation to write something along the lines that was not my experience, please pm if you want to know more. Is that kind of thing possible admin/s?.
As I say, I am prepared to help if I won't be working on my own and if this emerges as a distinct, easily recognised new Town section - rather than get lost throughout all the "Towns" as it is now, and me having to constantly re-direct them to the right site. In other words and as stated before, only if it is found both viable as well as useful by you all.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Maria asked: All we would have to do, maybe, would be if/when we happen to disagreed with a glowing recommendation to write something along the lines that was not my experience, please pm if you want to know more. Is that kind of thing possible admin/s?.
Can't see any problem with that suggestion, Maria!
We need to avoid negative comments though. Might take a lot of policing which would be a bit of a pain.
Can't see any problem with that suggestion, Maria!
We need to avoid negative comments though. Might take a lot of policing which would be a bit of a pain.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
I would also suggest that you can't post a recommendation until you've been a member for a certain length of time or made a minimum number of posts. People who join just to recommend are often the traders themselves.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Are we compiling a list here? I have a trustworthy Heating engineer who lives in Catford. should I post his details here or get him to join the forum and put a post in the offered section?
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
The arrival of a new member of the family + a ruthless & all encompassing flu mean I have not been around much. Now I'm back, I have yet again hugely benefited from 2 suggestions made here (re local carpenter & wall repointing firm) - so the topic seems once again pressing to me.
Bearing in mind comments made above, here is my draft proposal; it would involve a few changes on the structure of SIF, in particular that of Town Market which could read:
TOWN MARKET
Offers
Living in Sydenham and wanting to sell or give away your goods
Wanted
Living in Sydenham and looking for goods you need – free or for sale
Residents' recommendations re local businesses & services
A chance for Sydenham residents to gain from others’ experience of hiring/contracting local businesses, trades and/or services. Please note: traders’ posts advertising their own work or goods will be deleted by the administrators.
Admins, neighbours - over to you. We can always continue as we have been doing (I won't feel at all sidelined) but I believe we would all benefit hugely from something like this.
Bearing in mind comments made above, here is my draft proposal; it would involve a few changes on the structure of SIF, in particular that of Town Market which could read:
TOWN MARKET
Offers
Living in Sydenham and wanting to sell or give away your goods
Wanted
Living in Sydenham and looking for goods you need – free or for sale
Residents' recommendations re local businesses & services
A chance for Sydenham residents to gain from others’ experience of hiring/contracting local businesses, trades and/or services. Please note: traders’ posts advertising their own work or goods will be deleted by the administrators.
Admins, neighbours - over to you. We can always continue as we have been doing (I won't feel at all sidelined) but I believe we would all benefit hugely from something like this.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
There is something to be said for the status quo - i.e. ask in the Town Cafe for a tradesman, or a member can simply recommend one that they've used. Replies can include either personal recommendations or tradesmen offering their services if reasonably within the Sydenham area. The Town Cafe has the advantage of being searchable ongoing.
It seems good to me that STF does have an introduction platform for both established and newly arrived businesses in the area and at the moment they are free to advertise in the Offers section, albeit for a limited time. People can always ask in Town Cafe if anyone has used a particular one and importantly how long ago.
Like you, I too have followed recommendations on here and have been grateful for them. However, to create another sub-forum I think would be confusing as potentially givng three places to post. Also it could take considerable time to build into a comprehensive list, which itself poses the problem of having to be categorised by type and becoming out of date and also each trader needing his own thread offshoot for updates and conversations, i.e. cumbersome and laborious to get to and wade through, even if set up. Put another way, it'd be easier just to ask in Town Cafe
One thing that worries me about a "recommended" list only, is that perfectly good tradesmen or retailers probably would be disadvantaged if they'd not been recommended through no fault of their own. STF, which I regard as a decent reliable forum, should have a level playing field - after all one person's recommendation could be the opposite of another's and a titled "recommended list" implies the backing of STF which of course it would not have.
Needless to say, I'm in favour of recommendations one way or another.
Edit PS: Congratulations on your new arrival and glad to hear that the misery of flu is now past.
It seems good to me that STF does have an introduction platform for both established and newly arrived businesses in the area and at the moment they are free to advertise in the Offers section, albeit for a limited time. People can always ask in Town Cafe if anyone has used a particular one and importantly how long ago.
Like you, I too have followed recommendations on here and have been grateful for them. However, to create another sub-forum I think would be confusing as potentially givng three places to post. Also it could take considerable time to build into a comprehensive list, which itself poses the problem of having to be categorised by type and becoming out of date and also each trader needing his own thread offshoot for updates and conversations, i.e. cumbersome and laborious to get to and wade through, even if set up. Put another way, it'd be easier just to ask in Town Cafe
One thing that worries me about a "recommended" list only, is that perfectly good tradesmen or retailers probably would be disadvantaged if they'd not been recommended through no fault of their own. STF, which I regard as a decent reliable forum, should have a level playing field - after all one person's recommendation could be the opposite of another's and a titled "recommended list" implies the backing of STF which of course it would not have.
Needless to say, I'm in favour of recommendations one way or another.
Edit PS: Congratulations on your new arrival and glad to hear that the misery of flu is now past.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
The problem, mosy, is finding recommendations you know you've seen on a thread but can't remember where. And if they are in the Wanted or Offered section they are deleted after 90 days. So then we get repeat threads with the same requests over and over again. How about a pinned thread at the top of the Town Cafe?
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Sounds simple, straightforward and clear to me Rachael.
Thanks Mosy. I would too hate an overcomplicated re-arranging process or indeed information system - perish the thought. It's just sometimes in the past I have looked and looked for a particular service/builder etc and spend hours looking everywhere... For people like me who feel sure they will remember later on and then don't, or for those who are new to the area having them all in one distinct area and not loosing them after 3 months... well it would be amazing.
Thanks Mosy. I would too hate an overcomplicated re-arranging process or indeed information system - perish the thought. It's just sometimes in the past I have looked and looked for a particular service/builder etc and spend hours looking everywhere... For people like me who feel sure they will remember later on and then don't, or for those who are new to the area having them all in one distinct area and not loosing them after 3 months... well it would be amazing.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Repeat requests or threads don't bother me personally as they're up to date, or can be skipped over if of no interest.
There's nothing wrong with pinning except the small point that people tend to ignore stickies of any nature. Does your pinning mean a simple list? If so, how could replies be identified with a tradesman (people tend to use pronouns e.g. "I've used them" when replying) and how could replies be grouped ? Or do you mean that each recommendation would be pinned?
I did mention the 90 days somewhere as it'd make sense to me to leave Offers and Wanted items up for longer; also that those sub-forum titles should be within Town Talk IMO. However, without knowing why it is so, perhaps Admin is the one to advise if it can be changed.
Again, I'm happy to go with anything that will work in practice, meaning that people will bother to use.
There's nothing wrong with pinning except the small point that people tend to ignore stickies of any nature. Does your pinning mean a simple list? If so, how could replies be identified with a tradesman (people tend to use pronouns e.g. "I've used them" when replying) and how could replies be grouped ? Or do you mean that each recommendation would be pinned?
I did mention the 90 days somewhere as it'd make sense to me to leave Offers and Wanted items up for longer; also that those sub-forum titles should be within Town Talk IMO. However, without knowing why it is so, perhaps Admin is the one to advise if it can be changed.
Again, I'm happy to go with anything that will work in practice, meaning that people will bother to use.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Just thinking (or writing) from the top of my head here, but reading your queries Mosy, (how useful I am finding this already) and looking at our screens' top page in Town café, the pinned bit at the top would have, chronologically, the following threads:
- builder recommendation please
- who fixes broken car locks
- floor sanding
- recommendations needed for specialist brickwork...etc
- Chinese take away
...that kind of thing. No need to spend hours organising the various "topics" by trade (eg health, building, motor vehicles etc) as that would be way, way too much work don't you think? But if I needed someone I wld just scroll down and it wld be rather clear on the titles if that's what I was looking for. Horrible grammar, think will take some more night nurse now...
- builder recommendation please
- who fixes broken car locks
- floor sanding
- recommendations needed for specialist brickwork...etc
- Chinese take away
...that kind of thing. No need to spend hours organising the various "topics" by trade (eg health, building, motor vehicles etc) as that would be way, way too much work don't you think? But if I needed someone I wld just scroll down and it wld be rather clear on the titles if that's what I was looking for. Horrible grammar, think will take some more night nurse now...
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
Perhaps worth having a gander at some other local forums to see how they do it? Rather than reinventing the wheel? Sometimes there are flaws in a system that don't become apparent until it's up and running.
Re: List of Traders, Builders, Services
.........and in the meantime perhaps the admin/s can guide us: they will after all be the ones to make a final executive decision on this, with our thanks.