What Makes a Good Plumber?

Finding a reliable plumber can be difficult, especially when you've got a plumbing emergency on your hands and there's no time to shop around.

If you need a good plumber ASAP, here are some green flags to look for:

✓ Well Reviewed

Even in an emergency, you should take a moment to read some reviews of local plumbers on sites like Checkatrade. A good plumber will have significantly more positive reviews than negative ones, and you can learn a lot from reading other people’s stories of dealing with a particular plumbing firm.

In this day and age, most plumbers have some kind of online presence, so you should be able to find some comments from previous clients. For bigger companies, you can check Google or Trustpilot; for individual plumbers, try social media or relevant forums.

✓ Professional

Good plumbers often belong to professional bodies or associations. Here in the UK, you can look for a plumber who belongs to either the Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering (CIPHE) or the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC). If it’s a gas appliance that needs fixing, you will need to find an engineer who’s Gas Safe Registered.

Membership of these associations is a sign that the plumber in question adheres to strict professional standards. Gas Safe, the APHC and the CIPHE all have tools on their websites that make it easy to find an approved plumber in your area.

✓ Reliable

There are far too many bad plumbers who routinely show up late or leave jobs half-finished. Because of this, reliability is possibly the most important quality that a plumber can have.

It can be hard to gauge a plumber’s reliability before you meet them, but one useful indicator is how long your plumber has been in business. If someone has been making a living from plumbing for several years, he or she is probably doing something right.

Additionally, always ask your plumber upfront for a timeframe on completing the work. If they can’t commit to a schedule, you may want to look for someone else.

How to Be a Good Plumber

Finding a good plumber can be difficult, but becoming a good plumber doesn’t have to be. If you’re looking to enter the plumbing trade and earn the trust of your clients, here are some good places to start:

• Get Qualified

Strictly speaking, you don’t need to obtain any formal qualifications before you begin working as a plumber in this country (unless you’re working with gas appliances, in which case you must join the Gas Safe Register). However, it’s important to get at least some training under your belt before you start charging for plumbing work; your paying customers won’t be happy if they catch you watching a YouTube tutorial before you fix their tap!

To become a good plumber, you need to know what you’re doing. Completing our Essential Plumbing Course will give you a strong foundation of skills and knowledge, enabling you to provide a high-quality plumbing service.

• Gain Experience

Your skills will develop with every job that you complete. But how do you get experience without experience? Will people hire you if you haven’t been hired before?

The solution isn’t that complicated. Many plumbers start their careers with either an apprenticeship or a training course that includes a placement (like our Premium Plumbing Course) so as to gain some real-world experience early on.

• Provide Good Customer Service

This is an oft-overlooked aspect of the plumbing trade, but it’s not always enough to simply fix a leaky tap and then leave. Your customers will have questions about costs, availability, and what changes you’re making. Answering these questions confidently, respectfully and in layman’s terms could be the difference between a good review and a bad one.

Most importantly, make sure you actually follow through on what you tell your customers. If there’s a change of plans, tell them about this as soon as possible. Good customer service isn’t as hard as it looks. Just be polite and communicate often.

Your Plumbing Career Starts Here!

Ready to be a good plumber? Access Training can help! We offer a range of great plumbing programmes, including the Premium Plumbing Course which includes gas training and a guaranteed work placement.

Click the link below to browse our plumbing courses, or contact Access Training now to discuss your career goals with one of our course advisors.

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