Why you can't get a plumber

February 2018: we have a small job (taps) and currently can't get a plumber to call.

---

---

Why so hard to get a plumber?  Quotes [1-3] are taken from this BBC article.

1. The barriers to entering the market as a plumber are high

"I trained doing plumbing at college for three years, attained the required skills and passed all exams, but even then when trying to join a plumbing firm was told I was no good unless I had three, four or even five years experience! ...

I also tried applying for Australia. I obtained the necessary points, but when the immigration office called for a chat, they clearly told me I was no good because you need to be in the industry for at least 5 years."

2. Productivity in plumbing remains static

"Plumbing, like being a waiter or taxi driver, hasn't become cheaper or more efficient over time because it can't," says Tim Harford, a columnist at the Financial Times.

"In 50 years we won't get robots doing the plumbing ..."

3. Your small job is crowded out in an expanding economy

Everyone know that "small jobs" are unpopular with tradespeople. The fixed costs of travel are inadequately compensated by revenues from a small piece of work while prices are capped in the domestic market. Returns are much better from the building sector.

""It's very indicative of how the economy is doing because demand for plumbing services rises when the economy is doing well," says Peter Wright, an associate professor in labour economics at Nottingham University's Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre (GEP).

"Most people's perception of plumbers is that they are people they ring when they have a leak, but many are employed in the housing sector."

---

On avoiding middlemen

It's tempting to sign-up with a middleman company promising service within 24 hours in return for an exorbitant fee. But the shortage of plumbers is real and the best ones are not short of work. It's the mediocre plumbers or worse who will sign up with a middleman company - which then inflicts them on you while ripping you off.

So this:

"Dreadful people to do business with....avoid at all costs. After paying out £200 the job was left incomplete and caused a flood in my kitchen. Not good."

And this (from a plumber):

"Lies, lies and more lies from the sales team to customers, even on their website it says most jobs are completed within an hour, so on turning up for a job charging £120 for an hour's work and quoting more, most of the time I was refused permission to start. If I was allowed to start, the phone would ring every few minutes to check if I was on site.....at £2 per minute, this really is an insult to the paying customer. ...

Do not travel more than 16 miles to a ***** job, as by the time you factor in travel, cancelled jobs, and non-payment for material you will not make money."

---

A market failure

I think this counts as an instance of market failure due to the inelasticity of plumber-supply and the relative unattractiveness of the domestic market for plumbers. People like us are systemically underserved.

Our current strategy with our own plumbers (overwhelmed by more lucrative housing work) is to stay polite, stay in touch, and hope they'll get a gap.