Now there is a big difference between being too early and being late
, when you are late the customer is waiting around and getting annoyed. But when you are early is this just as annoying as being late as the customer can be rushing around trying to get ready and to get everything ready for you?
How early is too early though? If you are half an hour early then this could make a massive difference. But if you are five minutes early then this is making a good impression.
Especially with plumbing as this could be the difference between having a bath/ shower and not having a bath/ shower. And could also make your job harder as the customer may need the toilet or may even be rushing around and forget to tell you things.
Now after careful consideration I believe that a maximum of 15 minutes early is a satisfactory amount of time as if the customer is not in then you could always wait and if they are not ready you could always potter around in the van. But never expect the customer to be home if you are early. You may even get a cup of coffee and a biscuit before the start of work.
Now Finally Never ever be late, I absolutely hate being late and I hate waiting around, if I am ever late I always ring to let people know. I expect people to do this back but unfortunately they never do. The other day I was waiting for a gas engineer to come round and they said between1pm and 2pm. I was waiting around and they called me at 2.15pm to say they were not coming. Rude, unprofessional and not the way business should be done.