I've not been blogging as frequently recently. I'm not lazy - I have some pretty good excuses, which, if you read my next few blogs, you'll kind of get the feel for.

Over the last 4 months, we've been having some work done on our house - small extension (I call it a Guitar Room, my wife doesn't) new flooring, re-decoration and a new central heating boiler. If you've ever had work like this done, you'll know the upheaval involved. Finding good trades people is crucial - I chose an old friend and the fact we have a good relationship has paid off - no room for arguments or anticipation of hidden extras, just direct, honest discussion.

To set some context, despite a 9 year old house, we have an under-capacity boiler, internal corrosion, narrow plastic pipework and a history of blockages and cold winter nights. The boiler is the crucial piece of the investment.

When we chose the person to fit our boiler, I took a care to speak to a few people..

Cue music

First up, a recommendation of my builder friend and, as it turns out, a fellow guitar enthusiast. He was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, credible and affable. He was a bit late with his quote, but when it came, it was professionally written in e-mail form and detailed with a breakdown of the components required. Although his initial solution was over-engineered and expensive, he came back with a second quotation that was a bit lower but didn't really address the issues we'd raised. It also took him 3 reminders and 2 weeks to re-quote.

Second on the podium, a local company I found online. The guy who visited was much more mature in years and liked to remind me of his extensive experience. He even impressed my Dad (who happened to be there when he arrived) which is no mean feat. But, his quotation was a similar price to the first one and took a whole week to arrive from the the day of his visit - partly due to the UK postal strike but mainly due to apathy.

I was about to choose between the two, when, as I was walking into a hotel room in London at 8PM, my phone rang. A scouse (or Liverpudlian) voice asked me if I was still looking for a boiler. He'd responded to an online ad I'd placed 2 weeks earlier.

Despite my initial concerns (scousers don't have the most trustworthy reputation in the UK) he held my interest and offered to visit on Thursday morning at 8 AM before I took a long weekend break. I was doubting he'd arrive until I heard a knock at the door at precisely 8 AM and opened it to be greeted by Wayne.

Somehow, Wayne filled me with immediate confidence. He asked me questions and proposed solutions. He told me why what I'd been told so far wasn't quite what I wanted and he demonstrated some technology that can only lead me to believe that the other two guys weren't interested in me getting a good heating system but were more interested in their own servicing revenue (have a look at this" target="_blank">this is you don't believe me).

In the words of Dorothy from Jerry McGuire, Wayne 'had me at hello'.

But I thought I'd wait on the e-mail quote he'd promsied by the end of the weekend so I could make a decision.

It didn't arrive.

I was pissed off.

I was pissed off that I had fallen for some sales pitch from a too busy, fly-by-night plumber.

I was still pissed off at 7:30 PM on Sunday night when I answered a knock at the door to be greeted by Wayne stood in the pouring rain. He was holding a damp quotation out and offered an apology "Sorry, my broadband is down - I couldn't e-mail it.". He'd driven 20 miles on a Sunday night to deliver on a promise.

I thanked him and said goodnight before opening the quote on the walk back down my hallway. The quote was roughly the same price as the other two but had the Magna Clean included. It had also been hand delivered by Wayne.

I walked into the kitchen and, without pausing, sent Wayne a text message wit....

Wayne. You've got the job.

I won't bore you with how satisfied I am with the work, the disaster he's averted since or the fact that I feel like I've made a friend more than I've used a tradesman - these are things you have to experience rather than read.

Despite all three tradesmen being roughly the same price, I never even noticed Wayne's price. I noticed everything else he did and the price just became 'good value for money'.

If you want to turn your price into value, maybe you need to meet Wayne. Or call us and book a workshop.

Your call.