> As a busy professional homeowner that is well-paid, I would gladly pay 50% more than the current going rate in town to know that a decent, workmanlike job would be done
Without forcing consolidation, how would one do this? (Preferably, something which can be enacted at the state level.)
>Without forcing consolidation, how would one do this?
Use the wildly popular technique that has taken over the assessment of everything else too big to measure: the random sample. Every registered technician will enter each job performed into a lottery, which will be reviewed by a qualified analyst. A single bad finding shouldn't ruin anyone, but a good record keeping methodology with appropriate sampling and a suitable penalty for failing to register a job — registration will likely be demanded by consumers anyway — should effectively weed out any laggards.
I am not aware of this being implemented for any home maintenance, but this is how hospital accreditation is done. Every now and then The Joint Commission shows up and inspects stuff.
> registered technician will enter each job performed into a lottery
One difference between trades and medicine is paperwork. I have hired for jobs without contracts being signed or receipts produced.
Why not make it optional? Registered work gets randomly inspected. Unregistered work is not. The customer pays up for the privilege. Perhaps include an adjudication framework if the inspected work is found lacking.
The incentives are at least somewhat better aligned for the sub- general- relationship (I might need a plumber once a year, but a general needs one a lot). However, there's still issues of finding the good ones in the first place, and it's often more "I've known Joe since the 3rd grade, so I know he's at least not going to totally screw me over"
I gave my story to Janet in The Big Bucks (minus the fact that he was married already!) so you can read about it there. The Walt character isn't really him but I did borrow some details.
Interestingly, I gave the book to him and he loved it. Then he gave it to a contractor friend, and HE loved it, too.
Without forcing consolidation, how would one do this? (Preferably, something which can be enacted at the state level.)
Reviews don't work. Optional, high-barrier certifications? Competitions?