The industry's image at least is set to gain if inconsiderate firms are the first to go in the downturn

Do contractors care about their customers? At a time when the industry is facing the deepest downturn in a generation, you would expect the answer to be an obvious and resounding “Yes”.

There are always examples of poor service, and clearly it would be unfair to take these as being typical of wider industry experience. However, surely now is the time when the industry should be looking to banish the stereotypical model of the “builder” who turns up late, leaves early and annoys all the neighbours.

The industry should be looking to banish the stereotypical model of the 'builder' who turns up late, leaves early and annoys all the neighbours

I am currently having an extension built and, to the builder's credit, he has ticked only the last of these three boxes – and even then only once, at 8am on a Saturday morning. Lesson learned.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for other first-hand experiences that my colleagues and I have recently had of the front line of the small-scale building industry. A small skip hire company and a large maintenance firm with a contract with a housing association have both done their best to thoroughly alienate their customers over the last couple of days by turning up late, early or simply not at all.

If P45s do have to be written, workers should want to be doing their utmost to ensure that their names aren't on the list

In both cases, these are contractors that the parties involved will not be using again. This is a situation that could have been avoided, and I can imagine is one that the respective bosses of the two firms involved would be none too happy about.

With the spectre of large-scale job losses stalking the industry once again, such behaviour is at best careless and at worst downright stupid. If P45s do have to be written, workers should want to be doing their utmost to ensure that their names aren't on the list.

If the downturn weeds out companies that take their customers for granted, it can only be to the long-term benefit of the industry

Unpleasant as this sounds, if the downturn weeds out underperforming companies that take their customers for granted, it can only be to the long-term benefit of the image of the industry as a whole.

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