Finding a tradesperson who turns up: how work is really arranged here
Your boiler stops on a Friday. You have three numbers from three different people, two do not answer, one says ti richiamo and does not. By Wednesday you are wondering whether the problem is you.
It is not. Work here is arranged by a system nobody writes down — and once you know the rules, your success rate changes completely. This is that system, and what to do at each step.
The rule underneath everything: people, not platforms
Good artigiani are booked through people, not search engines. Many have no website, no reviews and a phone they answer when they are not under a sink. That is not disorganisation — it is a market where reputation travels by word of mouth and a bad job costs you every future customer in a town of forty thousand.
What to do about it: collect names before you need them. The best time to find a plumber is when nothing is leaking.
| Where names come from | How to ask |
|---|---|
| Neighbours | Not "do you know a plumber?" but "who came quickly and did a clean job for you?" |
| Your local hardware shop or bar | They know who buys what and who pays their bills |
| The community groups | Ask once, save every answer — those threads disappear in a week |
| Our directory | Verified entries with language flags and how each prefers to be contacted |
The preventivo is the whole conversation
A preventivo is a written estimate. Asking for one is normal, expected and not remotely rude. It should say what work is included, roughly what materials cost, and where possible, when.
- Ask whether the price includes IVA — a quote without VAT looks 22% friendlier than reality.
- Ask whether you get an invoice (fattura). For work on the house, ask whether it qualifies for any renovation tax deduction — the paperwork has to be right from the start, not reconstructed later.
- If someone refuses to write anything down for a job of any size, that is your answer about how the rest will go. Thank them and move on to the next name.
Time works differently — and that is not rudeness
Domani often means "in the next few days". A morning appointment is a morning, not nine o'clock. This is a system where an emergency displaces a scheduled job — and one day you will be the emergency and be grateful.
What to do: make yourself easy. Answer your phone, be flexible about the window, and send a short confirming message the day before. That single message is the difference between being remembered and being rescheduled.
Plan around August
Much of the island genuinely closes for two to three weeks around Ferragosto — trades, clinics, offices. Anything you can do in July or September, do then. If something breaks in August, expect to wait or to pay for the person who did not go away. (See August in Sardinia.)
The five questions that settle it in one call
- Do you work in my area? (Distance decides more here than skill does.)
- When could you realistically come — this week, next, or later?
- Can you send a preventivo, even a rough one by message?
- Is the price with IVA, and do you issue an invoice?
- Do you bring the parts, or do I buy them?
Five questions, two minutes, and you know whether this is happening. A professional answers them easily; the ones who bristle are telling you something useful.
The language problem is smaller than it looks
Most trades work in Italian only. A short written message works better than a phone call in a language you are still learning — it can be read twice, at a convenient moment.
Copy this: "Buongiorno, mi chiamo [nome], abito a [zona]. Ho un problema con [caldaia / impianto elettrico / perdita d'acqua]. Le mando due foto. Può venire a vedere e farmi un preventivo? Sono disponibile [giorni]. Grazie."
Photos do half the work. A picture of the boiler's data plate, the leaking joint or the fuse box removes an entire round of misunderstanding — and lets the tradesperson arrive with the right part.
If it goes wrong
Pay by traceable means where you can, keep the invoice, and do not settle the final portion until the work is finished and tested. Leverage in a dispute is not confrontation — it is paper: the estimate, the invoice, the messages. Most disagreements here end in a conversation, which is exactly why the written estimate at the start is worth the five minutes it takes to ask for it.
Print this: before you call anyone
- Three names for each trade, collected in advance
- Photos of the problem, including any data plate
- Message drafted in Italian
- Questions ready: area, timing, preventivo, IVA, parts
- Calendar note to confirm the day before
- After the job: invoice filed, feedback sent to us so the directory stays honest
Based on our own experience and on what the community here reports every week. Practical guidance, not legal advice — for contracts and disputes involving significant sums, talk to a professional. Last reviewed: September 2026.