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Trust: What It Really Means to Us

Open brass padlock in natural light, symbolising trust, transparency, and responsibility in professional home improvement.

With our 7th company birthday now behind us, it feels like the perfect moment to pause and reflect on one of the most important things our business provides to our customers.


Back in 2018, we carried out market research to understand what mattered most to homeowners when choosing a trades company. The results were clear. The top three priorities were:


  • Reliability – 9.41 / 10

  • Communication – 9.34 / 10

  • Trust – 9.31 / 10


These three pillars have guided how we operate ever since.


We believe that acting in a professional manner naturally delivers reliability, trust, and good communication. Today, we want to focus specifically on trust - because we see reliability, communication, and professionalism as inseparable from it.


Trust & Choosing the Right Tradesperson


If you visit the Citizens Advice website - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/ - you’ll find a clear and sensible guide for homeowners planning building work. Once planning permission and building regulations are in place, the next step is naturally to find a trusted tradesperson.


Citizens Advice recommends looking for tradespeople registered with recognised schemes, including:


Today, we want to look a little deeper at what these schemes actually are — and why some carry more weight with homeowners than others.



Our Honest View on Trade Accreditation Schemes


TrustMark


TrustMark is the only government-endorsed scheme available to tradespeople. In theory, it should be the gold standard.


In reality, very few homeowners recognise the logo or actively use the TrustMark database to find tradespeople. From our experience, displaying the TrustMark logo offers little value because customers simply don’t know what it represents. This is not a criticism of the scheme itself, but rather a failure in public awareness and marketing. For that reason, we made the decision not to join.


Consumer Codes Approved Scheme (CTSI)


Run by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, this scheme appears to be better suited to chartered professions such as accountants, architects, and engineers.

There also doesn’t seem to be a clear or accessible way for homeowners to search for trusted local tradespeople via this scheme. As a result, we don’t feel it is the right fit for Upcycle Interiors or for the average homeowner seeking reassurance.


Buy With Confidence (Trading Standards)


This scheme is instantly recognisable to the public and carries immediate credibility.

Because it is directly linked to Trading Standards, it installs confidence straight away - and for that reason, this is the scheme we have chosen to join.


Which? Trusted Traders


Which? is another widely recognised and well-trusted organisation. Their reputation and consumer reach mean their endorsement carries genuine weight.


We see real value here and have considered joining Which? Trusted Traders in the future.


Why We Left Checkatrade (and Similar Platforms)


We were previously members of Checkatrade, but over time we felt that public confidence in the platform had declined - and tradespeople’s confidence certainly has.


What was once a vetting-led quality scheme has increasingly become a paid directory, similar to the old Yellow Pages. The vetting process and level of scrutiny is no longer what it once was.


We reached the same conclusion with platforms such as Rated People and MyBuilder.


These services lack meaningful quality control, robust vetting, or accountability. In our view, trust cannot be bought - and simply paying to appear on a list does not create it.


Our Definition of Trust: 100% Responsibility


For us, trust starts internally with a principle we live by: 100% Responsibility.


Every member of our team - from the tradies to the office staff - is expected to take full ownership of their actions, their work, and their standards. This isn’t about blame - it’s about character, growth, and continuous improvement.


We’ve spoken before about 100% responsibility. It’s not something anyone achieves perfectly all the time. In fact, it’s almost impossible. But it is a standard we constantly strive for - it naturally carries through to their work ethic, trustability, reliability, communication and professional attitude.


As the saying goes: reach for the stars and you might land on the moon.


To be clear, 100% responsibility does not mean blaming yourself for things outside your control. If you were involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault, we wouldn’t expect self-punishment. What matters is how you respond. Do you stagnate - or do you use adversity as an opportunity to learn, reflect, and grow?



Trust in Practice: Self-Snagging & Quality Control


One practical way this philosophy shows up in our work is through self-snagging.


This is a quality-control approach believed to originate from Japanese manufacturing, where each person checks and corrects their own work at each stage rather than relying on a final inspector at the end of a production line. The result? Fewer errors, higher standards, and better efficiency.


At Upcycle Interiors, every team member is responsible for checking their own work and for looking out for one another. This is a way of life and an ethos that we believe in - you can trust that if we've made a mistake or if something is missed, another team member will catch it. This ensures that small snags don’t make their way to you, the customer.


That’s trust in action.



In Summary


Trust isn’t a logo. It isn’t a badge you pay for. And it certainly isn’t a marketing gimmick.


Trust is built through accountability, consistency, and care — every single day.


And that’s what we strive to deliver.



If you are looking for a reliable, trustworthy service, give us a call on 01305 584459 or get in touch below. We are only a message away!



 
 
 

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