Bobski the Builder ... Channel 4, 9pm Thursday16th Oct 2008

Documentary to be shown on Thursday @ 9pm on Channel 4 about two builders, one Polish and one British ..... which one would you choose to have working on your house ?

A bit of light-hearted fun ... not to be taken too seriously !

channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/cutting_edge/bobski/bobsk i1.html

entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4900020.ece

If you find the program on the net, let us know.
I would love to watch it.
And I promise I will try not to take it too seriously.

thanks for that info. Looks interesting, I will definitely watch it along with the Polish builder boyfriend who I'm sure will have plenty to say on the topic.

Sounds interesting, I will have to watch this. :)

What did you all make of the programme ?

Having seen the workmanship of the two builders, I'd have to say I probably wouldn't employ either of them !

I know of many Polish builders who have the same work ethic as Jarek, but the quality of their work is much better; having said that Jarek was a chocolate seller seven years ago, and his quality of work was no worse than the English builder whose family have been in the building trade for much longer !

I have had experience of English builders who have been extremely good and also Polish builders who have been exceptional; the difference is that the Poles seem to put more hours in and are more eager to please !

Where I live (West London) I have noticed a lot of English building companies are employing Polish builders.

On a likeability scale ... for me Jarek the Polish builder wins hands down !

I must say that the standard of work from the British building firm is some of the worst that I have seen for a long time, and don't know how they manage stay in business, if they do! Most of the work was carried out by two young men who just come out of collage,and it showed that they did not have the experience.

The polish team on the other hand did a tidy job. but messed up a bit on the inside, and the concrete that they made, just did not look right. Their client was a knob as well! Jarek's two work mates seemed OK, but he just did not have the experience to run a building firm in as little as 5 years. Can't blame them for trying though and they put in some long hours and give lots of free extras.

The British building team were not a good advert for the good building companies, and there are many good ones around. The best ones come recommend from family and friends, who have been happy with their work in the past.

Yes, for me too ! He seemed the much nicer of the two blokes, but did seem rather naive about what it takes to run a business. Also, if he was four months behind with his rent, how come he hadn't looked for another job entirely ?

I was rather disappointed that the British builder had to be such a stereotype. Did they really have to go for someone like that ? Was that the best C4 could find ?

It showed the Polish as hard workers that hope their work ethic will get them through any situation (even when they don't know what they're doing) and it showed the British as "Bodgit & Scarper" merchants whose jobs end up the subjects of official investigations !

I think that the programme makers had their own agenda (as they always do) and I don't think they wanted to portray British builders in a positive light.

very true .... the Polish and English builders that I know ... who are very good, never seem to have the need to advertise, as they get recommended through friends & family and are never short of work.

The only builders I see regularly seem to do everything painfully slowly, especially queuing in the baker's shop every morning for their cups of tea with seven sugars, bacon sandwiches, sausage rolls and so on and so on. Most builders seem to order all of the above. All I want is a loaf of bread!

I felt exactly the same! Such a sterotype sadly. But it did make interesting viewing if nothing else.

They are called the working class. I wait for the day when they are sterlized and replaced by robots

personally i dont believe that jarek didnt make any money at all.. they failed to mention the money that the TV company must have paid him to make the programme. I agree the English firm was terrible and their attitude was appalling. One thing i was wondering is why Jarek had to travel to Poland to find his team, when there are hundreds of Polish builders in the UK.. it seemed a bit odd and just trying to stereotype the Polish.. overall the Poles did come out of it looking best though and although there were problems their job was better quality, cheaper price and a lot quicker. He should have insisted on getting more money upfront.

Is there anywhere to watch this on-line?
I would like to see it, having worked with English and Polish Builders.

perhaps you could try the Channel 4 website? the programme is called Cutting Edge.

Didn't work for me here in Canada...

Oops. Maybe the fix that UKPolska had for using software to viewthe iplayer stuuff from the Beeb will work for Channel 4 too

True! At the end of the day the TV company were making a programme and they had entertainment value first on their list. It would not surprise me if they also paid to put the work right again as one client seemed to be laughing a lot. In the case of the British builder I think they would have to start from scratch again.

I can't find it anywhere but would be interested in watching, If anyone finds it please post it up,

channel4.com/video/brandless-catchup.jsp?vodBrand=bobski-the-builder

Yes it was interesting, but they did nothing to advance the debate really.

You could even say that the British builder was doing a half-a*sed job for someone who happened to be asian. This together with his views on foreign workers did make me wonder if the race of his customer affected how well he did the job.

We should have seen more examples of work that both of them had done. Seeing one job of each didn't tell us much.


The builders and the customers probably got paid to appear as well.