Jesus, lying about insulation and sockets at different heights?! It sounds like you're well-versed in what it takes to work with them! Lol. We've noticed a difference in attitude from them when my wife talks to them too. It's as though a wall comes up and they stop listening. Sad in this day and age.
We've had a few extremely good tradies but then some nightmare scenarios as well. We have a good friend that's a handyman and can tackle pretty much any project and we had him do most of our renovations until we moved into this house. He's a perfectionist and have discovered during this ordeal that he's spoiled us tremendously. I honestly think most of the chaos with these contractors could be solved by an administrative layer that could keep the crews on schedule and on track. The crews, most of them in their 20's, left to their own devices without direction are just issues waiting to happen.
Agreed. You need a good boss to manage them. The good plumber we have is just that. I watched him tell the apprentice off for putting some roofing on the garden over one of my plants, and make them all do a last check for mess. It's that kind of detail that matters.