Dulux Trade
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Mum's the word when it comes to trust
Thanks to the rapid rise of social media many people now boast more 'friends' than ever before, but new research reveals that, on average, we only truly trust four people in life.
Mothers topped the trust chart, with a fifth of those surveyed voting their mum the person they trusted the most, followed by wife (18.7%) and husband (16.03%).
But one in ten adults - that's over five million people - insisted they do not trust anybody in life, with this figure rising to 15 per cent of adults in London.
While a further two per cent - that's over one million UK adults - told researchers they only truly trusted their dog or their cat.
And rather than viewing the world as a global village, the results reveal the average 'circle of trust' stretches to just 15 miles from home, after which point UK adults begin to trust others a little less.
Four out of ten people insist they have much more faith in businesses that are set up and run by people from their own area, and word of mouth is over five times more trusted than 'word of mouse'.
The research†, which was commissioned by paint manufacturer Dulux Trade to mark the launch of its search to find the UK's Most Trusted Decorator, also discovered that eight out of ten adults only trust professionals to do the painting and decorating at home.
Speaking about the results of the report, Gail Cook, Group Brand Manager, Dulux Trade, said: "Trust is a massive issue in whatever walk of life you find yourself in and we were very keen to establish the levels of trust among UK adults.
"It is interesting that we have more 'friends' than ever because of the rise of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and our world has shrunk because of the wonderful world wide web, but we are still inclined to trust people and businesses that are set up and run by people from our local area."
The majority of the 3,000 respondents (54.37%) believe they have become less trusting with age, and a quarter wish they could be more trusting.
However, just one in ten said trust could be restored once it was broken, with men found to be twice as likely to forgive and forget than their female counterparts.
Seven out of ten people told researchers they still relied on advice from family and friends when looking for a trusted tradesman, while just 12 per cent turned to the internet for help.
The majority (52%), said they trusted painters and decorators more when they were local to them and eight out of ten said they had never been let down by a painter and decorator in the past.
Gail Cook, Group Brand Manager, Dulux Trade, added: "We have launched a competition to find the UK's most trusted decorator because we want to acknowledge and celebrate the levels of trust that people across the nation have built up with their favourite tradesmen and women.
"You need to have trust in your painter and decorator and we want to celebrate the fantastic relationships that have been built up over many years. We are urging people to go online and vote for their most trusted decorator and give them the recognition they deserve."
Each homeowner who nominates their most trusted decorator will get a £5 Amazon voucher††. Regional decorator winners will receive free one-year membership to the Dulux Select Decorator (DSD) scheme, and the overall winner will win £2,000 worth of free fuel, plus free DSD membership for a year.
† The survey was conducted on behalf of Dulux Trade in February 2012 by OnePoll. The sample size was of 3,000 adults across the UK.
†† Amazon vouchers restricted to the first 1,000 homeowner nominations. Each regional decorator winner will receive free membership of the Dulux Select Decorator scheme for one year and the opportunity to use an official Most Trusted Decorator 2012 - Regional winner logo on marketing materials (subject to agreement to terms of use). The national decorator winner will receive free membership of the Dulux Select Decorator scheme for one year, the opportunity to use an official Most Trusted Decorator 2012 - National winner logo on marketing materials (subject to agreement to terms of use), and free fuel to the value of £2,000.
