24hr callout

[splinterdream]

Hi,

starting my own business after 18 years working for BG and 1 other and i know the start is going to be tuff.
I think I'm going to advertise 24hr just incase the day work doesn't flow, however i really want this function for new customers, not existing. Does anyone else do this, if so how do you get on?

Also any tips on starting out would be helpful cus I'm bricking it, especially as i have minimal experience in install, all my experience in repairs.

thanks

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

would advise you dont advertise 24 hour custards can be a pain in the you know what ringing all godforsaken hours bone up on installs then sell them service contracts

 

[Toddyplumb]

Be careful , if you say 24hrs you have to be available 24hrs

 

[pauls]

although i dont advertise 24hr i look at it lke this as long as you attend within the 24hrs of the phone call you have fulfilled your quote

 

[GQuigley67]

picture this, your lying in your bed just got in at 4am sleeping ontop of cuvers with all your clothes on including your shoes, and someone phones you wanting to fix their leak, what do you do ?

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

picture this, your lying in your bed just got in at 4am sleeping ontop of cuvers with all your clothes on including your shoes, and someone phones you wanting to fix their leak, what do you do ?

tell them to rotate

 

[villa_tom]

I don't advertise 24hrs but my mate does and someone threatened to sue him if he did not attend. But they way I see it is that you could just not answer your phone plus if someone does ring at silly o'clock its not going to be a customer who wants a boiler swap etc, so you don't really loose out.

 

[midge]

Offer 24 hour call out.
They call.
You get there 24 hours later.
Sorted!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

estate agency in central London did contact me , thee were looking for some one to take care of the off hours jobs ,as there engineers
did not answer there phones many many times ! well i will do it no probs ...sent them over price list with a smile so i can earn a bit extra
here and there !
got e mail back there only willing to pay £55/h and each call out is classed as 1h
then i said to me self ....no wonder why your guys are not answering there phones ))
cheeky people out there
i aint geting out of bed at 1am for £55 /h less 20%.......
i sand them mail back as i am not willing to do any business at this rates min is £100/h plus materials ,never heard from them after

 

[tamz]

I don't advertise 24hrs but my mate does and someone threatened to sue him if he did not attend.

That is easily sorted. £250 call out plus £100 every 15mins. They will soon change their tune and hang up.

 

[villa_tom]

That is easily sorted. £250 call out plus £100 every 15mins. They will soon change their tune and hang up.

Thats what I do. I don't offer call-out but get people phone me for jobs when I don't want to work and just put in a stupid price and the phone gets hung up on me before I have a chance to say "plus VAT"

 

[pobsdad]

I once had someone call me at 4am to ask for a quote to fit a cooker.He hung up before I had run out of swear words!Do these people think we work shifts in a call centre?

 

[unguided1]

£300 call out charge, turn up turn off the water, £300 thank you very much go home back to bed, thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

we all wish

 

[metaldust9]

wouldnt want to be woke up half asleeep and touching gas,and forgetting somethink so ad give the 24 hour jobby a miss

 

[GQuigley67]

I think you would make a fortune if you were a 24 hour plumber, but you wouldnt really have a life lol

 

[johnmcginty]

I am a 24 hour plumber and the money is definateley worth it, I am at the top of google naturally and it works great tbh, yeah sometimes your too tired so I just turn my phone off , but you can charge nearly double , I would say if you are going down the 24 hour route then just stick to repairs and small installs but on a day when you get say 5 jobs it does put a smile on your face, you need to advertise correctly , and is dependant on the area you live , some days i'll get 20 clicks costing an arm and a leg and people just phoning to get quotes and trying to sell me stuff . PM me if you want to chat as I don't want to let all my secrets out of the bag on main forum, 24 hour route can be costly if you advertise in the wrong places and nearly bust me in my first year.

 

[johnmcginty]

Thats what I do. I don't offer call-out but get people phone me for jobs when I don't want to work and just put in a stupid price and the phone gets hung up on me before I have a chance to say "plus VAT"

Brilliant , I did this once and the custard said " ok I'm not bothered about price" wish they were all like that.

 

[dontknowitall]

Tips I was given when doing 24 hour work was a) charge a call out which is worth getting out of bed for. If they still want you then b) charge that and return the next day to complete the repair. BUT ... take a deposit for all the materials as they might phone you at 8:30am and say they've found someone else to do the job instead.

 

[johnmcginty]

I make them agree to a £ 40 cancellation fee if I set off, and they phone back to cancel , pretty rare that happens though. Or you could take this as deposit on card machine.

 

[julesverne]

i do 24 hr callout , you can charge a better rate at 6.00pm onwards. remember you don't have to fix it there and then unless it's a quick fix turn water/gas off come back in the morning to fix it. pluses are good money and great way building up your customer base when starting out. don't forget if you sort somebodies disaster they will always come back to you in the future, always let them know what other types of jobs you do too. because you will always get a customer saying can you do this as well well when your free. if you going down the 24 hr i would say an advert in the yellow pages is a must. it's first place everyone looks.