Banging your head on a brick wall!!

[leelister6]

Just been fitting a shower for a customer and just as the job was finished he asked what I'd charge for fitting the new cooker that is coming next week. Told him £45 plus any parts etc. He said to use the old hose and the bayonet was already installed and a safety chain also there. "Will just be £45 then".

"Well you don't have to be gas safe to plug a hose into a bayonet, I've seen it on tinternet. I'll do it myself!!".

*Blood starting to boil*

"Yes, you can legally connect a hose to a bayonet fitting but you cannot fit the hose to the cooker unless you are Gas Safe registered. You must also take into account stability devices, clearances, ventilation requirements and the correct operation of flame supervision devices. As well as the signs of incomplete combustion which produces excess carbon monoxide, which kills people. Apart from that it's simple! It will still be £45"

"Will have a think about it and ring you"

"Don't bother!"

 

[Hardy1]

i know how you feel, cause my blood was boiling sitting here reading this, like what you said is so true its not just about plug and play, YOU WILL DIEEEEE, if the adequate proportions have not already been checkeddd and the cooker not tested, "but by all means plug and play", dont beat yourself up over it.

 

[jase158]

Don't beat your self up over it,

however, if you had an electric cooker to install, would you call an electrician in? (assuming your not a registered electrician)

 

[leelister6]

Do you have to be registered by a nationally recognised body before attempting any electrical work? If you don't connect an electric cooker properly and the electric leaks, it normally trips a breaker anyway. Seriously though, I don't feel confident working on summat in my own house, I get someone in to do it. Had a bloke out to fit me a new aerial 2 weeks ago,( even though I've got some ladders, some co-ax and can pick an aerial up at Maplins for about £20) and paid him £85 for half an hours work.

Besides, if some tw@ does gas work when they aint a clue what they're doing, and blows themselves up, it just shows everyone that you have to use someone who DOES know what they're doing!

 

[shneld]

Don't beat your self up over it,

however, if you had an electric cooker to install, would you call an electrician in? (assuming your not a registered electrician)

Exactly

Do you have to be registered by a nationally recognised body before attempting any electrical work? If you don't connect an electric cooker properly and the electric leaks, it normally trips a breaker anyway. Seriously though, I don't feel confident working on summat in my own house, I get someone in to do it. Had a bloke out to fit me a new aerial 2 weeks ago,( even though I've got some ladders, some co-ax and can pick an aerial up at Maplins for about £20) and paid him £85 for half an hours work.

Besides, if some tw@ does gas work when they aint a clue what they're doing, and blows themselves up, it just shows everyone that you have to use someone who DOES know what they're doing!

Yes you have to be part of a nationally recognised body .

MCB will not always trip, and could have the same affect as DIY gas fitting, killing someone.

Im sure there are plumbers on here who do DIY electrcis.

 

[Tony@ Studor]

I am in the drainage business. Dont charge call out and visit some ones house with a blocked drain advise them where i think the problem is and give them the price. Then the answer "its all right thanks my uncle bob has some drain rods I will give it a go myself". 2-3 times a year after a few hours we get a call " my husband has got the rods stuck can you help". No problem, turn up and tell them its more as now have to clear blockage and get their rods back. Of all the ones i have been back to the answer is always the same, should of let you do the job in the first place. Lesson to DIYers i think ! We dont do brain surgery or car repairs we pay proffesionals to do it, so why dont you. ( get off my large soap box now).

 

[gasmarc]

Just had two calls I missed one guy wanting a new boiler miles away which I wont do And another idiot who rang me last week with a bosch that has a pressure issue I told him last week I would come and look at it and he was going to get back to me ,Well I have just called him and he expects me to explain exactly what the problem is to him over the phone so he can fix it himself , I dont think so pal

 

[Jonwells]

Don't explain to anyone what's wrong with their boiler as it's fatal. As they will ring around to save themselfs a quid, I am coming to the conclusion, on asking £50 call out to diagnose a fault, the £50 is refundable off the total invoice cost, when I carry out the repair. Sorted.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

had this this week some half a brain i fitted a fitted a boiler for 12 years ago rings up and describes the symptoms of a fan failing now as i do this guys servicing i quote 130 fitted he then goes to parts center (now remember they said they wont sell safety related parts to joe public) and they will sell him the fan,he did it himself(not leaving it there i will be taking it further)so when his boiler brakes down with a more complex fault he wants me to fix he will be told to go f himself

 

[REDSAW]

no, dont do that. tell them 'in your opinion' its the board so they waste their money and still dont work.lol.

 

[obseen16]

best one i had, bout a year ago. went to visit a boiler which was losing pressure. turned out the prv was constantly passing, i told the customer i knew what the fault was and could get the part for the next day. the customer said oh is it something i can fix myself? (Alarm bells ringing) i said yeah sure, all you need is a new PCB but i would advise against trying to fix this yourself, now would you like me to come back with the new part tomorrow? customer said hmmm can i let you know later. Sure i said and home i went. i had a voice mail a few days later saying his boiler was still losing pressure even with a new board.

i thought to myself anyone who has that little understanding of how a boilers components operate should know better, i then deleted the voice mail and cracked on with my day.

 

[WHPES]

Do you think the theory of Natural Selection might be a good idea? - stupid people and cheapskates do DIY gas fitting and dangerous electrics and kill themselves. Smart people survive!

 

[gasmarc]

Good point , I am going to stop chatting to people and am going to be brief and to the point, Rather than discussing well it could be this or that

 

[jase158]

What's wrong with my boiler?

It's broke!!!

 

[gasmarc]

i will tell them to call pimlico plumbers LOL

 

[CES]

i will tell them to call pimlico plumbers LOL

Ill try that one, dunno what they will charge to come up to Edinburgh though!

 

[gasmarc]

BG do a fixed price as per post code £69 parts included , I always tell the customers I can fix it but cannot give a price as i dont know what parts need changing which I have seen before many a time where the bill goes mad

 

[jase158]

BG do a fixed price as per post code £69 parts included , I always tell the customers I can fix it but cannot give a price as i dont know what parts need changing which I have seen before many a time where the bill goes mad

Do many customers go for this, went to dishwasher install today, quoted 2 hours labour plus materials, turns out, needed a lot more materials out of back of van and took nearly 3 hours, due to pipes leaking all over the place, kind of my own fault, woke up late and went bed late, so not in right frame of mind, anyway I was under impression that customers want a fixed price, thats why they ask for a price.

Went to a dishwasher install yesterday and they never even asked a price.

Generally speaking if they ask for price, its either big job or they haven't got much money, so telling them £200 for a cooker install after you finnished, there is no way you will get money. if you give a quote of £200 before you start, atleast they know whether they can afford it or not before you start?

 

[dontknowitall]

I hardly ever quote but give an estimate instead. Just about all my customers are happy with this as I give an estimate and a likely maximum price (but it could be more).

If they ask for a quote I tell them I won't lose out and it will be much higher than the estimate. This makes them think. "If it's quicker, can you charge less then?" No - where's your door?

 

[Destroyer2813]

ALWAYS put estimate on top of my paperwork cos you never what you gonna find when you remove things/carpets/floorboards, and always advise customers swaping to a combi that things may leak when swaped of to pressurized system cover yourself ALWAYS

 

[gasmarc]

I usually quote an hourly rate or a ball park price but what I have started doing recently is charging per job regardless which has worked out very Good so far