Cutting your throat

[Deleted member 32524]

Hello All,

My name is Duncan I live and work in Glasgow. I am getting really annoyed at the moron engineers selling themselves short. This morning I had a meeting with a potential letting agent who informed me that he was getting landlord reports done for £30 a pop for all appliances. This is not the first to inform me of this price.

Why charge so little? Are they being done right as I have spoken to a tenant of this letting agent and was informed that both a report and service was carried out last week and only took 10 mins? I think that is about enough time to fill in the report but not a full check and service.

Another example is I was asked to quote for a new pump on a boiler and was astonished to find that someone had quoted £25 to fit it??!! At this price I would not even break even on that job.

Come on guys sell on quality, service and reliability not price. You are not doing anyone, including yourself, any favours. Stop now and put your prices up to a decent level.

Too many people flooding this marketplace with no experience in gas or business. Stop this quick route to ACS. if pricing continues this way the job will not be worth doing. Get a grip! If people will not pay that price they will have no option if we all charge a decent level.

 

[gasmarc]

Prices are getting stupid for doing boiler changes 200 or £300 for a combi swap with the customer buying the boiler, stuff that for a game

 

[johnnyplumb]

You need to way up what the customer is like/wants, if they want cheap and cheerful, give them cheap and cheerful. If if they want a quality boiler, system cleaned & proper controls etc and are willing to pay for it, then price accordingly. customers are all different. you need to be adaptable in this game and if that means doing it the wrong way sometimes, then thats just too bad. i've seen plenty good plumbers failing because 'they only do it the right way'. Different if the customer wants something done thats dangerous, then tell them to be sensible life's too short as it is.

 

[kirkgas]

Always been in gas never a plumber. I understand that not all in training courses are new. Most already work in the industry and may be doing illegal work and will be made safer when fully trained. All I would like is a little cohesion on price. You can do a job right or you can do it cheap. Cheap normally means make do. I have done both and I know which one makes me sleep well at night. To do a job right takes more in material and time. I can chuck a boiler up in a day, but to do it right down to dotting the i's and crossing the t's it takes 1.5-2 days, maybe more if they choose a powerflush too. Do I have to change? Start doing them in a day and charge less? forget about things like adding cleanser and inhibitor?

I am fully aware that I need to look at my own business model and adapt. However, lets not sell ourselves short. It takes a long time to learn and qualify. Costs a fortune every 5 years to resit. Registration every year. Insurances up in cost. Need I go on? It is time to put our prices up not down.

fair points well made, but i do kow a lot of guys who will say 1.5-2 days for a boiler swap without powerflush is way too long, i have done full systems in less than that including cylinder and F&E tank, and when Tamz reads it he will add that he did a whole system in a day, properly, and well, but again we are all different, and im not having a go, but if it takes you 2 days to do a boiler install then thats ok if the customer wants/can pay for it, then thats fine but lots of customers want it done in a day, and lots of plumbers can do that no problem at all with everything doe properly

 

[CES]

I'm doing boiler installs occasionally, normally just swaps but with pipe work upgrades, new pumps, controls, condense lines etc. I find I usually manage to do it all in a day although I'm on my own and I price for a day and a half to cover any hiccups. I've been caught out too many times before with the governor going **** up when I'm commissioning and have to spend 2 or 3 hours waiting on Scot Gas Networks (or whatever they're called this week).

 

[Leo21]

Price fixing might be illegal but it doesn't stop the energy companies and petrol stations does it! Why can't we do it. As for your man only charging small amounts, selfish git! I'm ok stuff everyone else. Must really enjoy flaunting his superior intellect to his very lucky customers.

 

[kirkgas]

Price fixing might be illegal but it doesn't stop the energy companies and petrol stations does it! Why can't we do it. As for your man only charging small amounts, selfish git! I'm ok stuff everyone else. Must really enjoy flaunting his superior intellect to his very lucky customers.

bank robbery is illegal but done every day, why not do that instead? seriously we are looking at ways of increasing income legally, so i dot think it is practical for gas engineers to meet and sort out prices, sorry i dont agree that someone doing work is selfish, me or anyone else can decide for ourselves what price to charge, you want a flash van and a big office with staff and mad overheads, he works from home uses an oldish van and doesn't have any debt to speak of, whay should he charge his loyal customers more because you want a different things to him,

 

[Leo21]

My loyal customers are usually skilled people who appreciate good service and a good job. Iff you asked them to take less money because they had an oldish car and no overheads they would think you were mental. And I'm dam sure they wouldn't be happy to drop there standard of living because of some selfish individuals. As far as price fixing ofcom etc say it's not happening. Surely if we did it, it wouldn't be happening either.

 

[kirkgas]

My loyal customers are usually skilled people who appreciate good service and a good job. Iff you asked them to take less money because they had an oldish car and no overheads they would think you were mental. And I'm dam sure they wouldn't be happy to drop there standard of living because of some selfish individuals. As far as price fixing ofcom etc say it's not happening. Surely if we did it, it wouldn't be happening either.

sorry your twisting what im saying, i dont advocate ANYONE telling ANYONE ELSE what to charge or earn, but you are choosing to flip what i said,
what i meant to explain was that each person will decide what level of income they need based on their outgoings/requirements and wants, so the guy who drives a brand new van, rents a plush office/workshop in the better part of town, wants flash holidays and big cars needs more income than someone who doesnt want what i listed, (and before anyone says anything, i'm probably in the first group who want the bigger/expensive things so my charge would be higher, but thats my personal choice,
re price fixing, if you are happy to do it then organise it between you and all the other local guys, see how long it lasts if you can even get it off the ground, and some might say price fixing is in its own way selfish as you are forcing people to pay a certain level which is higher than they could normally get under free trade, my opinion is just that, my opinion, it means nothing to anyone except me, im not having a personal go at you or anyone else who differs from my opinion

 

[Leo21]

Fair one, can't argue with that. But how many times have been to a job and been told a ridiculously low price has been given. Be honest now, did you want to hit the roof ! I just think some people ruin it for the rest of us. Like you I'm a skilled grafter and want paying as one, as I have no other trades to turn to.

 

[kirkgas]

Fair one, can't argue with that. But how many times have been to a job and been told a ridiculously low price has been given. Be honest now, did you want to hit the roof ! I just think some people ruin it for the rest of us. Like you I'm a skilled grafter and want paying as one, as I have no other trades to turn to.

yes i agree that some people are charging too little to do the job properly but i honestly dont know how we resolve it, Trading Standards, the trade orgainsations, etc i just dont see them getting involved

 

[Leo21]

How about price fixing? Lol

 

[kirkgas]

How about price fixing? Lol

i'll start us off,

RS boiler service £60
OF boiler service £70
fit gas cooker (1m max pipe) £80
LGCS £50 (plus extra for appliances) (and deffo plus extra for appliance service)

 

[Leo21]

I like this, needs to be another £15 on the lgs though.

 

[kirkgas]

I like this, needs to be another £15 on the lgs though.

see thats my point, thats the 3L car costs kicking in,

 

[Leo21]

How do you know my cars a. 3L ?