Do you have a minimum charge no matter what?

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Do you have a minimum charge no matter what?

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armyash

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Hi guys,

Do you have a minimum charge for even the smallest of jobs? As you are running a business can you afford to say oh just give me £10.00?

What i'm saying is if you charge £30ph (or whatever) would you still charge that for changing a tap washer that is straight forward and easy to get to?

I understand if it's a 90 year old woman who doesn't have much then the odd freebie for little things is ok but some people find it hard to believe that a tap repair should be more than a five the way they act.

I don't know what I would charge for a tap washer but if you do too many jobs at a cut price then before you know it that will be the rates always expected.
 
Leaving the 90 year old woman (or man) aside yes you must have a minimum charge, it is too easy to become a "busy fool" and over a year you have to cover for the odd foc return visit to make money.

I have a between X & Y system of pricing when I estimate (I never quote) then the customer know`s X = easy and Y covers problems unforseen, the problem is as we all know there are people who will do these £5 - 10 jobs.
 
My minimum charge is £40 (if I get my hands out of my pockets). If I attend to quote, I will not charge. But if I have to remove bath panels etc to detect the source of a leak and quote for what repairs will be needed, then I will charge the minimum £40 or else I detect the problem quote for it and they get someone, tell them the exact problem and get a cheaper quote as he/she is doing what they want. As for tap washers, I try not to bother with them except my arm is twisted:)
 
I have a minimum charge of £65 for up to an hour's work. For good, regular customers I will occasionally charge a nominal amount like £25 or even a freebie if it's 5 minutes work.

They know it's a little goodwill gesture and don't expect it every time. Most of the time when I say it's a freebie they try and insist on giving me something. So it's a nice, mutually respectful process.
 
Ash,

There are many plumbers who make a descent living out of changing tap washers and doing menial plumbing repairs.
Don't under estimate your abilities.
If the customer called you to do a repair then charge accordingly.

If you get a reputation of being cheap, it will haunt you for ever.
You're not going to win every job, so don't expect
You're not going to be every customers favorite plumber either.

You should set yourself a minimum charge out rate for any job.

If you employed someone, you would have to pay their wages and whatever else.
You would not go to a job because you could do it for less than you would have to pay an employee to do it.

Use that as a basis to work out your minimum charge out rate
 
Absolutely, Oz.

If we don't respect ourselves customers never will. But equally, no harm in showing a little appreciation by letting loyal customers know they are not just a cash cow for us, like merchants knocking a bit extra off or sending out a packet of biccies...
 
My minimum charge is £60 and covers the first hour of work. I don't do discounted prices really, if I want to do a good customer a favour then I will do it for free.
 
I end up doing a few freebie visits, however the rule is Tools off the back of the van min charge £50 plus vat.
 
If I arrive at a Rayburn that needs a complete decoke and half the firebricks are missing and the owner tells me its been fine for 20 years and they have done all the servicing for 15, I walk back to the van having explained its knackered and dont light it. Some jobs arent worth the bother, did this on Friday, then turned out to an old lass up the road to do a tap washer, to find nought wrong that turning off the tap wouldnt cure :) no fee. Normally though its £75 min for first hour.
 
Excellent advice.

To be honest a lot of what you have all said is how I have it in my head but then I some times doubt myself and when asked can i do it any cheaper i usually knock a fiver off. Only screwing myself so going to stop it. I don't even charge a lot, and usually if I ask for a rough price on here some guys charge a lot more than others I usually go for something in the middle.

Thanks, just got to grow a pair now and stick to my guns :)
 
£45 for a quickie, £55 for the first hour. Coffin Dodgers £35 min, or the occasional freebie for the good sort. No point in discounting to £20 or whatever, because they won't see it as a favour. Even though it is, and you'll always get it back in spades with the good ones.
 
Leo21 said:
£45 for a quickie, £55 for the first hour. Coffin Dodgers £35 min, or the occasional freebie for the good sort. No point in discounting to £20 or whatever, because they won't see it as a favour. Even though it is, and you'll always get it back in spades with the good ones.
Click to expand...

Right. So thems your streetwalking rates.

What's your plumbing rates?
 
Leo21 said:
No point in discounting to £20 or whatever, because they won't see it as a favour. Even though it is, and you'll always get it back in spades with the good ones.
Click to expand...

When customers ask for a reduced rate or friends ask for half price as it's family, I try to remind them that if I fitted their boiler for half price and there was a problem in a day or two, will they just take it on the chin or ring me and complain? If I fitted their bath at half price and there was a leak, will they just decide it was done on the cheap so no need calling back the idiot or will they be on the phone telling me I fecked it up and must come round pronto and sort it out? They won't remember it was done on the cheap, will they?
 
You need to have a minimum charge no matter what, print yourself off a price list of what you charge and laminate it and stick it in your vans sun visor,
Its easy to question yourself on what to charge and lower the price because you think it sounds too much but your running a business not a charity, if your customers want a cheap job or don't want to pay top money for a quality job then you don't want to work for them,

And as regards to the elderly, some of them are the tightest people I know with money, asin have loads in the bank but still turn the thermostat down, so have a minimum charge for OAP's that cover all your expenses and a little for yourself
 
Mines £40 and that is for everyone.

Not long ago I went to an old boy and his wife who had just come out of hospital, I topped up the pressure, then bled some air out and tightened a but on the pump and as it was only round the corner I said £20 cash, all worked fine for 2 days then the pressure dropped (there was still loads of air in the system that I couldn't get out so I told him to expect it) he topped up the pressure and left the filling loop open a bit he phoned me when I was at Cheltenham races and I said I will get round to him as soon as I get back. He had 3 other blokes go round and charge him a total of £280. When I got there 1 had slated me because I left the filling loop open and it was the bloke another fitted a new expansion even though there was a 2nd massive one in the loft, and the 3rd changed the prv. When I got back I went round to a very unhappy person found a leak and sorted it, I felt I couldn't charge him as of what had happened. So for that £20 I had to work 1 1/2 hours!

So moral of the story even little jobs can go wrong so charge normal rates.
 
Millsy 82 said:
Mines £40 and that is for everyone.

Not long ago I went to an old boy and his wife who had just come out of hospital, I topped up the pressure, then bled some air out and tightened a but on the pump and as it was only round the corner I said £20 cash, all worked fine for 2 days then the pressure dropped (there was still loads of air in the system that I couldn't get out so I told him to expect it) he topped up the pressure and left the filling loop open a bit he phoned me when I was at Cheltenham races and I said I will get round to him as soon as I get back. He had 3 other blokes go round and charge him a total of £280. When I got there 1 had slated me because I left the filling loop open and it was the bloke another fitted a new expansion even though there was a 2nd massive one in the loft, and the 3rd changed the prv. When I got back I went round to a very unhappy person found a leak and sorted it, I felt I couldn't charge him as of what had happened. So for that £20 I had to work 1 1/2 hours!

So moral of the story even little jobs can go wrong so charge normal rates.
Click to expand...

Sorry - reread post
 
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£60 plus VAT for the first hour. Sometimes we show a bit of discretion if there's a larger job on the way from a customer and charge half that price. Only if there is definitely another job incoming from them though!
 
Thats the thing, its never definite!

Ive never understood why people knock money off for an oap??!
Surely theyre the richest of the lot - after all, theyve worked the longest!
And they bought their house for about £800 so probably havent had a mortgage to pay since England won the World Cup.
Add to that a nice fat pension and a payoff when their old man died and theyre all minted. Compared to me at least.
Surely its the working man with 4kids whos hard up

As for Millsys post - I did a job last year and literally 2-3months later I had a call back to it but couldnt get to the house till the evening. I'd done a tap washer for a tenner, infact it didnt even need changing so I felt bad charging that.
Dyno Rod ended up going out and charging a fortune to repair a leak from the tap connector. Somehow it had dripped down a wall without them noticing, under a downstairs carpet and had made a right mess.
Luckily they thought it had nothing to do with me, which I agreed with.
Moral of the story is, for every 100 £10 jobs your bound to get one that doesnt end well. Same with most jobs but at least make it worth your while.

As for 'mates rates' dont get me started on that! If theyre a real 'mate', why arent they paying you the going rate?? You do them a brilliant job because theyre your mate and they pay you a good rate because theyre your mate. Agreed?

I think thats all....
 
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If you charge anything at all for a job, - even if it is only a fiver, then people can accuse you of being responsible for whatever happens then or later.
 
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