Servicing unvented cylinders

[gassafe]

Just about every day of the week mate I hear "How much? You`ve only been here 45 minutes!"

Yes that's what I'm afraid of... Do guys actually use the " your not paying for my time your paying for the knowledge??" with customers?

 

[rpm]

Yes that's what I'm afraid of... Do guys actually use the " your not paying for my time your paying for the knowledge??" with customers?

Not in so many words I don`t unless I know somebody else has had a go and failed then yes I will say something along those lines.

 

[rpm]

Here`s an example from today done by a local guy known to me as we drink in the same pub.

This was my first ever visit to the house, I took one look at this and out loud said "WTF" in front of the young couple (could help it). Took me under an hour to check it over as working ok and it didn`t have gaffa tape holding it together when I left !!! Still got the "How much" though.

 

[chris watkins]

That's a good saying... I often think in this crazy plumbing game that some jobs due to technical nature etc or whatever that by just charging for the 1st hour is kind of undercharging myself, but charging more I feel customers will think I'm ripping them off because I was able to do this work quickly etc..!? Other people must have this a lot too?

It comes from that old joke
"Plumber is called to problem on a heating system, he is confronted by a mass of pipes, he looks carefully at it all for a while before picking up a pair of Stilsons and smacking one of the pipes, the system springs back to life.
Thats fantastic the customer standing behind him says, heat at last, how much do I owe you?

Plumber says £125 notes please.

Customer says how much!!! £125 you have only been here 15mins & had to hit one pipe.

Plumbers response it is £25 to hit the pipe, the extra oner is for knowing which one to hit".

A fact often forgotten by customers & plumbers alike.

Maybe if we broke it down like that ever time more people would understand that what the trade is about.

 

[SimonG]

Nipped out at lunchtime yesterday, boiler locked out. Reset it, rattle rattle. Pump off new dog drive. Pump on and away it goes. It was two miles from where I was working and wasnt there 5 minutes. £50. He paid £60.

 

[oz-plumber]

Charging more I feel customers will think I'm ripping them off because I was able to do this work quickly

There's your dilemma....

You feel you are ripping off the customers by charging more!!!

Have a stab at charging customers more on jobs for the next month or so.
By then, you yourself, will feel it to be a normal price to charge.

Either test the water by dipping you toe in and creep in, or assume the water is cold and just take the plunge.
If you take the plunge then you will be acclimatised much quicker.

 

[Best]

Don't work too fast. Customers will tend to think you have been less time than you actually have, so better to work a little slower and appear to be very meticulous. This will loose you an extra 20 minutes of your time, but if you charge for it, why worry?
Spending 45 minutes doing their job will not seem to justify your hourly rate plus time travel, so best to make it over an hour on their job.

 

[Robert Tyrrell]

Spending 45 minutes doing their job will not seem to justify your hourly rate plus time travel, so best to make it over an hour on their job.

Wow - I know that this trade can be complicated at times, but quantum physics for plumbers, now thats a C&G qualification I haven't heard of

 

[Best]

Wow - I know that this trade can be complicated at times, but quantum physics for plumbers, now thats a C&G qualification I haven't heard of

Well we plumbers do use flux for soldering, and capacitors for motors, so no problem to time travel if you have a flux capacitor. :smile:

 

[tomplumb83]

Problem is that the customers know all about their problem before you arrive as they've been reading through a plumbers forum - so theyre no longer paying for your knowledge!