When Customer Says You're Too Expensive

[Niallmat]

Farmers ar the worst for haggling! never had one not doing it yet , or they say "how much for cash then" after you name your price, to which i reply with a smile "that price was for cash" , that usually ends it!

Farmers are terrible like! They claim poverty! You always see them in nice machinery an that! I was with a heating firm and did a big job for a farmer, he agreed a price and we did the work, I found out a few week later they where refusing to pay the full amount!

 

[Plumb08]

I was always told that If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

 

[lame plumber]

on any bigger job I do an estimate and get customer to sign agreement for work to go ahead and cancellation procedure if less than 7 days cooling off period and work is starting. Its a door to door salesman type agreement as required now for all of us under trading standards requirements and if the blighters then refuse payment etc youve got a simple contract with their signature to use in court process and your ahead of the game already.

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

and when I gave a rough price she said "your the same price as British Gas" I was so shocked I didn't know what to say, ..

We get similar on the phone...They've called Heateam, WB , BG or who ever and then they call us and tell me on the phone that that other company are too expensive. That i why they are calling us. I reassure them that we will almost certainly charge a similar price and might charge more!
Why assume we will be cheaper? Our materials may well cost more than those big firms.

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

This is a difficult point because I hate having to haggle but depending on what it is I will haggle, this is very hypocritical.

I will haggle over the price of a car or if I am in a shop, buying a new tv, I will haggle over luxury items..........
I think for me its the way the conversation/haggle is conducted, in an aggressive manner "your ripping me off" or "Mate, help me out a bit,"....

I think you make some good points.
Actually we do "help out" customers who seem like they will be nice to work for but can't afford the higher prices.

No-one wants to spend money on new heating - that would just be just strange!

Most of our work is bathrooms and general house renovations - these are luxuries to some extent -
I think some if the "your too expensive" comments come because people don't realise just How expensive these things are and then are not comparing like with like when they get a cheaper quote.

For the most part I don't think we can just slice off a chunk off the profit when we send out a quote for £10,000 bathroom - as other have said we would have to change the quality of the materials - which can easily be achieved but customers rarely do that - if anything they usually end up spending more.

Perhaps we price things too low!

 

[Centralheatking]

The most important part of what you are posting about is really - THE DEPOSIT !

For new domestic customers and small commercials I always write a contract and
have a deposit up front - boilers can cost £1000 - I dont leave them in peoples
homes without some commitment from them.

Its the best way - a deposit is a legal agreement for my outfit to complete
and the customer to pay the final - it also gets them into the idea that
we are working together - and real money has to change hands

Its just our way - under £300 no but above ALWAYS

centralheatking

 

[Centralheatking]

I have been known to drop £500 over a £7500 luxury bathroom ONCE then I got home and KICKED THE CAT and had a think and got it all back in spades on extras

More often than not though a little wheeling and dealing like that leads to more work in the future which more than pay's back that £70

 

[CXR100]

if the house isnt that nice, old tv, old clothes ect ect and you can see they are struggling i usually go a bit cheaper, because they are allways repairs , bursts leaks ect, i just cut £20 off for example, then the next huge house i get a bathroom job and a nice bmw outside and a huge plasma in the living room i just charge them a bit more!

 

[lame plumber]

if the house isnt that nice, old tv, old clothes ect ect and you can see they are struggling i usually go a bit cheaper, because they are allways repairs , bursts leaks ect, i just cut £20 off for example, then the next huge house i get a bathroom job and a nice bmw outside and a huge plasma in the living room i just charge them a bit more!

and guess which one will pay up immediately or before the jobs finished, not the beemer owner but those that are struggling along, so I dont mind doing a deal for people like that

 

[Wet dream]

We but this on are adds

The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten

Says it all and filters out the divs you never wanted to work for anyway