When Customer Says You're Too Expensive

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

This is what we say:
"We're booked up with work for months so we are not too expensive, we may be out of your budget.
You say you had another quote and it is significantly cheaper.
Have you thought perhaps the other quote is too cheap?
Why not phone them and ask them how come they are so cheap."

Recently we had such a call.
We didn't drop the price at al.
And we did get the job!

 

[gasmanrob]

Problem with London is running cost hit the roof. I keep thinking of chasing more work in town but by the time I leave at the crack of dawn pay the extra fuel congestion charge and parking. Then sit in 2 hours of traffic to get home any extra that I could charge is already gone. I find I earn the same money in kent as I would in London

 

[SafeGasInstall]

my only work is in London so we will be going buck to my old area Ruislip as I am spending silly money on diesel really

 

[Ermintrude]

U moving back to big smoke Stan ?

 

[oz-plumber]

It depends on what the job is.

If you want it - negotiate, if not fob it off.

You can generally tell if a customer is genuine with the figures they have in the first 2 minutes of a phonecall, and you should know whether or not these figures are achievable from your quotation.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

We are 50/50 to be honest .... But thinking of going back as I do too much of a long drive each day ! I cover like 200mils a day

 

[lame plumber]

I get miffed if I cover 40 miles a day, and the scenery around me is great

 

[SafeGasInstall]

I get ****ed off if I cover 40 miles a day, and the scenery around me is great

I will be too if I was driving a landy LP pmsl

 

[Ermintrude]

Stan not thought about going other way - Northampton, Banbury Oxford? Or even Leamington spa Stratford and Warwick?

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Don't know anyone there pal , I personally will go anywhere where there is enough so I can proved food on the table for my family tbh

 

[bert large]

What sort of day rate are you chaps in London getting ? Not that I'm after work there, just curious.
I'm in the sleepy South West & like the laid back attitude to work here.

 

[Ermintrude]

Stan do u do quotes or does some one give you the work? Have you advertised?

 

[SafeGasInstall]

recommendations + web site

Average is 300 / some time more

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Stan do u do quotes or does some one give you the work? Have you advertised?

no I work for my self , dont have a boss and only work with customers direct no builders involve . Yes I plan and organise installs acording to plans along with other trades but only with customers , no estate agents , no landlords , no idiots

 

[gasmanrob]

Jase you naughty boy this is open forum! And if that all it is in London then I'm definitely staying in kent....

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

I will be too if I was driving a landy LP pmsl

wuss:sleep1:

 

[bert large]

Hi Bert large, I am guessing you are a firemen, ever plumber I have met in southwest is a part time firemen!! Day rate can vary up here, from £200 to £450, depending on quality of work, customer base etc. I believe southwest (Cornwall and Devon) is maximum of £200 per day but as you say easier workload, less pressure. The big difference is the hourly wage, southwest is £20-£25 per hour, so still earning around £200 per day, up here you can charge £50-£75 per hour so potentially £600 per day. And emergency callout, you could get away with £150 per hour for out of hours emergencies. Depends how busy you are and how much you need the work

Hi Jase,
Ha ha, no I'm a full time plumber not a fireman. I don't actually know any firemen
masquerading as plumbers.
You're about right on the day rate but not on the hourly rate here, its much higher.

I try to pick & choose my jobs as I enjoy working on my own, can't think of anything worse than employing a few blokes & having to be forever chasing work for them, consequently driving prices down.

 

[Ermintrude]

Or wiping their arses and tidying up all the little bits

 

[jase158]

Thats not London, I'm in bucks. I ain't bothered in telling people what I charge, why the secret?

 

[jase158]

The more I think about it, the more I want small jobs, better pay, less risk, more time at merchants having fun. Finnish earlier. Fed up of big jobs at moment. Been on big jobs for last 3-4 months. Might advertise with yell again as that's where I get small jobs from.

 

[Killy Bing]

Thats not London, I'm in bucks. I ain't bothered in telling people what I charge, why the secret?

say a town over one of us quotes, slightly more expensive and they use your figures, decide we are ripping them off and then tell everyone we are cowboys.

i know we all charge different rates but what if someone in bucks posts up and are cheaper than you.
customer then quotes the other guys rates of pay and refuses to pay yours.

the annoying thing about the internet !!!!

i quoted to fit an outside tap.
person agreed, i turned up, they had read up on the screwfix forum it shouldn't be more than 25 quid.

hence why rates of pay aren't discussed, opens up a can of worms.
so please jase could you edit it out.

 

[bert large]

Or move the whole thread to the Arms ?

 

[Ray Stafford]

say a town over one of us quotes, slightly more expensive and they use your figures, decide we are ripping them off and then tell everyone we are cowboys.

i know we all charge different rates but what if someone in bucks posts up and are cheaper than you.
customer then quotes the other guys rates of pay and refuses to pay yours.

the annoying thing about the internet !!!!

i quoted to fit an outside tap.
person agreed, i turned up, they had read up on the screwfix forum it shouldn't be more than 25 quid.

Welcome to my world.

 

[Dotty]

Thats not London, I'm in bucks. I ain't bothered in telling people what I charge, why the secret?

I'm not asking you to edit your post Jase. I'm telling you.

You know full well that we do not discuss prices in open forum.

 

[Dotty]

Or move the whole thread to the Arms ?

As long as prices aren't mentioned it's ok. It does the customer the world of good to know that there's a rationale to what we charge.

But no prices. Therein lies a bidding war.

 

[Ermintrude]

I'm available my remuneration can be measured in jammy dodgers and wagon wheels. My work is so immense it cannot be measured and so grand that no price of less than a grand may be applied.

 

[Dotty]

I'm available my remuneration can be measured in jammy dodgers and wagon wheels. My work is so immense it cannot be measured and so grand that no price of less than a grand may be applied.

Your roses are well fertlised too

 

[Dannypipe]

I did a big job this morning, believe me you don't want to see any photos.

 

[Phil]

My diesel costs are around £20 per week, I'm lucky enough to have a good customer base right on my doorstep.

 

[WHPES]

I say if you want a cheap job, get a handyman not a plumber. If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

 

[jase158]

These people who moan about price because they saw it on he internet quoted as that are the sort of people that you don't want as customers, they are the sort of people who will ask for a complete breakdown of everything including how many elbows and how many screws etc. if you want to delete then fine but I ain't editing as I don't know how on my iPhone. Have enough trouble writing threads, let alone editing them