Another one in the recycle bin

[electricmanscott]

Just priced out another new home. A custom not a spec. 3500 sq ft, hydro air, ug service, well, septic, etc. Not a cheap job to wire.

My price $25,813.00

The response.....


Scott,
I appreciate the time you spent working on the proposal. My budget is nowhere close to your bid and I have a few proposals almost 40% lower for the same scope of work. Once again,thanks for your time.

Whatever

 

[peter d]

Whatever

Let someone else work for wages you can make in China. If you can't make a living wage working this trade then might as well get a day job somewhere else, right?

 

[jjhoward]

What, $16K to wire a house with the service....:-?
Maybe he really doesn't want any lights installed.

Is this a builder or the homeowner?

 

[wbalsam1]

Just priced out another new home. A custom not a spec. 3500 sq ft, hydro air, ug service, well, septic, etc. Not a cheap job to wire.

My price $25,813.00

The response.....


Scott,
I appreciate the time you spent working on the proposal. My budget is nowhere close to your bid and I have a few proposals almost 40% lower for the same scope of work. Once again,thanks for your time.

Whatever

I think your price is reasonable. 3500 sq ft is a lotta rope.

 

[petersonra]

I would not get too worried about it. There will almost always be someone hungrier than you in this kind of economic climate. Thats why when times are good you put something away for when times are not so good.

I have several friends in different aspects of the home construction trades who spend the better part of a decade working mostly 50+ hours a week until the home building market slowed down a few months ago. Both are now lucky to get 20 hours a week. Both were smart enough to know that the good times were not going to last forever and put away something for the times that are not so good. One has opened a side business (operating out of his basement), the other is not real concerned about things for the time being and is enjoying his time off, as it gives him time to do things he missed out on working all those hours.

 

[ishium 80439]

Pretty much the exact scenario I ran into that I wrote about in another thread. The one good thing about these down turns in the market is that the people who are lowballing will soon be out of business. I think Darwin may have coined a term for this phenomena.

 

[Minuteman]

This lowballers must be square footing their price, and not figuring the job like Scott did. That, or they have a crew of $8,00 an hour guys that do all the work.

 

[hardworkingstiff]

The one good thing about these down turns in the market is that the people who are lowballing will soon be out of business.

I agree.

Only problem, every one that goes out, 3 unemployed electricians try to make some money by "starting up shop". The ones that didn't have "business" exposure will not understand overhead recovery and profits.

It's going to take the economy recovering to make it better.

 

[CopperTone]

recently we started to do work again for a GC who "dropped" us last summer for a lower priced electrician. The head aches the other guy gave him - not showing up when he said he would, not completing the work proposed, had to baby sit him, crazy change orders, completely unorganized, etc.

My point is, at the time I was pissed bacause we always gave this GC priority with our time and I feel we do high quality work. The GC basically said - I had to convince my boss that your prices are actually cheaper because there are never any issues, and I can worry about other things.

I thought at the time that I was making a mistake by not caving in and lowering my prices even though we needed the work. Looking back, I am glad I didn't. We used to win about 6 out of 10 jobs we bid or priced, lately it is more like 1 or 2 out of 10.
I have learned to sharpen my pencil on the prices, but I can't cut 20%-35% off my prices, I will lose money and be out of business in a year.
We charge what we charge because that is what it costs to do business, make a good living, plan for retirement, go on vacation in the summer, pay for health insurance, take care of your employees, etc.

I hate hearing that someone else was almost 40% lower than us - but honestly it's better than hearing that you were 40% lower than the next guy. Ouch!

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

I hate hearing that someone else was almost 40% lower than us - but honestly it's better than hearing that you were 40% lower than the next guy. Ouch!

This is so true...I always wondered why people would get mad when I used to say that I wanted to be the most expensive electrical contractor.