customer balked at price

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mudcat555

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Location
Mentor, Ohio (25 miles east of Cleveland)
Occupation
Retired Electrician IBEW Local 38
Recently I did a residential job in Cleveland Ohio. It was a 3 bedroom ranch,2 bathrooms,family room, living room, kitchen and laundry room. The house was done in knob and tube and the insurance company would not insure it unless it was totally rewired in romex. I rewired the entire house with romex, installed a new circuit breaker panel, installed a new 100 amp dis-connect on the outside next to the meter, removed all the knob and tube wiring in the attic, refed the boiler system, added over-head lights in the bedrooms, and re-located 3-way switching to be code compliant, and even patched some of the drywall where the old switches were. I charged the customer material plus $2300.00 labor at the end of the job. He was not happy with the labor price. Was my labor price out of line based on what other electricians would have charged?
 
sounds like you charged way too little.

And you left money on the table if you didn't mark up your materials.

And you left money on the table if you didn't markup for OH&P
 
The customer complained???

I rewired the entire house with romex, $ 3000.00
installed a new circuit breaker panel, $1000.00
installed a new 100 amp dis-connect on the outside next to the meter, $ 250.00
removed all the knob and tube wiring in the attic, $ 250.00
refed the boiler system, $150.00
added over-head lights in the bedrooms, $300.00
and re-located 3-way switching to be code compliant, $ 200.00
and even patched some of the drywall where the old switches were.$ 150.00

I charged the customer material plus $2300.00 labor at the end of the job. He was not happy with the labor price. Was my labor price out of line based on what other electricians would have charged?
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Yes, way out of line. Way too little. Less than half of my (labor only) guesstimates above.

What's your total of each of trips, days, and hours? What was your hourly quote, since you didn't price the job ahead of time (which I would have done)?
 
I've never rewired an entire house for less than $8K total.

Do yourself a big favor. Read this book: "How much should I charge" by Ellen Rohr. Easy read, $15 on Amazon. Will change your life. Seriously.

You are also apparently not giving upfront pricing. Doing so will eliminate (mostly) customer shock when the bill comes and will also get you more jobs.
 
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Coppersmith said:
You are also apparently not giving upfront pricing. Doing so will eliminate (mostly) customer shock when the bill comes and will also get you more jobs.
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It also allows you to work at your own pace, rewards you instead of the customer when you work hard/quickly/smart, and eliminates the watchful "is he working?" customer eye.

When you give a fixed price, you should, at least in theory, make more than you would at an hourly rate. Troubleshooting is the exception, because you don't know how long it will take.

Be sure to charge enough per hour to cover the trip as well as the actual trouble-shooting time with, say, a one hour minimum. I charge 1.5 hours worth for the first hour to cover travel.

Once you've found the problem, it's either fixed, or you give a price to perform the fix. That's why you charge the hour minimum: in case you find and repair the problem quickly.
 
My estimated labor alone would be over $100 per opening plus materials which are minimal in comparison to labor. Two switches side by side equal $200+. Service estimate is in the $2000 range. I don’t firm price rewires but I certainly walk through with the owner and count by the hundreds at each device.
 
sameguy said:
Way too cheap, what is the occupation of the customer?
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Those that complain the most often are the ones that make a lot doing whatever it is they do, and often don't have to exert themselves much either to do what they do.:roll:
 
Price OP had may be reasonable if it was an easy rewire, but sounds like about lowest one should expect from what he did mention needed to be done.
 
Thankyou for your input.

Thankyou for your input.

It is just sidework to me after 35 years in the trade doing commercial and industrial work. Its obvious why my boss didn't let me do the estimating. I work at my own pace, but in the end I know the quality that went into the job and that is most important even if it takes me a little longer. I am glad for the work to keep me busy but also disappointed when a customer feels I've left a bad taste in their mouth. Thankyou to all for your advise. mudcat.
 
mudcat555 said:
It is just sidework to me after 35 years in the trade doing commercial and industrial work. Its obvious why my boss didn't let me do the estimating. I work at my own pace, but in the end I know the quality that went into the job and that is most important even if it takes me a little longer. I am glad for the work to keep me busy but also disappointed when a customer feels I've left a bad taste in their mouth. Thankyou to all for your advise. mudcat.
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If it is side work you may not have the overhead some have and your price may be more justified for your situation. Still think it is about at the low end for anyone that wants to make any profit at all. You probably put at least 30-40 hours minimum into this didn't you? What is that time worth to you even if you aren't interested in marking up materials or other costs?
 
mudcat555 said:
I charged the customer material plus $2300.00 labor at the end of the job. He was not happy with the labor price. Was my labor price out of line based on what other electricians would have charged?
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I'm never all that happy with what I have to pay for things either.

You made a mistake on this by not giving an upfront price on it. An up front price is either a confirmed quoted or an hourly rate of what you will charge T&M.

I don't know what electricians charge in that area but I can't think of anyone doing it any cheaper.
 
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