Customer Supplied Generator
- Thread starter EEC
- Start date
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LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
I would say it's not a problem. I often install customer-supplied equipment, as long as it is adequate and compliant, and I have checked it out and approve.EEC said:
Pick your labor rate or flat price, and go to town. It must be agreed that you cannot guarantee any equipment you have not supplied, including labor charges for call-backs.
Edit: If I mis-read your question, and you mean you supplied the equipment, of course you add a mark-up. You have to cover your shopping time, as well as any "engineering" you did in recommending equipment capacities, etc.
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
:grin: You should also check to make sure there's oil in that customer supplied generator. I might have run a new generator without oil once... my memory is foggy. 
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
I make that part of the start-up service, which is an extra charge (except for friends and family).mdshunk said::grin: You should also check to make sure there's oil in that customer supplied generator. I might have run a new generator without oil once... my memory is foggy.
I am assuming you mean the customer bought the gen & transfer switch. Fairly popular today to do it that way. Cuts mark up for EC. People have one drop shipped from an on line dealer. Are you the authorized installer / dealer in your area for the brand they purchased? Usually start up procedures can be learned from the manual but having an authorized person do it generally insures a quality install.
It seems that on commercial jobs which will have a back up generator ( say about 100kW or larger ) the bids are usually to wire the job and install a gen with no possibility of selling the unit. In those cases there is no way to add money or you won't get the project. On small rural volunteer fire stations or similar such jobs you have a better chance of suppling gensets.
Now if you are referring to a home owner who " CUT YOU OUT OF THE DEAL BECAUSE HE SAVED 100.00 ON DA INTANET!! ", that's different. Actually however the person gets the generator they want you to hook it up. I've done a bunch of gensets and I have never charged anyone a surcharge for something like that. There are two types. One who priced out ahead of time and bought on line, then wants me to wire it. Or someone who bought one somewhere and is calling around to get someone to hook it up.
The last question would be: was there any kind of understanding you had ahead of time with your customer or are you just wondering what to do or are you mad about it all? If you give a little more details I can relate how I handle the different situations.
It seems that on commercial jobs which will have a back up generator ( say about 100kW or larger ) the bids are usually to wire the job and install a gen with no possibility of selling the unit. In those cases there is no way to add money or you won't get the project. On small rural volunteer fire stations or similar such jobs you have a better chance of suppling gensets.
Now if you are referring to a home owner who " CUT YOU OUT OF THE DEAL BECAUSE HE SAVED 100.00 ON DA INTANET!! ", that's different. Actually however the person gets the generator they want you to hook it up. I've done a bunch of gensets and I have never charged anyone a surcharge for something like that. There are two types. One who priced out ahead of time and bought on line, then wants me to wire it. Or someone who bought one somewhere and is calling around to get someone to hook it up.
The last question would be: was there any kind of understanding you had ahead of time with your customer or are you just wondering what to do or are you mad about it all? If you give a little more details I can relate how I handle the different situations.
dezwitinc
Senior Member
- Location
- Delray Beach, FL
Customer Supplied
Customer Supplied
Whenever we price a customer supplied generator, there is a handling fee included in the price that varies from $200 - $600 dollars.
The reason is that we invariably get caught up in paperwork or coordination other than permitting that is not true installation cost as well as those phone calls when something goes wrong.
When the generator is purchased from us, our markup is to cover these kinds of costs.
The key is to make sure that the customer understands that this is owner furnished equipment and that they are responsible for it unless they want to sign a service contract.
It was nice in the days before the internet when people didn't think they could save a buck by bypassing the contractor.
Customer Supplied
Whenever we price a customer supplied generator, there is a handling fee included in the price that varies from $200 - $600 dollars.
The reason is that we invariably get caught up in paperwork or coordination other than permitting that is not true installation cost as well as those phone calls when something goes wrong.
When the generator is purchased from us, our markup is to cover these kinds of costs.
The key is to make sure that the customer understands that this is owner furnished equipment and that they are responsible for it unless they want to sign a service contract.
It was nice in the days before the internet when people didn't think they could save a buck by bypassing the contractor.
Last edited:
Dezwitinc: I agree totally. I charge for every bit of work done. Things come up all the time. So after a fair price including phone time, scheduling, labor, material, overhead & profit etc., I was assuming the question was about adding an additional amount to the billing. So if the customer asked what was that for I would have to say " mark up I lost on the gen you didn't buy from me cuz I got cut out of the deal " and that would get uncomfortable. I don't make it punitive to the customer for not buying it from me but I don't mash my schedule to fit them in if I don't have time.
Handling, phone calls, setting in place, missing parts, all of that is charged under T & M.
Handling, phone calls, setting in place, missing parts, all of that is charged under T & M.
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