I few weeks ago I bid on a job to upgrade a 125 amp service to 200 amps and install a new sub panel in the basement next to the existing panel.
This job was about as easy as they get. The home was only a few years old and the basement was unfinished and completely open.
Most service upgades I do are a lot more difficult and I try to get anywhere from $2,000 to $3,500 for them. Usually I don't get these unless they don't get other bids. I knew this one was going to be easy and I was hurting for work at the time so I gave what I thought was such a low price that I would be sure to get the job. My price was $1,300.
Later that week the guy called me back to say he had gone with someone else. The guy he went with was about the same price as me but he had a coupon for $50 off which made him a little lower than me. The company is a member of ESI so I was kind of shocked that they were so low. I thought these ESI companies were supposed to be on the upper end of the pricing not the lower end.
The reason the homeowner decided to get bids was because the first electrician that came out gave him a price of $1,900 and he thought that sounded high. He said he was going to use the first guy because he had went out on a Sunday and fixed an electrical problem on his mother's house and didn't charge her anything for the service. But after getting a quote of $1,900 he decided to get some more bids.
So when it came right down to it the free Sunday service call the guy did didn't help get him the job at all. The homeowner went with the lowest price and not with the guy that gave his mother a free sunday service call.
Sounds like it doesn't pay to do service calls for free in hopes of getting future work. I bet he wishes he had charge the little old lady for the service call now.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I still can't believe my low ball price got beat out by an ESI company with a $50 coupon. Bummer dude.![Frown :( :(](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Oh well. I would have been lucky to make any money on that job anyway.
I know some guys would have been less than a $1,000 for this job.
Service upgrades are the one thing that homeowners, unlicensed electrical contractors and handymen can't or aren't willing to do and we're giving them away. Man electricians in my area sure like to work for nothing. Double bummer dude.![Frown :( :(](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
This job was about as easy as they get. The home was only a few years old and the basement was unfinished and completely open.
Most service upgades I do are a lot more difficult and I try to get anywhere from $2,000 to $3,500 for them. Usually I don't get these unless they don't get other bids. I knew this one was going to be easy and I was hurting for work at the time so I gave what I thought was such a low price that I would be sure to get the job. My price was $1,300.
Later that week the guy called me back to say he had gone with someone else. The guy he went with was about the same price as me but he had a coupon for $50 off which made him a little lower than me. The company is a member of ESI so I was kind of shocked that they were so low. I thought these ESI companies were supposed to be on the upper end of the pricing not the lower end.
The reason the homeowner decided to get bids was because the first electrician that came out gave him a price of $1,900 and he thought that sounded high. He said he was going to use the first guy because he had went out on a Sunday and fixed an electrical problem on his mother's house and didn't charge her anything for the service. But after getting a quote of $1,900 he decided to get some more bids.
So when it came right down to it the free Sunday service call the guy did didn't help get him the job at all. The homeowner went with the lowest price and not with the guy that gave his mother a free sunday service call.
Sounds like it doesn't pay to do service calls for free in hopes of getting future work. I bet he wishes he had charge the little old lady for the service call now.
I still can't believe my low ball price got beat out by an ESI company with a $50 coupon. Bummer dude.
Oh well. I would have been lucky to make any money on that job anyway.
I know some guys would have been less than a $1,000 for this job.
Service upgrades are the one thing that homeowners, unlicensed electrical contractors and handymen can't or aren't willing to do and we're giving them away. Man electricians in my area sure like to work for nothing. Double bummer dude.