Lets talk about markup shall we?

[Mule]

non of my business, sounded like a closed matter.

 

[ItsHot]

OP

OP

Back to the OP, Lets talk about Marc up shall we!:smile:

 

[Mule]

So here's a typical mark up scenerio, and I want to see how close I was....

Converting a 100 riser and can to 150 amp and going throught the eve of a house. can is free from poco, Nipple through the wall is ok, panel has already been upgraded.

1/0 wire, riser, flashing, knob, straps cost $62.....I figured 2x2 1/2 hrs labor plus a 1x1 planning and procurement. Came up with "not to exceed" $400

To cheap right?............ go ahead attack me....:grin:

 

[e57]

So, where do I find this "Blue Blook" with different pricing columns?

There are a number of them - back in the day it was a subscribtion service you got new updated pages with new pricing - now I think you just get up-dates in a program or such.

 

[zappy]

This guy from Hayward?

I used to work for a 'four letter word' Electric there back in the early 90's - invoice X3, Blue book column 2 X2.

I did a service call for an Accountant (Bad GFCI) and handed her a bill for .5 labor under a 1 hour min w/ service charge and a $135 GFCI receptacle and she had a conniption. (total around $250) Accused me of highway robbery and was dialing the cops... Broke it all down for her - 'this book, this item, this column X2 + 1 hour min and $15' She renegotiated the bill to $150 with the boss....

No, but your close!

 

[zappy]

I had a woman last week ask me if it was $250. to change that outlet. I assured here that was not the case at all. It was $250. to find what needed to be changed. I was including changing the outlet in the price. She was ok with that and had us come back the next day and do additional work for her. It's all in the presentation.

Nice come back

 

[zappy]

Back to the OP, Lets talk about Marc up shall we!:smile:

Let's not, and say we did.:smile:

 

[Dnkldorf]

A small customer woud go Ballistic (ballast-tic)- pun intended -if I charged $300 to fix a 2X4 lay-in fixture.

-$90 ballast + 2hrsX $100hr(2men) + $10 for wirenuts etc.. = $300

2 men to a 1 man job?

I'd start finding new employees.

 

[daleuger]

2 men to a 1 man job?

I'd start finding new employees.

The greenest of the green gotta do something and learn a little sooner or later don't they? There are only so many vans for them to clean.

2 j-man on that call or even say a j-man and a 3rd or 4th year and I might take issue.

 

[George Stolz]

I'm still not fully understanding exactly what Mule is saying. Call me slow.

Suppose you need to go get the ballast - which I would assume when figuring the bill even if I had the foresight to have that particular ballast on my truck anyway. (My foresight should be to my credit, not my customer's.)

So let's look at the timecard:

7:00am - Leave shop.
7:30am - Arrive at customer's door. Carry tools in. Open fixture, find bad ballast.
8:00am - Leave house. Drive to supply house.
8:30am - Arrive back at customer's door, ballast in hand. Install ballast. Light works.
9:00am - Depart customer's home.

So, do you charge the customer this?

(1.5 hours x labor/burden/overhead) + (cost of part + (.5 x overhead per hour)) + (profit) = customer's bill

or

(1.0 hours of labor/burden) + (cost of part plus (.5 x overhead per hour) + (profit) = customer's bill

or something else? Can you lay it out like I did?

 

[Dnkldorf]

(My foresight should be to my credit, not my customer's.)

Would your competition say:

By having foresight, I bring another value to the consumer, that your not providing.


Now I agree with what you said, if I wasn't interested in building a longterm relationship with that customer,for whatever reason.

 

[aline]

I dont increase the labor for the price of the part. Labor rate stays the same.

The markup rate is equal to the cost of part x 1.25(25%) or at minumum $10-15/billable hr.added to the cost of the part. did I say that right?

So if the job is labor only and there are no parts you don't get the $10-$15/billable hour you need to cover overhead?

So if you use one wirenut you charge $10-$15 for it?

Isn't that kind of unethical?

 

[daleuger]

Would your competition say:

By having foresight, I bring another value to the consumer, that your not providing.


Now I agree with what you said, if I wasn't interested in building a longterm relationship with that customer,for whatever reason.

Devil's advocate here but sometimes even all the foresight in the world and you still don't know what you're getting into until you get into it.

 

[Teaspoon]

This is a very interesting thread.
To me this is one of the hardest parts of the job,keeping up with everything.
Sure it is easy enough to bill 1 Hour installation for installing a ballast Plus the ballast cost. But you have the time trouble shooting to find the problem.
The time and expense to go to the supply house to purchase.
Then your Initial service call to cover gas& wear & tear.
Even if you are lucky enough to have everything you need on the van, You at some point have invested the time to stock this item .Invested your money to stock this Item.
In all of this I have not mentioned over-head. But it is there and has to be paid for.
Most of the people in my area are A bunch of tight wads. They want to go to the big Box buy their own materials and just pay the Electrician labor.Then if they think you made to much they are not happy. Or if you furnish materials they will say I can get this for so and so I saw it at the big Box.for this amount. Not all of my customers are like this but a lot are.

 

[Mr.Sparkle]

Your time spent getting material is not nor should it ever be free. Run don't walk from the customer that starts telling you how much they can get something for at a box store. They are completely clueless as to what it takes to mobilize your own company and will never understand it, ever. Not to mention they are probably drinking a $3.00 cup of coffee while questioning your material pricing.

 

[George Stolz]

They are completely clueless as to what it takes to mobilize your own company and will never understand it, ever.

Of course a customer doesn't really care what it costs to start up and operate a business. Business is business; it's not some sort of higher calling that the customer should feel charitable toward.

 

[Mr.Sparkle]

Of course a customer doesn't really care what it costs to start up and operate a business. Business is business; it's not some sort of higher calling that the customer should feel charitable toward.

I am speaking in regards to the customer that cannot wrap their head around why your material price is not the same as the big box after you make an attempt to justify your markup that is all

 

[George Stolz]

I could be way off base, but it seems to me it's easier to justify a high labor rate to a customer, as opposed to a high price on an item (like $60 for a readily accessible $20 item) to a customer.

I can see charging $20 a ballast that a customer can get themselves for $20 when I picked it up at a wholesaler for $10 and keeping the extra $10.

 

[satcom]

Your time spent getting material is not nor should it ever be free. Run don't walk from the customer that starts telling you how much they can get something for at a box store. They are completely clueless as to what it takes to mobilize your own company and will never understand it, ever. Not to mention they are probably drinking a $3.00 cup of coffee while questioning your material pricing.

The customer that tells you how much they can get something for at a box store, is not someone you want, or need to do work for.

 

[brian john]

I did not say selling was wrong I said gouging is wrong.

What is the definition of gouging? I can't define it, $1250 for a $500 generator sounds OK, 3K, 4K because they have no other choice is IMO wrong.

Bob I know some states have gouging laws. And while I understand their reasoning it does go against the fair market principle. Some would consider 100% mark up unethical, others the price of doing business. I was in a restaurant the other day and they had $250.00 bottle of wine, 5.50 for a bottle of water. I doubt either are fairly priced but if I need water or wine I'd pay the price.

What if I had the foresight to buy the generators a year earlier, store them, operate them then buy a trailer to haul them to Florida from Virginia. What is fair or not? And should the government decide, guys that typically have no clue about how to care for money?