rock bottom---NO WORK--

[tonyou812]

To those guys who are reporting they are getting lots of work, may I ask - have you had to reduce your prices at all to get this work? Have you experienced the fierce competition that many in the business are experiencing right now?

No I just increased my marketing about 6 months ago as well as hitting the pavements and intorducing myself to as many people as possible. I just told another GC the other day thanks but no thanks to his offer for a small reno. I told him I didnt go into buissness to be the cheap guy on the block. Which work out for the better for me because two days later I got a landscape lighting job and moving a service in a really swanky neighborhood. (Upper Montclair for you Jerseyites)
I really think that if you want to make it through a Bear Market you need to be almost possesed when it comes to advertising and Marketing.

 

[tonyou812]

I just got laid off today. I'm loving it. I have lots of time to study my new Mike Holt's Estimating DVD, and hitting the surf before everyone else gets on it.:grin:

Hey man if you want to come to NJ Ill let you manage a pretty big project for me while im away.

 

[satcom]

To those guys who are reporting they are getting lots of work, may I ask - have you had to reduce your prices at all to get this work? Have you experienced the fierce competition that many in the business are experiencing right now?

How can anyone reduce their prices unless their suppliers and vendors reduce theirs, and so far they all have been raising their prices, so if anything prices will go up not down, everything from trucks expenses to insurances have gone up.

 

[Dnkldorf]

If supply is high, (electricians looking for work)
and demand is low, ( nobody spending money on anything)
why would price go up?

 

[The Iceman]

Hey man if you want to come to NJ Ill let you manage a pretty big project for me while im away.

Thanks for the offer, but I'm having too much fun being unemployed. Besides it's to cold in NJ. :smile:

 

[tonyou812]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm having too much fun being unemployed. Besides it's to cold in NJ. :smile:

I don't blame you buddy. Thats why me and the wife like to head to Fla in the winter time.

 

[electricmanscott]

How can anyone reduce their prices unless their suppliers and vendors reduce theirs, and so far they all have been raising their prices, so if anything prices will go up not down, everything from trucks expenses to insurances have gone up.

All true but if you make enough to cover your expenses and pay yourself enough to get by is that not better than sitting home wondering how you are going to pay the mortgage?

 

[satcom]

If supply is high, (electricians looking for work)
and demand is low, ( nobody spending money on anything)
why would price go up?

Lets see! try to call your phone company and have your phone bill discounted, good luck, then while your at it , call your comp insurance company and ask for a reduced rate, oh and I am sure the state will reduce your payroll and comp taxes, even your employees will be glad to work for less. they can call their bank and ask for a lower rate, But all these companies and services must be stuped, raising their prices, good thing electricians are smart eniough to lower theirs.

 

[mthead]

rock bottom---NO WORK--

It is as bad as we think,and yet it is not.As seen by responses the depth of the problem can vary according to wher you live.
It will turn around but like anything else[such as your waistline]..when you're in the middle of it the turnaround becomes difficult to recognize because you're so close to it.
A perfect example-My wife 's company -construction related but not electrical [thank God for that-Imagine having to inspect jobs with that kind of conflict of interest-it would
n't happen] has recently found themselves on "Bid Walks" where once they were one of 3 contractors present to now where there were literally 40 contractors present-doesn't matter that in reality only those 3 contractors who always bid for and handled these jobs are the only ones qualified--the rest are now desperate enough to try anything and those putting the contracts out there are more than willing to use this desperation to force down the bid process.

But I do think the turn will come in the next year.At least I hope so.

 

[satcom]

All true but if you make enough to cover your expenses and pay yourself enough to get by is that not better than sitting home wondering how you are going to pay the mortgage?

I would agree with that, if this was a seasional slow down, but I went thru many of these over the years, you need to do better then cover expenses over an extended slowdown.

 

[Rewire]

Lets see! try to call your phone company and have your phone bill discounted, good luck, then while your at it , call your comp insurance company and ask for a reduced rate, oh and I am sure the state will reduce your payroll and comp taxes, even your employees will be glad to work for less. they can call their bank and ask for a lower rate, But all these companies and services must be stuped, raising their prices, good thing electricians are smart eniough to lower theirs.

I called the phone company and did get a reduced rate,my workmans comp went down as I have had a safe year,my unemployment % went down as I have had no claims, why do you believe everybody is raising their rates I checked and romex has dropped in price as well as THHN,I have called the supply house and locked in several prices that are lower than last year my fuel bill is way down from last summers high of 3.89/gal my building costs the same as last year ,my truck insurance dropped for an accident free year.

 

[electricmanscott]

I would agree with that, if this was a seasional slow down, but I went thru many of these over the years, you need to do better then cover expenses over an extended slowdown.

The fact that this is not a seasonal slowdown makes it even more important to take what you can get however you can get it.

If somebody calls me for a service change that I'd normally do for 2k and they tell me they have prices of say $1600 to $1800, you can bet your rear end I'm doing it for $1500.00 within a couple of days.

I know this bothers alot of you but in reality I don't really care. I'd rather charge the 2k but it just isn't going to happen.

Bear in mind I'm only one guy and every second I am not working is time that is not getting billed. I need to be working.

 

[dezwitinc]

I talked with our cheif estimator earlier this week, and he said there was plenty of work to bid, but a lot of contractors are cutting their prices to get it. Jobs that used to go for around $260 thousand are now going for $200-225thousand. $40-60 thousand out of a job is a good chunk, material and labor costs are not going down, and you can cut only so much overhead. The customers are loving it because their getting good deals.

This is exactly what we are experiencing in South Florida.
There is plenty of commercial work but there are one or two guys who think that the sky is falling.
Example:
Bid 1 - $197,500
Bid 2 - $213,000
Me - $243,592
Bid 4 - $246,800
Bid 5 - $247,000
Bid 6 - $255,000
Bid 7 - $267,000
Bid 8 - $279,000
The average bid is $243,611.
I have gotten to the point that if the bid is going to take more than a couple of hours to put together, I don't waste my time because there is some clown out there that is going to drop his drawers for the job.
I feel like finding these guys and wringing their necks and telling them that I don't mind getting beat but they should at least try to make some money and explain how they are screwing up the market for everyone.

 

[Dnkldorf]

I feel like finding these guys and wringing their necks and telling them that I don't mind getting beat but they should at least try to make some money and explain how they are screwing up the market for everyone.

How are they screwing up the market for everyone?

I never really understood this, who is everyone, and who speaks for them?

They found a way to make money, and you didn't.

Kudos to them.

You can't fault them, it's business and someone has to eat.

 

[hillbilly1]

How are they screwing up the market for everyone?

I never really understood this, who is everyone, and who speaks for them?

They found a way to make money, and you didn't.

Kudos to them.

You can't fault them, it's business and someone has to eat.

I live in the north Georgia mountains, but work in Atlanta. Up here there are a lot of guys that work for just wages, no incentive to work for any more than that. They falsify their income tax returns by turning in only a small portion of what they make. So those of us that play by the rules can't come close to matching their prices. We finally have inspections now, but the county comissoner has publicly said in the local newspaper that his inspectors would loosely enforce the code or be fired. This doesn't hurt everybody? I beg to differ.

 

[Rewire]

This is exactly what we are experiencing in South Florida.
There is plenty of commercial work but there are one or two guys who think that the sky is falling.
Example:
Bid 1 - $197,500
Bid 2 - $213,000
Me - $243,592
Bid 4 - $246,800
Bid 5 - $247,000
Bid 6 - $255,000
Bid 7 - $267,000
Bid 8 - $279,000
The average bid is $243,611.
I have gotten to the point that if the bid is going to take more than a couple of hours to put together, I don't waste my time because there is some clown out there that is going to drop his drawers for the job.
I feel like finding these guys and wringing their necks and telling them that I don't mind getting beat but they should at least try to make some money and explain how they are screwing up the market for everyone.

Drop the first to low bids ,then who is the lowballer screwing it up for everybody

 

[Dnkldorf]

I live in the north Georgia mountains, but work in Atlanta. Up here there are a lot of guys that work for just wages, no incentive to work for any more than that. They falsify their income tax returns by turning in only a small portion of what they make. So those of us that play by the rules can't come close to matching their prices. We finally have inspections now, but the county comissoner has publicly said in the local newspaper that his inspectors would loosely enforce the code or be fired. This doesn't hurt everybody? I beg to differ.

Know your market.

If this is who you are competing against, I ask you why?

Why are your customers, also theirs?

FWIW, what you are explaining happens in every market, everywhere, from doctors to sandwich shop owners. It is a way of life in places.

 

[powerslave]

We are starting to pick up just like we do every spring

Us too. Seems like a normal spring so far. Hope it keeps up.

 

[emahler]

lowest common denominator.....that's the new game plan...see ya there

 

[tonyou812]

This is exactly what we are experiencing in South Florida.
There is plenty of commercial work but there are one or two guys who think that the sky is falling.
Example:
Bid 1 - $197,500
Bid 2 - $213,000
Me - $243,592
Bid 4 - $246,800
Bid 5 - $247,000
Bid 6 - $255,000
Bid 7 - $267,000
Bid 8 - $279,000
The average bid is $243,611.
I have gotten to the point that if the bid is going to take more than a couple of hours to put together, I don't waste my time because there is some clown out there that is going to drop his drawers for the job.
I feel like finding these guys and wringing their necks and telling them that I don't mind getting beat but they should at least try to make some money and explain how they are screwing up the market for everyone.

Jezz I wish I was doing work like that. Im small potatoes compared to some of you fellas.