Coppersmith
Senior Member
- Location
- Tampa, FL, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Recently I have been called several times for installing receptacles behind wall-mounted flat screen TV's. I gave them each the price and each thought the job too expensive and declined. I have the same issue with ceiling fan replacements.
I calculate the price of every job I do the same way: trip charge + (estimated labor hours x labor rate) + (material cost x markup) + (rental costs x markup). I have no problem booking most jobs using this formula, but for some reason people think that hanging a ceiling fan or installing an outlet behind a TV should be much less expensive. I actually had one lady say "That's more than I paid for the fan!" Apples and oranges. Guess I should have told her not to buy cheap fans.
I calculate the price of every job I do the same way: trip charge + (estimated labor hours x labor rate) + (material cost x markup) + (rental costs x markup). I have no problem booking most jobs using this formula, but for some reason people think that hanging a ceiling fan or installing an outlet behind a TV should be much less expensive. I actually had one lady say "That's more than I paid for the fan!" Apples and oranges. Guess I should have told her not to buy cheap fans.