Why are electricians such babies

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electricmanscott

electricmanscott

Senior Member
Location
Boston, MA
I'm reading these threads that are nothing more than btchfests complaining about new requirements. And I am hearing it at the supply houses. It always seens to come down to "this is going to cost me....." . It is NOT going to cost YOU one penny. It is going to make you money. Is that not why we do this????

New requirements are generally for new products that will be more expensive and therefore will be sold by YOU at a higher margin.

I laugh at guys in the supply house that are always complaing about afcis, smoke detectors, co2 detectors etc. These things should be making you more money.

They always question me as to why I am buying the $70.00 electronic low voltage dimmers insted of the $5.00 push on clunkers. "Those are too expensive, I ain't payin for that....." the yahoos say
#1. Dosen't matter what the price is, they are required for electronic lv fixtures if you want to dim them.
# 2. I ain't payin for them either. In fact I am collecting an extra 35 bucks for each one that comes through the customers door.
 
Scott,
With the code it is a matter of the manufacturer's using the code to increase their bottom line with little or no real safety benefit to the building owner or user. I agree that everyone involved will see an increase in profits from these bogas requriements, but that is not the point. A full cost benefit study should be required before any new product is required by any code.
Don
 
why are electricians such babies

why are electricians such babies

I gree with all you said. I doesn't cost me money it cost my customers. All my customers appreciate that I use good materials and I never have to go back. The only thing I complain about is the AFCI breakers. The quality has not been so good and I have had to go back and replace bad ones. But here lately they have improved quality. Again thanks for saying what I have thought for a long time. Semper Fi.
 
Scott,

the answer is a simple one...

most electrictricians are technically adept but they are also equally as inept when it comes to business sense.

most of us have no clue how to sell, how to run a company, how to price, how to advertise, how to do anything that a company owner should know how to do.

we know how to connect wires.

so, we have an incredibly hard time believing that we are worth more than a few bucks an hour, and understanding that we aren't paying for anything. That the customer is paying for everything.
 
electricmanscott said:
=I laugh at guys in the supply house that are always complaing about afcis, smoke detectors, co2 detectors etc. These things should be making you more money.
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Those guys who are complaining about them are probably not just complaining about price and/or not being able to sell them for a profit. They are, after all, buying the things, installing them, and (presumably) making a profit at it.

There are all sorts of other things besides cost that a reasonably-informed electrician can be disgruntled about re AFCIs, increasingly tightening codes requiring more and more stuff to protect the stupid, etc. Laughing at them when they're discussing those concerns with their suppliers and fellow electricians at the counter might be a bit harsh, especially when they could be discussing something even more pointless like professional sports. :)
 
I guess these guys forgot that Exxon posted double-digit profits when gas was $3+/gal.

It's the same thing.....you decide on a %, and stick with it. Your % will always remain the same, but your $ will vary.
Maybe these guys don't understand?
 
jimmyglen said:
You should be happy these "yahoos" are your competition

you my friend are the enlightned one

i hope I speeled enlightened correct :)


jim
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enlightened....spelled....:grin: :D ( I just realized I've been fooled by jimmyglen......)lol
 
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celtic said:
I guess these guys forgot that Exxon posted double-digit profits when gas was $3+/gal.
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It'd be the rare electrician who couldn't make a profit using Exxon's method. Imagine if the government bought each of us a million dollars's worth of AFCIs just to encourage us to install them, and let us sell the units at full price w/ markup and keep all the pennies for ourselves. My, what a wonderful world this would be... :)
 
ceknight said:
It'd be the rare electrician who couldn't make a profit using Exxon's method. Imagine if the government bought each of us a million dollars's worth of AFCIs just to encourage us to install them, and let us sell the units at full price w/ markup and keep all the pennies for ourselves. My, what a wonderful world this would be... :)
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We don't need the gov't to subsidize us EC's...we have Wal-Mart:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has thrown considerable marketing might behind the newfangled bulbs, urging its 100 million customers to buy at least one. The world's largest retailer says that would collectively save them $3 billion over the bulbs' life.
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[Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bulbs24feb24,0,2077530.story?coll=la-home-headlines ]


AFCI's...CFL's...tamperproof's...what else ya got?
Mark it up.
Money in the bank, right?

(This is NOT an endorsement of any product...)​
 
I agree, we're not in fact, on most jobsites electricians tend to be the most logical and intellectual, with the best communication skills. So much so, often customers and others ask US what the heck other trades are doing, and why.

Besides, the plumbers have kooties!
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Besides, the plumbers have kooties!
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Having cooties must be ok ....the plumbers seem to (collectively) have their act together down to a science....it's a shame we send EC's over here ( http://www.masterplumbers.com/utilities/costcalc/ ) to answer that age old question: How Much Should I Charge?


I think maybe they know more than 2 things.

But then again....
Rookie plumber's $12m blunder

A 17-YEAR -old rookie plumber has burned down a ?5 million ($12 million) waterside mansion in southwest England, after a soldering task during his first day on the job went horribly wrong.
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"...horribly wrong..." ....ya think? :D
 
Why are electricians such babies?


LMAO :grin:

Thanks Scott, I needed a good laugh at the end of work today and your thread title certainly provided it.


You also hit the nail on the head.
 
Scott, I agree with you 100%. And I've been one of those babies who've been complaining about the new rules. I don't own or run a business and all the material on our jobs is ordered for us by full time buyers, so it's easy to get those blinders and forget about all those like you who are out there running a business.

When I worked at a supply house, I saw and heard the same complaints on a daily basis. The loudest complainers usually drove the 10 year old rat mobiles and there accounts were always on credit hold. Coincidence? I don't think so.
 
electricmanscott said:
Why are electricians big babies?
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You got a problem with big babies????:grin: :D
chillin.jpg
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
A full cost benefit study should be required before any new product is required by any code.
Don
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You sound like an employee. I think it's safe to say that you are not a business owner or business principal. Why, on earth, would you say this?
 
The people that you're running into at the supply house need a dope slap! Low ball, low quality, antiquated crap does nothing but artificially push prices lower for everyone via competion. It's harder to compete with a back-stabbed .20 cent outlet in a bake-lite box, by a hack who practically pays the customer for the privilige to install it.
 
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