Why would a customer hire a big company over a 1 man shop?

[Rewire]

So how many trucks does your company have? So you have guys that are idle waiting for the phone to ring at all times?

We run four trucks and they stay busy , when not doing service calls we also do repair and replacement. We focus in this market and we do a lot to make the phone ring because we know we can handle the additional work . We are searching for another tech to man the fifth truck I think we may call the one man shops and see if we have any takers.

 

[KVA]

We run four trucks and they stay busy , when not doing service calls we also do repair and replacement. We focus in this market and we do a lot to make the phone ring because we know we can handle the additional work . We are searching for another tech to man the fifth truck I think we may call the one man shops and see if we have any takers.

Seems like you have problem with 1 man shops by your tone and your constant replies of justifying your business.

Why would a 1 man shop that does everything you do as far as running a business want to work for you? I advertise, I have overhead, and I do the same work you do.

I am a business with 1 man just like you're a business with 5 guys or whatever you have.

 

[Rewire]

Seems like you have problem with 1 man shops by your tone and your constant replies of justifying your business.

Why would a 1 man shop that does everything you do as far as running a business want to work for you? I advertise, I have overhead, and I do the same work you do.

I am a business with 1 man just like you're a business with 5 guys or whatever you have.

I don't have a problem with one man shops I just know I can provide a better customer experience by having multiple trucks. Most of the one man shops are struggling now and we are expanding guys that jumped into the house market were not prepAred for the bubble to burst many are trying to do service with no clue how to price it profitably or even how to market the service . The new phone book is out today and our CCR is going to mystery shop all the ECS in the book should yield interesting results.

 

[KVA]

I don't have a problem with one man shops I just know I can provide a better customer experience by having multiple trucks. Most of the one man shops are struggling now and we are expanding guys that jumped into the house market were not prepAred for the bubble to burst many are trying to do service with no clue how to price it profitably or even how to market the service . The new phone book is out today and our CCR is going to mystery shop all the ECS in the book should yield interesting results.

LOLLL you're a trip. You know you can provide a better customer experience by having multiple trucks? WOW:lol:

Just remember most of these large shops started out as 1. Nobody takes a loan out and buys 5 trucks and hires 5 guys with no work lined up. They start out solo and gradually build up and expand IF THEY WANT. There are lots of guys that love working solo and I am one of them most of the time.

You can have the headaches of worrying about employees and flipping trucks off the side of the road like you posted in the other forum:thumbsup:

 

[Rewire]

LOLLL you're a trip. You know you can provide a better customer experience by having multiple trucks? WOW:lol:

Just remember most of these large shops started out as 1. Nobody takes a loan out and buys 5 trucks and hires 5 guys with no work lined up. They start out solo and gradually build up and expand IF THEY WANT. There are lots of guys that love working solo and I am one of them most of the time.

You can have the headaches of worrying about employees and flipping trucks off the side of the road like you posted in the other forum:thumbsup:

I have no wish to make this personal good day.

 

[nizak]

I have been a 1 man operation for 11 years. It's all about how big you want to be and how many headaches you want to endure.I have been contacted to bid jobs that were simply way above my ability, I explained my type of business and the fact that it would be too much and have never had a negative word personaly voiced to me.t I have also repeatedly had those same people call back with smaller jobs and have done a great deal of them. To the person who commented about the small guy not having the tools to do the larger jobs I disagree.If you go to a job and have to run 2000' of 1" thinwall do you really need any more tools than if you go to run 200'? I do agree that there are some specialty items that most small guys don't have, what's wrong with renting what you need and going about the job? Around here we have a Mr Sparky franchise, this individuals rates are about 60% higher than mine. I don't begrudge them, if a customer wants to pay more that's their choice. JMO.

 

[nizak]

Just a quick thought on the more trucks theory.That is great if you are in an area that justifies the demand. Many places a one man shop is all that can survive simply because the work load doesn't exist. Again it's all what you want to make out of it, personally I enjoy weekends off and pulling into the driveway at 5 o'clock. To this day I have never seen a Brinks truck as part of a funeral procession.

 

[copper chopper]

ok sorry for that crack John, its been a long running joke about those issues for years. in the 27 years I have been doing this I have seen 2 guys quit and become inspectors. I will be the first to admit they suck as electricians slow and do sloppy work. But they make good inspectors, they havent given me any violations on my jobs yet.nor have I heard of them being unfair to others.

 

[mjf]

Back to the OP

Back to the OP

Just curious and this is not bashing the larger companies. Just wondering what are the benefits of hiring a larger shop mainly in residential?
It's good of you not to bash larger shops. I'm a one man shop. I would think in the customers mind in residential there would be a few benies to hiring a larger company. The residential customer MIGHT think things like .....quicker service, more liability insurance, better trained and of course cute uniforms. I refuse to argue over the merits of any of these statements, but these may be what the typical HO is thinking.

By hiring a one man shop the customer can save big time because they don't have to pay for the higher overhead such as a helper.
I know when I need my boiler serviced I call a one man shop. His invoice will be comparable to the larger companies in the area.
I trust him. I don't need to lose a 1/2 days pay waiting at my house to let him in and lock up behind him. Thats how I save money.


Most of my customers are working while I'm at thier house creating electrical fire hazards. Thats how they save money by calling this one man shop. My rates are comparable to the larger companies. Most of my customers are referals. They've already been told by a friend or co worker that they can trust me to provide a clean and professional service and that they can leave the house for me to work.


I can only think of the larger shops having same day service but what else?

Bottom line...who the hell knows whats in the typical homeowners mind:lol:

 

[Rewire]

Just a quick thought on the more trucks theory.That is great if you are in an area that justifies the demand. Many places a one man shop is all that can survive simply because the work load doesn't exist. Again it's all what you want to make out of it, personally I enjoy weekends off and pulling into the driveway at 5 o'clock. To this day I have never seen a Brinks truck as part of a funeral procession.

I guess if you are the only electrician in the area that would work. When i was just a one man shop i rarely had weekends off and at 5 oclock I was just getting to the paper work. Alot depends on what your goal is mine is to be an absentee owner sitting on the beach in florida , and doing this by the time I am 55.

 

[renosteinke]

I'm a little surprised by the ignorance shown in this thread by folks who should know better. I think it's because folks are so close to the trees they can't see the forest. So, let me describe the development of an imaginary business.

Sparky had a good career as a journeyman. His boss, and customers, loved him, so he often had 50+ hours of work each week. So, Sparky decided to go out on his own.

That's when Sparky got hit- life got him coming and going. Sure, he could bill at 'shop rates' now, but he also found new expenses every step of the way. Every hour he could bill for was offset by two hours he couldn't bill for- time spent on the road, meeting with customers, running for parts, pulling permits, making drawings, witnessing inspections, etc.

Sparky had been working 10-hr days, and getting paid for ten hours. Now, there just isn't room in a day for ten 'working' hours, plus 20 'support' hours, plus time to simply live. Even if there were, Sparky can't be on the job site AND in city hall at the same time. He's spending all day bouncing around like a ping-pong ball.

So, Sparky hired a helper. Trouble is, that helper had to do enough work to pay for both of them. That's a pretty heavy load.
Sparky was also spending a lot of time driving - which meant he couldn't be fielding calls, making follow-ups, researching parts, etc. He also wasn't at his 'office' to accept deliveries, etc. So, Sparky got his wife's neice to sit by the phone all day. Now that helper's workload has to support THREE people.

Then, the helper missed some time, simply because his 250,000 mile, 12-yr. old pick-up had something break. One also has to admit that the appearance of the truck did not inspire Sparky with any desire to hang his name & number from it. Oddly enough, Sparky DID have folks walk up to HIS truck, write down the info, and call.

Can the helper work hard enough to pay three people AND buy a new truck? I don't think so. That workload needs to be shared.

So, Sparky adds a few guys. He leases four trucks. Now he has four guys in the field, whose work pays for six people. Sparky is now free to pursue business. The phone girl is a lot busier now that there are five trucks (4 leased and Sparky's) spreading the word. Each guy in the field has his work pay for 1-1/2 people.

Financially, that's a lot easier than having one mans' work pay for 3 people and a truck.

Plus .... well, by golly, if Sparky takes a vacation, there are still folks to answer calls. Sparky can go to the Bahamas and actually relax - not field panic calls all day.

 

[cowboyjwc]

ok sorry for that crack John, its been a long running joke about those issues for years. in the 27 years I have been doing this I have seen 2 guys quit and become inspectors. I will be the first to admit they suck as electricians slow and do sloppy work. But they make good inspectors, they havent given me any violations on my jobs yet.nor have I heard of them being unfair to others.

:thumbsup: That's ok, I was a very good electrician and made a pretty good living at it, but got caught in a couple of the recessions and decided that it was time to find something more stable. I always tell guys, that I get paid every two weeks whether you're working or not.:happyyes: To tell you the truth too, my body is pretty beat up, and if it hurts this much as an inspector, I can't even imagine how bad it would hurt if I was still in the field.

 

[kwired]

i agree with KWIRED and I have a brother in law who is a 1 man shop, he has been in buisness for about 6 years now and the only reason he is in buisness for himself is that he cant take orders from someone else and he feels that his way is the best way. So no one will hire an attitude case like him anyway. Thats what I think of most 1 man shops just like electrical inspectors that used to be electricians. THEY CANT HACK IT IN THIS TRADE SO, THEY DO SOMETHING ELSE. Same as our union B.A. I hear it all the time, poeple that dont get along with others and are always sitting around waiting for the phone to ring cause no one wants to work with them.Maybe they make good owners, but I wouldnt work for a guy like that..

Be careful with what you are agreeing with as I haven't seen things your way in most of this thread. If a guy can't work for someone else he likely is not going to make it on his own, when you are on your own you are working for your customers not yourself. Start losing them and you are not working period. People that quit installing and become inspectors - many of them are starting to get older when they make this decision and want a less physically demanding job, they also have gained some knowledge over the years and usually make pretty good inspectors. The inspectors that are not very good are the guys that don't have that field experience and understand just how things work.

Bottom line...who the hell knows whats in the typical homeowners mind:lol:

I am a homeowner myself, but I never know anything when it comes to decisions about the house:lol:

I guess if you are the only electrician in the area that would work. When i was just a one man shop i rarely had weekends off and at 5 oclock I was just getting to the paper work. Alot depends on what your goal is mine is to be an absentee owner sitting on the beach in florida , and doing this by the time I am 55.

Things are different in rural areas than in metropolitan areas for one thing. Here it does not matter what kind of business you run, if someone needs something on the weekend they know the owners name or even an employee - and probably know them personally on some level, and they are going to call them at home in evenings or on weekends wanting goods or services. It becomes interruptive to you at times but I usually try to help them, if anything it is more to remain as a good friend or neighbor than it is for business reasons.

I am guilty of asking for things from others myself at these times. But now that I have been on the other side I try to avoid calling others at these times unless it is more of an emergency.

 

[iwire]

If a guy can't work for someone else he likely is not going to make it on his own,

I cannot disagree more and there at least a handful of guys on this forum that do fine on their own but would never do well under a 'boss'.

Yes to some extent they do work for the customers, but that is the beauty of a one man shop, you can in fact say 'no I don't want to work for that customer'.

I work for a large company, I have to treat all customers like gold because that is what I am paid to do. I don't get the luxury of saying. 'You suck, go find another EC'

 

[iwire]

I'm a little surprised by the ignorance shown in this thread by folks who should know better. I think it's because folks are so close to the trees they can't see the forest. So, let me describe the development of an imaginary business.

Thank God you are here to set all us ignoramuses straight.

 

[kwired]

I cannot disagree more and there at least a handful of guys on this forum that do fine on their own but would never do well under a 'boss'.

Yes to some extent they do work for the customers, but that is the beauty of a one man shop, you can in fact say 'no I don't want to work for that customer'.

I work for a large company, I have to treat all customers like gold because that is what I am paid to do. I don't get the luxury of saying. 'You suck, go find another EC'

You have some good points there. Seems like lately I have been seeing more people that just don't want to work if they are not going to get paid what they think they want, then if they try to work on their own they think they can refuse to do whatever they don't want to do, but sometimes it needs doing anyway, they may try to hire someone to do the dirty work yet can't get anybody to stay very long because they treat them like crap.

Bottom line in a lot of cases is if you can't get along with a boss (some really are jerks and are an exception), you probably can't get along with subordinates either.

 

[ptonsparky]

I cannot disagree more and there at least a handful of guys on this forum that do fine on their own but would never do well under a 'boss'.

Yes to some extent they do work for the customers, but that is the beauty of a one man shop, you can in fact say 'no I don't want to work for that customer'.

I work for a large company, I have to treat all customers like gold because that is what I am paid to do. I don't get the luxury of saying. 'You suck, go find another EC'

Neither do we, as owners. I had 300+ bosses last year and only two have ever come close to the "You suck" scenario.

 

[iwire]

Neither do we, as owners. I had 300+ bosses last year and only two have ever come close to the "You suck" scenario.

That is a choice you make, other owners do in fact decide not to work for certain customers, we see them say so often on this and other forums.

 

[ptonsparky]

That is a choice you make, other owners do in fact decide not to work for certain customers, we see them say so often on this and other forums.

Just as you do. To work or not to work? That is the question.

 

[480sparky]

Just as you do. To work or not to work? That is the question.

That's not really the question.

The question is, "Do we continue to work for this a-hole, or do we prefer to work with more civilized people?"