Why Would They Do This

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aline said:
I don't charge them a dime if they bring their house to my shop. :)
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:smile: :smile: Good one...

Looking back at my post... man... doesn't look good. My point was not to slam your business model, but just to provide perspective on how consumers might view different pricing models. Personally I find the plumbing outfits to which I was referring to be predatory. Bluntly, they play to housewives' worst fears. One even makes you agree to an annual fee before they will come out -- like it's a wholesale club or something. Ridiculous.

Trovmar puts it well. My point was merely that some customers will like that approach and others won't. My apologies for how the post came across.

In the case of OP customer, it sounds like she didn't like the approach (i.e. she felt that the fixed price was a ripoff), but managed to finagle her way into getting the best of both worlds to your detriment. Can't win 'em all!
 
tallguy said:
One even makes you agree to an annual fee before they will come out -- like it's a wholesale club or something. Ridiculous.
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Sounds kind of like the Costco or Sams Club thing.
I wanted to look around in Costco one afternoon but they wouldn't let me in the door without filling out an application. I was looking for a table for a party that afternoon and just wanted to see if they had what I was looking for.

tallguy said:
My apologies for how the post came across.
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No need to apologize. I don't take it personally.
It's all in good fun. :)

Exressing different opinions on this forum helps keep things interesting and opens your mind to things you may not have thought about otherwise.

I really don't mind getting slammed once in awhile. In fact I may just go crack one open and get started on that right now. :)
 
Had a call this afternoon... An apprentice carpenter was out doing side work with his father. They were cutting in a doorway for a basement and cut some wires. I said 139.00 to come and look he said wow a young guy no insurance no permits no nothing but the trunk of his car with tools. He was going to call around to others I guess. I have this funny feeling that this guy will repair with flying splice and not tell homeowner :(.

I didnt even mention that he will need an outside light and a 3 way switch installed if its 2 entrances into the room that they cut the door way in.
 
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tallguy said:
In the case of OP customer, it sounds like she didn't like the approach (i.e. she felt that the fixed price was a ripoff), but managed to finagle her way into getting the best of both worlds to your detriment. Can't win 'em all!
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Yes, she did feel the price was too high.
She told me they had 18 can lights installed in their home about a year ago and they only charged about a $100 each and they ran wire to them. Your only replacing one and you want more than twice that amount. She said she wasn't willing to pay more than a $100 for the repair.

I told her if she had 18 for me to replace I would charge her a lot less too.
 
How do you know you wouldn't have recieved 5 more calls from that job if you had char

How do you know you wouldn't have recieved 5 more calls from that job if you had char

She told her friends I was a "NICE GUY"
 
there are some good points made on this thread!

I think it helps everyone to go back and forth a little and talk about this


my thoughts
at least you got paid something for going out there, we do a lot of free estimates where we design and figure out how stuff needs to be done and then .....nothing
 
I spread my fixed costs over several trucks which allows me to charge a lower rate than someone who has only one truck,it is olds fashion free market compitition.
 
Rewire said:
I spread my fixed costs over several trucks which allows me to charge a lower rate than someone who has only one truck,it is olds fashion free market compitition.
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it's all about overhead per man hour...
 
emahler said:
it's all about overhead per man hour...
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Quote "I spread my fixed costs over several trucks which allows me to charge a lower rate than someone who has only one truck"

I thought I heard everything, this tops some of the best. I am here picturing, him explaining this to his accountant, and the accountant getting a glaze over his eyes.
 
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there is some truth to his statement...i've been saying for years that the idea that a one man operation always has lower OH costs than a larger operation is kind of a myth.

it might be true in absolute dollars, but not in man hour overhead dollars. Spread the fixed costs out over multiple men, and your OH per billable hour becomes a little lower...
 
emahler said:
there is some truth to his statement...i've been saying for years that the idea that a one man operation always has lower OH costs than a larger operation is kind of a myth.

it might be true in absolute dollars, but not in man hour overhead dollars. Spread the fixed costs out over multiple men, and your OH per billable hour becomes a little lower...
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Yup, the absolute dollars, which is what most look at.
 
Seems simple to me

Seems simple to me

If they don't like the price, don't do the work.

It's a competitive market we are in. If you won't work as cheap as others, then you will have to wait until they are out of business, or find different customers.
 
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