Contract Plumber?

[Munchie]

Hi everyone, can you give me some advice?
I run a bottled gas company in the South West with over 700 customers, each year im being asked more and more if i can recommend a good plumber, in the past i have said no as its hard to find a good reliable one but this year i possibly have one in mind.
The thing is i would like to extend my services to my customers by offering a yearly service through myself but contracting the work to the plumber if that makes sense?

What i want to know is how i would do this and what percentages i would hand over to the plumber etc? i would also like to consider installations, repairs and call outs etc as customers often ring about this too.

Regards
Munchie

 

[Blackcatgas]

Hi everyone, can you give me some advice?
I run a bottled gas company in the South West with over 700 customers, each year im being asked more and more if i can recommend a good plumber, in the past i have said no as its hard to find a good reliable one but this year i possibly have one in mind.
The thing is i would like to extend my services to my customers by offering a yearly service through myself but contracting the work to the plumber if that makes sense?

What i want to know is how i would do this and what percentages i would hand over to the plumber etc? i would also like to consider installations, repairs and call outs etc as customers often ring about this too.

Regards
Munchie

Hello Munchie, you have a reliable plumber in mind...... so why not ask him, between you Iam sure you could come to some arrangement that you are both happy with, I have a similiar arrangement with a local conservatory company/builder, 10% of labour his way, Ive not done alot for him this year though. Just dont be greedy which Iam sure your not and see any money as a "bonus" that you were not earning last year, even £10 a job is better than a kick up the arse.
However can you be arsed to arrange jobs and be on the end of the phone when things go wrong etc? it might just be worth reccomending your plumber and then taking a cut from all jobs converted.

 

[Munchie]

Hi Blackcatgas
Im just trying to find out first what other plumbers do in this situation before i go chatting to one and either offend him or get ripped off myself.
What im eventually aiming for is to have my own plumber using my van on a contract sort of thing (doing his own thing perhaps and my contract work). someting like Calor Gas do.
Im happy to deal with customers any time of day or night, i have built my business this way, most of my new customers are recomendations from others.

 

[kirkgas]

basically what you want to do is pass jobs to someone else to do while you make money from merely taking a phone call😱 why dont you simply hand out business cards from your plumber, then one day you might need a favour from him which he will do, rather than becoming his pimp😱

 

[BluePlumber]

I wish someone would be my pimp, might make more money that way 🙄

 

[Munchie]

Thats a bit harsh!
im not looking to make loads of money from the contracted work, I sell gas and i have a good reputation for what i do, i just want to build on that and grow my business in to something that makes me stand out from the other local suppliers.

Dont British Gas do the same thing!

 

[Blackcatgas]

Thats a bit harsh!
im not looking to make loads of money from the contracted work, I sell gas and i have a good reputation for what i do, i just want to build on that and grow my business in to something that makes me stand out from the other local suppliers.

Dont British Gas do the same thing!

I cant fault you, good on you.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Thats a bit harsh!
im not looking to make loads of money from the contracted work, I sell gas and i have a good reputation for what i do, i just want to build on that and grow my business in to something that makes me stand out from the other local suppliers.

Dont British Gas do the same thing!

i cant fault you either mate,you have good business sense,thats what makes a good business man

 

[oldplumber]

sounds to me like you need to employ a plumber and pay a wage and then the rest is yours, that way you stay in control of the situation, working with someone using your van etc but not having them on your books would eventually bite you on the bum when things go wrong. If your customers trust you then you need to stay in control of the situation or you may start to lose customers if your contractor doesnt work out

 

[Munchie]

sounds to me like you need to employ a plumber and pay a wage and then the rest is yours, that way you stay in control of the situation, working with someone using your van etc but not having them on your books would eventually bite you on the bum when things go wrong. If your customers trust you then you need to stay in control of the situation or you may start to lose customers if your contractor doesnt work out

This would be an ideal situation, although next season i need a driver to help with the growing round so i will have to find his wage first.
contracting work out seemed like the obvious next step?
Is anyone on here employed by someone other than a plumber?

 

[stevetheplumber]

this would be an ideal situation, although next season i need a driver to help with the growing round so i will have to find his wage first.
Contracting work out seemed like the obvious next step?
Is anyone on here employed by someone other than a plumber?

most of us are employed by some one other than a plumber usually known as a customer
talk to the reliable plumber you know he may or may not need your work at the end of the day working for you is going to eat in to his profits from each job so from his point of view he may not want that
however each job we do contains an element of cost for advertising so that portion could be used for your cut being realistic if his not struggling for work the best you can expect is 15 per cent of his labour

 

[Puddle]

Munchie,what you have is a good idea,pimp🙄 think the word is entrepreneur 🙂I would say only two things,you have to be careful as you are recommending/getting the person in,as you say,so will reflect on you when things go right and when they go wrong and two,do not be greedy,concentrate on getting this side of things built up,in effect,he would be sub contracting to you,once you have built it up you can get better terms ,as the plumber will know a certain amount of income per month is already there through you and once work stable maybe employ someone.You can still do very well but if you demand or try to get to much at the out start,the plumber may become unreliable as can do other things for more profit and use you as a back up or fill in
Also big issue is the plumber not leaving his own cards ect,customers will always ask to go direct
Customers you have known ,who you have mentioned this two will say good idea,would like working through you as we know you,then as soon as you send someone round they are asking for there number direct
For you to build up you are going to give him your cards and stationary ect
As for as percentage,it is hard to come up with fixed rate maybe one rate for smaller jobs and another for longer ones,generally there i more profit after the first few hours as that is taken up in traveling ect
What you have to convince the plumber is that there is a future in it,we get promises of this kind of thing every other week,generally nothing happens
And if you give a job a month out,may as well ask him to do direct and take commission as he is not going to put himself out,would you ?
Good luck anyway

 

[kirkgas]

Munchie,what you have is a good idea,pimp🙄 think the word is entrepreneur 🙂
Also big issue is the plumber not leaving his own cards ect,customers will always ask to go direct

see thats why i said pimp not entrepeneur, i am not against trades/companies working together but getting a phone call from a customer and passing it on to a plumber for a wedge of the cash is wrong, and comments like i highlighted above make me mad, why shouldnt the plumber leave his card and do the next job for the customer for ALL the money rather than paying his pimp, to me the OP wants his cake and eat it, he wants to make a profit from the phone call, without any risk, if he wants to be an emplyer then he needs to pay his plumber a wage, holiday pay and sick pay etc,
how many of those who say it is a good idea actually do it for someone and are happy to pay commission for work? to me it is buying work

 

[Munchie]

Hi Puddle
Thanks for your advice mate, as i said im not looking to make loads of money from this but i do want to grow my business into something that seperates myself from the others around me. i have already had a mention on a local radio station for offering such a good price and service and one National supplier has had to close the depot nearest me.

Customers know im available on the phone 24/7, this has been a good selling point when i canvass for customers.
Im adding a 24hr Freephone number this comming season which i hope will help too.

Hi Kirkgas
Dont you think i have any risk??? a lot of my customers are recommended from another so if my recommended plumber makes a mess of it i may not loose just the one customer but their neighbour, friend and daughter perhaps! Have you ever used confused.com or moneysupermarket.com?

Hi Stevetheplumber
i was thinking less than 15% anyway, at least i have an idea now. Thanks


Sorry if i have offended anyone.

 

[moony]

dont see what hes done wrong???

hes not advertising a plumber at present and he is getting asked for work, just imagine if he advertised plumbing work? he has a good customer base from his gas sales. I wouldnt see a problem with getting a plumber to sub contract for you, we do this with plasterers, tilers, and sparks all the time. Basically you'll have to learn how to price jobs, ask the day rate of the plumber you have in mind and go from there.

if the plumber gives you a ball park figure of say 100 quid to connect up a hob with certficate add your 10 per cent.

If he gives you a day rate of 200, then charge 250.

dont see the problem as long as the plumber gets what he wants and your customers are happy with what you charge then great.

the figures ive given are mearly for entertainment purposes only 😛

 

[oldplumber]

Hi Puddle
Thanks for your advice mate, as i said im not looking to make loads of money from this but i do want to grow my business into something that seperates myself from the others around me. i have already had a mention on a local radio station for offering such a good price and service and one National supplier has had to close the depot nearest me.

Customers know im available on the phone 24/7, this has been a good selling point when i canvass for customers.
Im adding a 24hr Freephone number this comming season which i hope will help too.

Hi Kirkgas
Dont you think i have any risk??? a lot of my customers are recommended from another so if my recommended plumber makes a mess of it i may not loose just the one customer but their neighbour, friend and daughter perhaps! Have you ever used confused.com or moneysupermarket.com?

Hi Stevetheplumber
i was thinking less than 15% anyway, at least i have an idea now. Thanks


Sorry if i have offended anyone.

No offence taken, and if your really serious I know of at least one younger qualified rgi with lpg tickets who might be interested to try you if your close enough, where are you based?