Pricing (very) small jobs & charging

[rocketmanbkk]

Dear Friends

I was called by a lady who needed her shower attachment fixed as water was spouting from it.

It's about 3 minutes drive from where I live so very very local.

Got there, turned the shower on, water spouting, checked there was a washer, all OK, so just got me water pump pliers and adjustable and tightened it, checked for leaks, made sure customer was happy and wiped taps over.

How much? literally 3-5 mins.

Reading many posts here from friends the charge is up to £30 per hour.

I live in Berkshire, have over heads as we all have but told her I usually charge £30 for 1st hour but charged her £20.

Was this fair or am I doing myself outta money? Or should I go back nd give her some back? Seriously, should I?

I need to make a living, give a good servic, get my name around etc. etc.

What do you charge for very small, easy, local jobs?

Regards on this cold December Sunday to all.

Rocket.

 

[quality]

If I get in the van and go to any repair its at least £50 it does not really matter how near or far or how long the repair takes, that's how I work anyways

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Cheers Quality, I appreciate your response, next time my £30 odd hourly charge is fixed.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i agree you wont make any money at all not sticking to hourly rate, although you could do the odd one at a lower rate to get your name out there you never know they might want you back to redo the whole bathroom! i know it's not likely but you never know.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Thanks, I agree.

 

[stevetheplumber]

ive always found when you do something cheap theyll not offer you the big jobs as they see you more as the odd job man or if they do offer it they will want it for nothing

 

[rocketmanbkk]

yeah, need to watch that.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

true then they would go in the penny pinching category and you remember to charge accordingly next time.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

lesson learned, no more reduced 1st hour fee's. Need to make a living.

 

[mitchellplumber]

Give them an inch and they'll take a mile!

 

[Deleted member 25704]

Your pricing structure will put you out of business. You need to add up all your overheads and calculate how much it costs you to work.

£20 - petrol, tax, insurance on van, tools, insurance to work, accountant, courses, licence fees, more courses, telephone, computer, specialist tools, pads, stationary, holiday pay, sickness pay, bank charges, etc

You are working for free, and so will we in due course.

These sorts of charges are fine if you do say six or seven a day. My advice would be to have a half hour fix-it fee for small jobs £45.00. Then charge £25.00 per hour thereafter (I appreciate this might be more or less depending on your circumstances).

Produce a laminated sheet of fixed price repairs and jobs and have this to hand to show the customer. When you write the bill, refer to the price list - customers love this, because its written down. Explain this is what you charge all the time, for everyone:

Float valve replacement - £75 supplied and fitted (provided it can be done within 1 hour)
Tap changes - £75 labour only
Boiler service - £65
Tap repair - from £45
Drains £75 first hour (because of risk and cleaning equipment)

You will then be confident to refer to your price list and explain thats what it costs.

 

[Barry98]

Dear Friends

I was called by a lady who needed her shower attachment fixed as water was spouting from it.

It's about 3 minutes drive from where I live so very very local.

Got there, turned the shower on, water spouting, checked there was a washer, all OK, so just got me water pump pliers and adjustable and tightened it, checked for leaks, made sure customer was happy and wiped taps over.

How much? literally 3-5 mins.

Reading many posts here from friends the charge is up to £30 per hour.

I live in Berkshire, have over heads as we all have but told her I usually charge £30 for 1st hour but charged her £20.

Was this fair or am I doing myself outta money? Or should I go back nd give her some back? Seriously, should I?

I need to make a living, give a good servic, get my name around etc. etc.

What do you charge for very small, easy, local jobs?

Regards on this cold December Sunday to all.

Rocket.

if it were me up hear then imho i would of charged nothing , then theres a good chance shes going to call me back for the bigger stuff, ive operated like this for years and some of my best customers are the ones who ive met from little things like this but thats just me

 

[Gray0689]

if it were me up hear then imho i would of charged nothing , then theres a good chance shes going to call me back for the bigger stuff, ive operated like this for years and some of my best customers are the ones who ive met from little things like this but thats just me

I agree them sort of things give you a great name and will get you more work that charging £20

 

[Guest123]

Giving 3 minutes of your time for free can give you many hours of well paid work from a grateful customer.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Just for info, and I apprciate all comments, this customer lives in a council flat so bigger jobs' will not come my way. This was a job the council siad was not down to them hence she needed a person to sort it.

I think a laminated sheet is a good idea for standard charges, just trying to get my head around how much I can operate on, certainly want more work, don't want to be seen as expensive but also don't want to be seen as cheap and cheerful. I think time will tell.

Thank all

Rocket

 

[Barry98]

Ok fair point on the council business you forgot to mention but what about her family friends work collected etc

 

[quality]

Family and friends generally get charged more to stop them wanting you at 11pm lol

 

[rocketmanbkk]

yeah, I made sure she was happy via a txt message, said she was and thanked me again. See what happens.

 

[Deleted member 25704]

if it were me up hear then imho i would of charged nothing , then theres a good chance shes going to call me back for the bigger stuff, ive operated like this for years and some of my best customers are the ones who ive met from little things like this but thats just me

Its something I have done over the years many times as well. However, there is something common with these freebies in my area, and that is they rarely call you back. But I suppose different towns, communities and villages will throw up different kinds of business, and I think it very difficult to get this right, and it is hit and mis with trying to suss out your market and where you pitch.

But, if you talk to trading standards or age concern, you will find that people expect to pay, but they don't want to be ripped off.

So give a verbal quote over the phone - gets round the door stop selling rules as well. This way the contract is made before you get to the job, for smaller jobs. However, go too high with this, and you have lost the job! Its tough.

 

[secret squirrel]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

All too often we all sell ourselves short, yes, it was only 5 minutes work but that is 5 minutes work the customer isn't/wasn't/unwilling to do themselves. They needed the help of a professional.

IF another call had come in and you refused that job (you didn't know whether it was 5 minutes or an hour) would you still have charged £20. You may have lost out on a more lucrative job.

Is the distance you travel relevant? whether it was 2 minutes down the road or 1 hour the job is still the same, shouldn't we charge the same.

For every 10 minute job at £45 there are a dozen that are £45 for an hour and half! its a struggle sometimes to charge more!

Having said that it is hard to charge £45 for 10 minutes, well it was when I started but now I've got a bit more merceneray about it. BT, Sky, BG, appliance repair companies all charge huge rates and never feel guilty.

A solicitor will never say it'll take me 5 minutes to do this on a form on the PC and print it out, call it a tenner......

 

[rocketmanbkk]

All agreed Secret Squirrel

 

[quality]

Perfect example just popped round the corner to a call where they have no heating literally 2 hours ago (I fitted a new boiler 4-5 years ago) it turns out the old drayton 3 way valve is past its best, so I replaced it (Honeywell of course) only took 30 -40 minutes to replace and charged £50 for labour plus parts . If they had called someone out of the local rag would he have parts to replace what he has not fitted. Thats were my principles lye do a good job charge a good price but provide a good service.
Its customers you need not bits of paper with your price plan on.

 

[secret squirrel]

Perfect example just popped round the corner to a call where they have no heating literally 2 hours ago (I fitted a new boiler 4-5 years ago) it turns out the old drayton 3 way valve is past its best, so I replaced it (Honeywell of course) only took 30 -40 minutes to replace and charged £50 for labour plus parts . If they had called someone out of the local rag would he have parts to replace what he has not fitted. Thats were my principles lye do a good job charge a good price but provide a good service.
Its customers you need not bits of paper with your price plan on.

Different geographical areas etc. but to get a call on a Sunday to go around and repair the heating within 50 minutes for £50 labour IMO thats very reasonable. To get me out on a Sunday working I'd have charged double that for labour. Maybe its (as said) different areas.

 

[quality]

Different geographical areas etc. but to get a call on a Sunday to go around and repair the heating within 50 minutes for £50 labour IMO thats very reasonable. To get me out on a Sunday working I'd have charged double that for labour. Maybe its (as said) different areas.

Yeh totally agree it differs, be the customer or previous work or friends or whatever but it is still £50 to start the van for an hour

 

[mitchellplumber]

The way I look at it, You get what you pay for. Yes it only took me 10 mins, but it was done properly and professionally, could of took some cowboy an hour and a half to do the same job and would he have charged £20...

Good heating engineers make good money. I find if your good up this way people are willing to wait on you. Don't rip customers off but don't sell yourself short.