the price is right

[hammers4spanner]

i know we get alot of price questions on this forum with regards hourly rate and how much to do this and that.Also plenty of advice of how to do estimating e,g hourly rate times by how many hours you think plus 20% on materials etc etc.
However how many of you get your pricing labour rates right ??Are you always happy with what you charged for labour or are you thinking damn was about £300 to short on that job labour wise .
I ask this as i always seem to feel this after completition of works or as it nears completion, seem to lose time down merchants or get unexpected delays from other trades .( you cant always bill extras for this as site communication then breaks down). E.g i have recently done a install of works which when i looked at the scope of it was nothing major and estimated about £850 labour, due to the chaotic mess of the site and merchants not being overly clever i now estimate i was about £400 out of unexpected hassle.Also i had to get another plumbs in to help as it when it neared completion it coincided with other works i had on the go .

is there a method you guys use to overcome this or do you end up thinking same as me 'done o.k out of it but should have earned more'

 

[Leo21]

Your always going to think you could have earned more. I reckon a lot of guys don't see potential problems, and sometimes that's why there cheaper.

 

[Barry98]

if there happy and im happy , ill whistle while i work and always look on the bright side of life

 

[Leo21]

Sounds like a plan but I'm to much of a Victor Meldrew for that.

 

[Guest123]

Victor Systemeldrew, grumpy old Jock Bathroom Installer.

One foot in the bog.

 

[CES]

" I dont believe it" Colin, you seemed a happy chappy when I met you! lol

 

[Guest123]

" I dont believe it" Colin, you seemed a happy chappy when I met you! lol

That's because I'd been paid mate!

 

[mfgs]

It happens mate, you just have to take it and hope to not get caught out again. Thing is, you cannot possibly price for worst case scenario all the time as you wont get any work through being more expensive than everyone else.

I was on a job recently, got there in the morning. All of a sudden at 8.15 there is no power as the electrician was changing the fuseboard, no thought to tell me the day before that I wouldnt have any light or power to do what I needed up in the loft. I was absoloutely livid, complete waste of a day.

 

[SimonG]

It happens mate, you just have to take it and hope to not get caught out again. Thing is, you cannot possibly price for worst case scenario all the time as you wont get any work through being more expensive than everyone else.

I was on a job recently, got there in the morning. All of a sudden at 8.15 there is no power as the electrician was changing the fuseboard, no thought to tell me the day before that I wouldnt have any light or power to do what I needed up in the loft. I was absoloutely livid, complete waste of a day.

Thats just an electrician being a dink. There was no reason why he couldn't have rigged up a temp supply. One of the sparks I do a bit of work with has a temp board just for this. If you come across him again drop some laxatives in his tea and strip the bog out.

 

[REDSAW]

think of a number and double it works for me

 

[peteheat]

think of a number and double it works for me

And if customer is still smiling add the VAT

 

[Masood]

You win some, you lose some. I had what seemed on the surface to be an easy morning's work, and priced it accordingly. Having to remove boxing and cut the bolts before removing the close-coupled cistern took best part of an extra hour, scraping off what looked like gripfill that someone had used to try and stop a leak took a while, too. £75 for 3 1/2 hours' hard graft. Just got to grin and bear it!