What to charge customers...

[Riley]

Asking the wrong questions mate. If you have to leave it that you’re telling the customer what they have and giving them no options then you’ve not proved enough

 

[Millsy 82]

But then again, you will have the customers which are trying to be smart and asking you to get the material list to them so they can get stuff themselves which I think it’s a no go though. I’d rather take care of getting my materials. It is not about the mark up but it’s to make sure I have the right products on site and not having to drive around. For some people I have a quote which has about 4/5 different boilers which are more likely the poor low budget boilers which I am not interested in fitting. The reason is I don’t like the fact I install plastic flues and stuff like that. Furthermore they still find somebody who is cheaper in labour as I do not fit a boiler for 600

I give a breakdown of what I'm fitting and I've had a few people turn around and say I can get the parts cheaper than you can, I always say the same though I charge x% on top of all materials if you want to supply the materials that is fine but you have to do the warranty which you will only get 2 years not 7. They then say cant you do the warranty? No I only register materials supplied by myself. I've lost a couple of jobs over it but not really worried as most people go oh ok I will pay the extra.

 

[Old Account]

Asking the wrong questions mate. If you have to leave it that you’re telling the customer what they have and giving them no options then you’ve not proved enough

That’s not quite true though. I have give a lot of options and a lot free advises what I would do if I was them. I always say it’s down to them what they use as I can only recommend guide them through the process. So, I think I am not far from being polite, and definitely treat them very well. It’s just them being not honest and wanting to cut corners but then again, I am the wrong person to deal with. I’d rather take people on board which are genuine and willing to work with a good engineer rather than cowboys.

 

[Deleted member 32524]

Everyone knows how much they want to spend or how much they have to spend before you go. I already know how much it is going to approximately cost when I see site and listen to their ideas on what they want. If they want it for peanuts I point thus out and explain about my overheads and costs and explain a realistic price. If they then realise they were way off I will then put time and effort in to it, if not then I won't waste my time quoting.

 

[Riley]

Exactly there’s no point trying to squeeze blood out of a stone. Unless you are desperate for work (worrying) don’t be afraid to tell people why something costs more than they think. This constant under cutting is no good for the trade. The difference between an estimate and a quote can be your ally if you think someone is just trying to find the cheapest option

 

[HoodedClaw]

As a self employed, not vat Registered, Domestic wet works plumbing only (no gas) I just charge a flat rate of £60 per hour for the first five hours and then that was it for my day rate of £300. The only time I ever thought otherwise was when it got to 3 hours or four hours then I quite often just charge a half day as it worked out a bit cheaper for the customer And I knew I’d keep them as a customer the next time. I was always still the cheapest in Winchester by around £20 per hour more without the VAT obviously but on the back of that I’ve never had to pay for advertising and always just worked off word-of-mouth. I know I could’ve charged more but as someone who is used to trades regularly in the past I just can’t bring myself to overcharge anyone. The parts and materials are generally added 20% on if anyone wanted to question that I just pointed out that I’m happy to charge them the two hours it took me to search for it instead, but that rarely happened.

if I come to gas I’ll be charging 80 or £90 an hour but I wouldn’t be touching any wet work whatsoever to make up for the added expenses needed for the gasworks.