has to be a limit when u walk away

[LlandrilloSpark]

Is it me or are customers asking for a lot more for a cheaper price.

took an hour away from my family this afternoon to quote for a job, The guy wants his Airing cupboard wiring tidying up, a 8 way ccu change with tails and bonding for under £250

Also an old 6mm shower cable re routing from the attic to the first floor so it can be used to power a cooker, he moaned at £100

Im one of those who will drop my rate and margin to make a living, i dont mind, but there has to be a point where you have to walk away

 

[topquark]

Unfortunately they tend to be the folk that will go for the cheapest price, and get what they pay for. That £250 would probably just about cover your labour costs for the CU change and tidy up (but not the parts for the CU change). By the time you've done the pre work survey, CU change, full test afterwards and tidied up the wiring, I'd guess that's a long day gone.

 

[cdavies33]

Tell him to get lost!!! Bloody cheapskate! Keep our standards high and our prices respectable lads!

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Is it me or are customers asking for a lot more for a cheaper price.

took an hour away from my family this afternoon to quote for a job, The guy wants his Airing cupboard wiring tidying up, a 8 way ccu change with tails and bonding for under £250

Also an old 6mm shower cable re routing from the attic to the first floor so it can be used to power a cooker, he moaned at £100

Im one of those who will drop my rate and margin to make a living, i dont mind, but there has to be a point where you have to walk away

The blokes a muppet, and will end up getting a bodger in.

I've been to many a place where the bloke 4 doors away has fitted a Cu he 'acquired' from work, no testing, no cert, no notify, no....proper job. AND found that the RCD was faulty and never worked, but I guess thats ok isn't it, thats that silly testing nonsense where you need that expensive meter thing!

 

[dcelectrical]

it is my opinion that customers can easily go online and find out exactly what the materials cost and how much the works should cost, i price all my jobs the same way materials from screwfix (even though i don't buy from there) and how long it takes me, if the customer wants a discount on the price you will know what your minimum rate should, if it's lower than that you are loosing money, at that point i thank the customer and excuse myself.
we all know that it does not tell you online that cowboys fit cheap crap and usually leave houses in a dangerous condition after accepting your cash and you'll never see them again.

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

I have the stock on the van to do the tidying job, and im sure ive got a meter each of 25mm brown and blue and 16mm earth, I can get a fully loaded 4+4 way crappy proteus ccu for £60 so in essence i could make a nice wage but i think the clincher was when we discussed the additional work which was the re routing of the 6mm, I told him your looking at £100 min, he said what about working on the hour, i said "fine", so i told him what i charge (under £20), he said...I'll have to ponder the whole job, but guess what...he has the painters in doing all the top floor for £1000 and just spent £2700 on a new boiler and he's quibbling over a new board with all the tests(which havnt been done ever) for £250!!

 

[topquark]

If you've covered the cost of that stock on other jobs, fair enough (that's a choice you'll need to make, I'd usually base that decision on the likelyhood of further work or referal). Putting a crappy CU in will probably come back and bite you, guess who'll be getting the call out to come and fix it (free of charge) if/when it fails. It's not just a wage you need, you've to cover your other costs as well, van, fuel, insurance, Part P fees, accountants fees, bank charges, tools, new regs books etc and some profit for the business.

 

[Des 56]

I have to agree heavily with topquark
If you work for prices that are not realistic then you may as well go on the dole and join the cash in hand cowboy and save all the worry of conformity and its cost

 

[Phil]

my limit to walk away is when i get to the point where I want to lamp them.

 

[Phil]

I have to agree heavily with topquark
If you work for prices that are not realistic then you may as well go on the dole and join the cash in hand cowboy and save all the worry of conformity and its cost

in my experience the cheaper the job the more hassle it brings. i have done cheap jobs for people in the past and its not worth the hassle. they pay less and expect more.

 

[DaveyD]

It's so annoying when people see your hourly rate as your hourly wage - I WISH !

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Que "stanley" down`t kings head.......hee`l do it....well he wired a plug you know...(once)..........:2guns:

 

[keniff]

250 for a board change? Your selling your self cheap there, they are 400 plus round our way, I put my prices in take it or leave it, it's difficult to walk away sometimes but if they are taking the pee let them get the cowboys in!!

 

[Mad Spark]

I cant believe some people, unbeilevable spending so much on painting but not on electrics, as long as the cosmetics are fine who cares about safety. £250 wouldn't in my oppinion cover the board change, what i would be quoting for something like that would be closer to £450. Just leave it dude, you cant win them all.

 

[wattsup]

Cutomers are a pain, there should be a bbc doc about rogue customers me thinks.

My last folly was a 400 mile round trip, install a back-up generator..The customer knew the cost estimated, and was happy and wanted a guarentee (no nasty surprises) Wich I can't blame. When a site visit my actual quote was £200 less....never heard from them again.

Same with small stuff, cu changes etc, but don't mind so much because local only. But fcuk me they know in advance the cost I have estimated, then I go as estimated or many times a bit cheaper written quote...I thinks some peeps save quotes to sell on bargain hunt in 20/30 years -;