i'm getting real fed up

[wattsup]

perhaps i'm too old, 'I need a light fitting changing, it's like a chamdilier, a new fiiting in dining room...ok i says, £45 quid (must be done asap) ok sat morning.....The guy gave me the run down, 'that is far too mucch, its only 2-wires, sorry to mess you arround, 4 miles travel, sat morn,,oh well i,m a cowboy. I dont know how i attract them, i've had several like that these past few weeks.

What sort of price were they expecting?

 

[mogga]

£45s good as you say Sat morning n milage plus Im sure if it was as easy as 2wires He would be doing it himself

 

[martysparky]

thats what I was just think.


If its easy as only two wires as you say, but you did call me to do it? So are you sure Mr...

 

[Phil]

i have had far too many in the past expecting everything done for a tenner. saying that a mate of mine had a guy he used for his electrics and he charged him a tenner for an outside light, tenner for a switch etc. needless to say the jobs where not up to much afterwards but then you get the old "there is nothing wrong with it it works" customers bah humbug

 

[wattsup]

Honest i can't belleive it. I said £45 and then bit my tongue...thats too cheap, i meant 55. Ok maybe only a 20 min job. But I have to put myself out to do a simple job...you know put tools in car, fund petrol insurance etc find the address...work on saturday morning, The 20 min job is acually 1.5 hours if all goes well.

I had a similar type job a few weeks ago for local 'big business man' at his home address. He was having a big extension built, a lorry backed down his drive and knocked an outside light off the wall.

I changed it 45 quid...on completion he said whom do i make the cheque payable too. Kin ell...sorry thats a cash price...oh i don't have 45 quid on me...ok i said i'll call back tomorrow, otherwise £65 cheque...suddenly he found 45 quid in the house.

 

[Des 56]

Have to say I agree entiriely with wattsup

To call you out to do something they cant or wont do themselves and expect a thank you type payment
They are not paying for just connecting two wires

They are paying paying, because the spark invested so much time and money getting the skill to actually do it
We should always remember that, when trying to be fobed off with that customers attitude

 

[rocker]

hat winds me up as well. Done a partial for a guy lately, real cool guy actually, was working out bizarre routes for cables as he wanted to preserve as much of his old house as possible. He had a blummin good price off me as I'd had one or two when I quoted him, and I liked the guy and what he was trying to do. I told him this on the first day of the job.

Aanyway, come the end of the job I pointed out that the consumer unit was a complete bummin mess and there were loads of ways that had 2 circuits on them etc, loads of pointless radials, you know the score. He asked how much does a bigger one cost to buy without labour and I gave him a round about figure for a 15 way 17th board. He said 'I'll have that changed, order it up and whenever you've got a spare day you can put it in'.

So off I trot, go to order the board but think 'I'll just make sure first' and send him a text with the amazing rate (considering the amount of work that would be needed) of 250. I'd call that mate's rates for so many circuits. 'I'll let you know' was his reply.... I think he thought I was going to put it in for a tenner. Good job I didn't order it and waste 70 odd quid.

Sorry, I'm in a bit of a diatribe mood today. Was the same with some bollard lighting recently - gave a quote for 10 bollards in a garden plus a few other bits and bobs (couple of existing coachlights replacing, commando RCBO etc). I said depending on design, we're looking at a minimum of 600. I also explained the high price was due to bollards being expensive. 'Oh, what if we supply them then, cos I've seen them for £30 each'. AHEM so you know the lights are going to be 300, then armoured cable, the new coachlights, the protection, digging trenches, basically landscaping your garden, testing, notification and certification, that should all be free should it? Again, 'we'll let you know'.

 

[bluesky]

normally i dont have call out charge, some customers are just not serious, just expect electricians do a free job for them, normally i charge 30 or 40 quids just enough to buy bread for my family, i am not estate agent and alwasy do free quotations, but some customers still think i charged too much, i begin to say 'no' to some small jobs now....

fed up driving around and giving free quotations...

 

[malcolmsanford]

perhaps i'm too old, 'I need a light fitting changing, it's like a chamdilier, a new fiiting in dining room...ok i says, £45 quid (must be done asap) ok sat morning.....The guy gave me the run down, 'that is far too mucch, its only 2-wires, sorry to mess you arround, 4 miles travel, sat morn,,oh well i,m a cowboy. I dont know how i attract them, i've had several like that these past few weeks.

What sort of price were they expecting?

It's ok when he get's Sid-from-the-pub-who-knows-a-bit to do it for a pint ask him to call you back when there is a loud bang and a blue flash the 45 notes will look cheap then

 

[ukpablo]

tell him to go buy a big bag of comedy peanuts so he can pay a monkey to wire it in! probably an ikea fitting too...........!.....some people make me laugh, should ask him what he does for a living and then ask him to do u a favour for pittance!......would love to see his reaction to that!

 

[pmac10]

£45? on a saturday? sounds like a bargain, ive seen posts on this forumn quoting £80 on a weekday.

 

[Golden_Boy]

Honest i can't belleive it. I said £45 and then bit my tongue...thats too cheap, i meant 55. Ok maybe only a 20 min job. But I have to put myself out to do a simple job...you know put tools in car, fund petrol insurance etc find the address...work on saturday morning, The 20 min job is acually 1.5 hours if all goes well.

I had a similar type job a few weeks ago for local 'big business man' at his home address. He was having a big extension built, a lorry backed down his drive and knocked an outside light off the wall.

I changed it 45 quid...on completion he said whom do i make the cheque payable too. Kin ell...sorry thats a cash price...oh i don't have 45 quid on me...ok i said i'll call back tomorrow, otherwise £65 cheque...suddenly he found 45 quid in the house.

Why should the price be any diffrent depending on how a customer pays

 

[rocker]

Why should the price be any diffrent depending on how a customer pays

Petrol to the bank, innit!

 

[RexT]

Hi Wattsup,

I am sure there is a new reality show in town and we are all starring in it. I agree with a lot of the comments here, what do they expect?
If it is only two wires and you can do it in five minutes, including having a cup of tea and reading the sun, then fine. But we all know its not and I think its all down to either a lack of knowledge on behalf of the 'customer' or they are just plain trying it on. You only get what you pay for and if you want the correct job done, you employ the right tradesman. Safety is always worth paying for.
My advice is stick to your guns, don't water the price down so that you are only busy standing still and actually not making anything.

Best wishes

Rex