Quooker - Some people have too much money!

[Gavin John Hyde]

Installed a new socket on a ring today under the worktop to plug one of them Quooker hot water taps in for a customer.

She felt at £70 i was a bit expensive!! Says they used to use another electrician at there previous house and he rewired it all for £2500!!! I don't know what you can say to people like this... cowboys undercut you and do shoddy work with minimal testing and then when you charge what might be on the low end of the going rate get treated like you are the cowboy trying to extort them!

£70 covered the addition of a socket onto the ring and spending ages slowly and delicately removing a couple of kitchen wall tiles from the wall to chase the T&E and then replace tiles so it looks like it has never been touched without so much as cracking a single one! I even hoovered up behind me!

To top it off, As I am finishing her husband comes home and says his wife spent nearly £800 on this fancy tap that delivers hot water on demand! He thinks its a bit of a pointless gadget as they don't use the kettle as it is as they have a fancy coffee machine built into the kitchen unit that has dedicated water pipes.

Yet she moans at paying me a mere mortal £70 for a honest good bit of work! It always seems the richer people are or get the more they hate paying people and seem offended.
Its a strange world that these middle class folk live in.

Personally i do think these Quooker things are pointless and I would rather boil a kettle and have the £800 in the bank. Its all about appearances with people like this, its a talking point with friend s when visiting and a way to say aren't we successful! - no it says you got more money than sense...

I am off to boil my £9.99 kettle for a cup of tea....

 

[123]

Dunno about others but I find it more profitable to do little jobs. But have to factor in travel and the unloading and reloading of the van. And that you need lots of them to fill a day.

 

[rolyberkin]

I don't mind small jobs but I don't think I could have unloaded my tools from the van and tidied up for £70, how you did the bit in the middle as well is amazing!

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Dunno about others but I find it more profitable to do little jobs. But have to factor in travel and the unloading and reloading of the van. And that you need lots of them to fill a day.

within reason i agree with you as if you plan your work schedule you can do a couple of good paying small jobs per day. time loading the van is one downside especially if you have to put stuff in a van vault to keep tools safe from thieving idiots... also parking is possibly the biggest issue i face in Bath. Sometimes it is not possible to park as close as i would like.. so out comes the trolley to load up... thankfully in permit zones the council operate a tradesman permit that lets you park for only a couple of quid per day (if you can find a space) and the permit covers all zones. I just add this on to the cost in my t and c's... Its all good and well chasing the big jobs but when you break them down it sometimes pays to do lots of little ones as if you quote your day rate that you need to live then you are going to be up against cowboy joe down the pub who bodges everything and pays no tax, insurance or certificates who then quotes silly prices..

 

[freddo]

It often seems that the more effort that is put in, the less it is appreciated.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I don't mind small jobs but I don't think I could have unloaded my tools from the van and tidied up for £70, how you did the bit in the middle as well is amazing!

Materials were added to this £70 mind at screwfix prices!!. should have made that clear but didn't actually cost me anything apart from trunking as i have a nice stockpile from my previous employment that i kept when i left. over the 5 years i worked there my parents garage ended up filled to the brim with stuff that when i sorted it out i was amazed just how much twin and earth and for some reason light switches! i had in there.

 

[123]

Materials were added to this £70 mind at screwfix prices!!. should have made that clear but didn't actually cost me anything apart from trunking as i have a nice stockpile from my previous employment that i kept when i left. over the 5 years i worked there my parents garage ended up filled to the brim with stuff that when i sorted it out i was amazed just how much twin and earth and for some reason light switches! i had in there.

I hope your previous employer doesn't see this thread then.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I hope your previous employer doesn't see this thread then.

HaHa... They knew and didnt care - my boss practically wired his house for free with bits from work!. they always over quoted and billed for parts and materials in case of breakages, damaged / faulty etc... they worked it into the contracts... more often than not nothing would be wrong so there were surplus...

 

[NDG Elecs]

I think it's a little hard to price without seeing what's what. £70 plus mats (£7?) does sound a little cheap especially with the tiles coming off etc, but I reckon once you are inside the base cab it's plain sailing. Probably get it done in two - two and a half hours.

Must admit Gavin, you are a braver man than me risking taking the tiles off, I would entertain it if they had spares, but no spares means one big disclaimer in my terms! The customer sounds like the type that would try and sue you for slightly chipping one tile (even though it's probably hidden behind a toaster or summat!)

And yeah, the keeping up with the Jones's types that have a bit of money are often the worst clients.

 

[Electric Magic]

Pricing is a funny thing. I've had someone say the £300 I've quoted for a 10 way CU change including new tails earth conductor and bonding to gas (at a discount for a friend's parents) was "a bit expensive" (felt like saying "well that's because I actually bother to do some testing unlike some of my local competitors" -been in to test and fix some real messes recently). I've also quoted £600 for the same job minus the new tails and bonding (because the customer had a very condescending tone when I went to quote and I decided I didn't really want the job) and got the job straight away. I try and do enough quotes that I don't need to bother taking the ones where the customer seems like they'll be a pain.

 

[plugsandsparks]

Some customers just dont know how to liaise with SE tradesmen, its not their fault. Most fun i have is being asked to quote to repair a machine with an unknown fault, i can understand that they may not want to spend a stupid amount repairing a machine, but i dont know whether its a broken wire, failed contactor or a burnt out motor until i start looking at it...
BTW - I have a Quooker, it has become an essential tool in the kitchen. When it broke down once i was heartbroken and under considerable stress until it was fixed, they change your life.

 

[PEG]

Their last house was a Grade 2 listed 4 bed townhouse in the posh part of Bath..... Given how pristine this house is and knowing the area they used to live, they must have gone really basic prior to selling and moving into the current house. as the new one is immaculate and like a show home. I only got the job through recommendation as their daughter goes to same yoga class as my girlfriend.

Oooo! that sounds posh....i bet you've got one of them fancy water boilers,and a coffee maker,and stuff like that...

 

[cartellll]

WTF All that work for £70 and she is still not happy ? maybe she is missing £2.5k full re-wire monkeys

 

[static zap]

.....
BTW - I have a Quooker, it has become an essential tool in the kitchen....

A bit like having a butler to boil your kettle .
( My daughter is old / wise enough to answer back now ) ..ger orf ur but..

(Maybe I need a quality wireless socket ?)