Too expensive?

[Joe_b87]

Like a lot of people at the moment im getting undercut, nothing new in this but I was wondering what everybody else is charging for labour? I work on £30 per hour depending on the job, the bigger stuff i work out a price.

 

[MDJ]

Cheers mike, think ill give it a go but I don't want it to turn into the norm. Saying that I don't want to be sat around like this for too long either, the mrs is starting to irritate me ;-)

I have been doing this a long time M8 and never price the same job at the same price twice in a row at the moment, I charge £35.00 per hour for Minor industrial works and £30.00 for commercial thats steady and my bread and butter, But domestic is up and down depending on the current climate at the time, your rate of £30.00 is a good and proper rate no doubt, but you may need to drop it for a month or two or longer until things buck up in the summer (if it happens) and remember if you do drop your rate to get a foot in the door you can add a bit on your material mark up to get some money back, with insurance and schemes and runing a van times are tough at the moment, you may just have to lessen the rate to survive for now fella and judge each job individually I feel your pain.

 

[MDJ]

One piece of advice I will give you however is when you come up with a price stick to it! There's nothing worse in my opinion than a business offering a client a price and when it is questioned it gets dropped. It makes for an unprofessional approach to dealing with a clients procurement as all it does is make it look like you over valued your services in the first place thus making you look like a rip off merchant!

Best of luck getting the work in bud!

Rollocks, stick to it with your regular customers yes, but if your sat on your --- at home with a £100,000 mortgage then sticking at £30.00 per hour at the moment won't pay the bills, he may have to lessen his rate at the moment to earn a living, your okay, like me you have a client base and do commerial and industrial works, think along the lines of a guy with no work or client base and bills.

Still lv U by the way D skelton :tt1:

 

[D Skelton]

Rollocks, stick to it with your regular customers yes, but if your sat on your --- at home with a £100,000 mortgage then sticking at £30.00 per hour at the moment won't pay the bills, he may have to lessen his rate at the moment to earn a living, your okay, like me you have a client base and do commerial and industrial works, think along the lines of a guy with no work or client base and bills.

Still lv U by the way D skelton :tt1:

I totally get you, however I have to say that I do things differently. I am a businessman at the end of the day, the fact that I am an electrician and enjoy the job being an electrician entails is purely a bonus. It's all well and good having all the skills in the world but if you haven't got the work to put those skills in to practice then what's the point? I have plenty of work and view myself as successful (in a totally not blowing smoke up my own a$$ sort of way lol), a massive part of this I put down to being able to offer a service that other electricians can't provide. I didn't build a client base to put my skills to work by being cheap, I built one by being the best! If all you want to be known for is the fact that you operate cheaply then that is all you will ever be known for as word of mouth will spread, "Yeah, use him, he's WELL cheap innit". Well that's all well and good if all you want to do is pay the bills but when the bills are paid and you want to start living, try upping your prices when all you have is a reputation as a cheap spark! When that rep dissappears, you're back to square one ain't ya!

I have two rules when it comes to running a business; 1 - Be ruthless, and 2 - Be the best! (Utter cheese I know, but...)

I find it very easy when quoting for work to be able to say to a client what other electricians who come to quote are likely to say and that if they do it is complete rubbish. I find it easy to say to a client that when other sparks come to quote for work to check all their qualifications whilst spreading mine out on the table knowing full well most others won't have anything like what I do. I find it very easy to show a client that unlike most we are an ethical business, we have an actual commitment to the continuing progression of all apprentices we employ and that we don't just use cheap labour, we pay well and we actually use fully qualified sparks who truely care about the work they do and aren't just worried about clock off time. I find it easy to say to prospective customers that if they are looking for cheap, choose someone else, but if they are looking for the best, then I'm their guy. Finally, I find it easy to confront and expose other electricians who aren't up to the task! Done in the right way this can also be very profitable (or at least I have found this to be the case).

To sum up the point I'm trying to make, if you're looking to pay the bills drop your price. If you're looking to build a business, stick to your guns, be ruthless and offer your customers a service many can't match by showing them a true commitment to being the best! I'm under no illusion that it will be tougher in the short term but it will definitely pay off in the long run.

That's my two cents anyway

 

[MDJ]

I totally get you, however I have to say that I do things differently. I am a businessman at the end of the day, the fact that I am an electrician and enjoy the job being an electrician entails is purely a bonus. It's all well and good having all the skills in the world but if you haven't got the work to put those skills in to practice then what's the point? I have plenty of work and view myself as successful (in a totally not blowing smoke up my own a$$ sort of way lol), a massive part of this I put down to being able to offer a service that other electricians can't provide. I didn't build a client base to put my skills to work by being cheap, I built one by being the best! If all you want to be known for is the fact that you operate cheaply then that is all you will ever be known for as word of mouth will spread, "Yeah, use him, he's WELL cheap innit". Well that's all well and good if all you want to do is pay the bills but when the bills are paid and you want to start living, try upping your prices when all you have is a reputation as a cheap spark! When that rep dissappears, you're back to square one ain't ya!

I have two rules when it comes to running a business; 1 - Be ruthless, and 2 - Be the best! (Utter cheese I know, but...)

I find it very easy when quoting for work to be able to say to a client what other electricians who come to quote are likely to say and that if they do it is complete rubbish. I find it easy to say to a client that when other sparks come to quote for work to check all their qualifications whilst spreading mine out on the table knowing full well most others won't have anything like what I do. I find it very easy to show a client that unlike most we are an ethical business, we have an actual commitment to the continuing progression of all apprentices we employ and that we don't just use cheap labour, we pay well and we actually use fully qualified sparks who actually care about the work they do and aren't just worried about clock off time. I find it easy to say to prospective customers that if they are looking for cheap, choose someone else, but if they are looking for the best, then I'm their guy. Finally, I find it easy to confront and expose other electricians who aren't up to the task! Done in the right way this can also be very profitable (or at least I have found this to be the case).

To sum up the point I'm trying to make, if you're looking to pay the bills drop your price. If you're looking to build a business, stick to your guns and be the best. I'm under no illusion that it will be tougher in the short term but it will definitely pay off in the long run.

That's my two cents anyway

Good Post Bud :yes: not many folk without contacts can build a business at the moment on £30.00 an hour though, we should start a thread about how to start a business in the trainee section I reckon, some very good points you have and I agree about most of them.

 

[markc123]

Shocked too say the least that everyone is posting their prices on here lol May aswell join in, i was saying a tenner-cheaper because it was easier in my original post, i do actually charge £7,549 and more at certain times when trying to price myself out the job when really busy but get the job anyway lol.

Maybe its just my area, because it's quite common to be charging £350k an hour here, and i've heard rumours from sparky mates that mr.x is charging even cheaper...we know who's at fault for the massive price drops - but lets not go their on absolutley every thread lol.

I've got a good client base + customers are happy with the work, recommendations get me by at the moment as pretty much 0 on the advertising since the crash. Things are going nice and dandy (touch wood) so i'll stick to my £7,549 even though some members have rightly said you can probably get abit more.

Agree with Mike though that the OP should drop his price, considerably (some 'qualified' numpties out there) just to get your foot in the door.

 

[MDJ]

yes it should be in the pub markc, but unfortunately the 7dw are not allowed and as the trade is on it's knees we will just have to grin and bear it.

 

[Octopus]

I would never declare my rates on this public forum. Just goes to show how niave some of the so called sparks are!

 

[Joe_b87]

Didn't want to start an argument!! I appreciate everybody's comments and I've taken onboard some good advice. Thanks

 

[MDJ]

I would never declare my rates on this public forum. Just goes to show how niave some of the so called sparks are!

Your quite right, I dropped a clanger really, thought I would try to help, but I now regret it dear oh dear.

 

[markc123]

I would never declare my rates on this public forum. Just goes to show how niave some of the so called sparks are!

That was my original thought - why i didn't post my correct price to start with. Now the OP has got what he wanted i will edit my previous post and put a cheeky 7k in it's place.

- - - Updated - - -

Your quite right, I dropped a clanger really, thought I would try to help, but I now regret it dear oh dear.

Yeah same lol, edit your previous post...i am. The OP has got what he wanted

 

[MDJ]

Yes Murdocks right, okay Sintra I want my post deleted please, I would ask High tower, but he doesn't like me haha

 

[GLENNSPARK]

30ph more of a london wage imo not yorkshire. im a tenner cheaper than that per/hour

£20 is too low....£25 should be the base..

 

[markc123]

£20 is too low....£25 should be the base..

I know £20 is too low, thats why i lied on my original post untill everyone started posting their real prices, and then i regretablly obliged...but murdoch saw me straight and i changed lol.

Im happy with my price structure at the moment, maybe am abit too low and why im palming work to mates but ohwell. Life's all good glenn. Off topic, you managed to get any work done with all that snow over your way? I've got literally none on the east coast, mental how much you wessies have had, proper snow like the older days lol.

 

[Octopus]

The key problem with this thread, is that people are so stupid that they don't include their location in their profile AND they simply don't realise that the rates will vary from town to town, suburb to suburb, county to county and country to country.

In all its a bit pointless..........

 

[Hants-Spark]

Who's to say who is expensive and who is cheap, surely supply and demand is the key factor, and unfortunately the area of the country you live in has a great bearing on this also. At the moment I have plenty of work on and with just the same amount of enquiries (he says touching his head), I never advertise and all work is through my existing customer base or word of mouth. As stated by D Skelton customer service is what will get you repeat business and not necessary being the cheapest, I am content at being know as reasonably priced rather than being to cheap or expensive, this works for me and that is how I will continue to operate until proven different.