Typical hourly rates

[ClarkeTheSpark]

Hello all,

just received an email from our main customer asking us to lower our hourly rate. We're being extremely generous as it is by charging them either £30 p/h for call out jobs or £200 a day for fully qualified 17th edition electrician with 2391 and £150 a day for a fully qualified 17th edition Electrican who is taking the 2394/5 courses. Our company is NICEIC registered and without wanting to blow our trumpet, good at what we do.

Point is, the customer has seen agency sparks offered at £15 p/h and therefore we need to match (or better!) this, which is impossible. We're south eastern so if anyone is willing to reveal their hourly rates or can even offer us suggestions for an amicable resolution we would be very grateful.

 

[Dcf]

Sounds like your customer is calling your bluff.let him
Say you drop your rates ,when are you gonna get them back up to a reasonable sum? never.
ive not put my rates up in 5 year tbh.but ive not dropped them either.
they should be going up but they seem to be plummetting to early 90s levels with boys willing to work for next to nothing.
pay peanuts get monkeys.
they will be back that i can be sure of

 

[NDG Elecs]

Blow your own trumpet mate and explain what the difference in the quality of service provided between yourselves and agency staff would likely be ie they would not give a hoot as others have stated. Whereas you are attentive diligent etc....

Tradesfolks often lack ability in selling themselves in a professional manner ( myself included), if clients knew the hassles, overheads etc we have, they would, or bl00dy well should, be forever grateful!!

Point out what rival companies would charge... £30 callout for London is a steal. If they provide say 30% of your overall work I would maybe knock a tenner off the day rate and claw it back on other jobs. That would at least show willing on your part.

 

[Amp David]

Surely 15 quid an hour is the hourly rate that the electricians is earning and not what they are being charged out at?

 

[ClarkeTheSpark]

It's the price the agency want to be paid in return for supplying an electrician

 

[stuartcourt]

It's the price the agency want to be paid in return for supplying an electrician

that is one cheap agency bet their bloke are red hot

 

[123]

With the agency guys who organises the job and orders materials? Where do they even get materials from, no doubt they won't have wholesalers accounts!

I'd stick to my prices, if you drop this time then you'll be asked to drop again and again.

 

[ClarkeTheSpark]

They have one wholesaler account which they permit us to use (we have one at the same branch) but they wouldn't have a clue what cable to buy, what board, breakers etc. This is the point we're trying to put across to them but all they see is ££££ signs. Sigh.

 

[123]

1 agency spark £15
1 agency foreman £19
The look on their face when they had to call you back - priceless

 

[stuartcourt]

really is stupidest thing I have heard in ages, an agency bloke only works well alongside someone who knows the installation, and then when next week comes and its a different guy from agency he can work well alongside someone who knows the installation

 

[Octopus]

Moral of the story - don't be too reliant on big customers.

Last year my largest customer accounted for only 7% of my revenue!

 

[stuartcourt]

Moral of the story - don't be too reliant on big customers.

Last year my largest customer accounted for only 7% of my revenue!

yes and they rarely offer you biscuits the fat f...........

 

[ClarkeTheSpark]

When they get an agency sparks in, we would like to be there just to see the chaos that will ensue. Cue the smug grin. And stuartcourt, sometimes you don't even get the tea to dip the biscuits into!

 

[Guest55]

Let them go with the monkeys at £15.00 and don't forget that once the Agency has taken its 20% the remaining money won't buy a quality tradesperson.

is that right ?
well im a "agency monkey" murdoch , and i'll beat hands down on skill and experience alot of cards in nic sparks.
many of which come on here without a clue.
bit of an insult that considering me and thousands other jib subbies quietly get on building this countries bigger projects while scheme sparks just do a bit of housebashing.
pfft.

 

[Redvanman]

Don't drop your rates mate it will never stop if they want to pay that low then they can't be that bothered about the standard

 

[shanky887614]

is that right ?
well im a "agency monkey" murdoch , and i'll beat hands down on skill and experience alot of cards in nic sparks.
many of which come on here without a clue.
bit of an insult that considering me and thousands other jib subbies quietly get on building this countries bigger projects while scheme sparks just do a bit of housebashing.
pfft.

i guess you could call what we are doing atm as house bashing but were actually building it and not electrics atm, going to be mixing cement all day tomorrow and my jtl assesor is coming out to see my handywork inside with t+e