In article , Doug Kanter says...
"User Example" wrote in message
m...
Doug Kanter wrote:
What is it with plumbers?
I need a short list of plumbing jobs done, varying in difficulty level
from "I could do it, but I'd rather not", to "WAY beyond my skills".
Plumber 1: Gave estimate of $1500.00, and about 6 hours of work. Said his
rate was $60 per hour, and materials for the work are around $100. For
purposes of discussion, I did the math allowing for 10 hours (because you
never know), and questioned why the estimate was twice as much as likely.
He said "That's just what it costs. Let me know if you want to do it".
Plumber 2: Highly recommended by a number of people. Never showed up to
look at what needed to be done, even though I work at home and could've
accomodated his visit ANY TIME that was convenient for him.
Plumber 3: Another referral. Stopped by (mid-July), looked at what needed
to be done. I told him that I needed an estimate not because I was price
shopping (because I'm really not), but so that I could budget the work,
and know whether to do it in pieces, or all at once. Said he understood,
said he'd call back with prices, never called back. His assistant keeps
saying he will, but it's August 26th and......
Anyway, are we all in the wrong business? Do these guys really have so
much work that they can be this way with potential customers?
Plumbers, A/C repairmen, electricians, bug killers, and anyone else that
will come to your house to do their job is going to charge you too much
for the work. You are paying for the worker, his supervisor, the people
who subcontracted them, the secretary, their "experience", and some extra
just to rip you off.
Some of the work they do takes skill and some things they can do better
because they know some tricks of the trade. But for the most part there
isn't anything that you can't do as well or better. They will almost
always rush a job. You have the luxury of taking our time.
Bottom line, if you want quality work at a modest price then you are going
to have to do it yourself. You can find people to hire that will do
excellent work but they will overcharge the heck out of you.
That's a whole lot of generalizations. What stands out the most is that you
seem to be saying the plumber's got no business making money. And, it's
obvious that his fees include whatever overhead he has to deal with. What
business hasn't got overhead? What's important to me is that someone state
their fees clearly, and from that point on, it's up to me to decide what's
worthwhile. In this case, I know there's a decent plumber (somewhere) who
can do the work in X number of hours, and when it's done, I won't need to
think about it. My roof's another story. That's something I'll probably
replace myself, since I've done it successfully on a previous house.
It strikes me that if you:
1. Have a lot of time
2. Have the skills
3. Either enjoy it (lots of people do, bless them) or have no competing spare
time interests
or alternatively:
a. Just plain cheap beyond all reason and at any non-monetary cost
...what he says makes sense (except the thing about seemingly objecting to
contractors making a living....)
But I
1. Don't have a lot of time
2. Dont' have many skills (great painting skills) and don't particularly care
for every project being a learning experience and my house being my guinea pig
3. Sure have a long list of stuff I love to do in my spare time otherwise
and
a. Am not stupid-cheap.
So I have in the 11 years I've lived in this house built up a good list of good
skilled folks. And a pretty good knack for discerning who's good and who's not
and getting good value.
Banty
|