Sick hearing of this...

[Guest123]

I get this a lot these days....

I get a call from a custard, says she needs her bathroom done, she's bought a suite from the big shed and it's so easy to fit as it's a straight replacement/ changeover for what is already there. I hear this one time and time again and it's custard speak for I need it done really cheaply.

When I tell them, that I can't give them a FIXED price over the phone and a free no obligation survey will be required to see exactly what the installation requirements are, custard gets her back up and asks why. After all the nice sales person in the shed said that it would be real easy to fit.

Easy Mrs Custard, your 20 year old bathroom fits your 20 year old pipework and will need me to use my material to make it fit your new diy bought suite. Furthermore your waste traps have 20 year old seals that need replacing with new traps and pipework and you want it done at a price that would make even a Polish handy man would run back to Poland.

Some straight change over eh!?

 

[ecowarm]

Give them a price if you can do a straight swop, anything more is extra ie new trap, waste or alter pipe work

 

[Phil]

Ha!

She will no doubt get the 'bathroom in 5 hours' brigade in and she will have a nastily fitted cheap and nasty bathroom.

 

[dontknowitall]

Piece of cake.

Of course it's easy, it's only a small room.

Not many tools required.

Don't worry about the water not turning off properly. It won't come through the ceiling will it?

But please mind the picture on the stairs, it's a family heirloom. And, no, I'd rather you didn't take it off as the nail's a little ropey.

I'm not worried about a trap, they only cost 50 pence or so.

Why have you got to fit it according to the water regulations? What are they?

What do you mean it costs extra to paint the ceiling?

Can you do the tiling in that price too?

 

[gaspastemania]

I get this alot as well , i always give them price withnew traps , flexis etc then stick another few quid on because cust will probably be a puller. I also make them aware that it literally is straight swap no tiling or floor will be renewed if required all that is extra .

 

[ADM360]

Yea!! like for like!! bath is metric so 20mm smaller! taps new ones with short tails! new basin with mono tap so have to sawp hot and cold round! and to cap it off- the pans an S trap and the new close coupled is a HO! but the chap at the shed said easy like for like!! take no time at all!!

 

[WaterTight]

You should say "Ok, since it's 100% like for like - a genuine straight swap - one out one in - I will charge you £150 labour. Afterall, I won't need any parts. However I must warn you if the supply pipes no longer quite reach the taps and the traps no longer quite reach the wastes you may find things get a bit moist here and there."

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

How many of you have found that when the customer supplies they buy a bath which physically will not fit in their tiny bathroom? How do they do this?
It is a small world so in our area we have noticed that some of those who want to pay the cheapest prices and never choose us cos we're too expensive are having the work done by unskilled, untrained, unqualified chancers.

And some of the shocking shoddy work that is done ---- you've all seen it.

 

[WaterTight]

I certainly have. I've installed most of it ...:smiley2:

 

[dontknowitall]

It's not my fault:

... if the legs don't reach the floor or

... the bath panel's the wrong size or

... the carpet's not big enough or

... the tiles are too deep for the door

etc

 

[Ian10261]

A lot of the problem with the customer buying from the 'shed is they see a nicely installed suite on display with tiles and flooring etc and it looks oh soooo very nice.
What they never ever realise is that none of it is actually connected up and working and so they think it'll fit their bathroom no problem. I wonder how many low profile shower trays have been returned coz the joists run the wrong way or its a solid floor. How many half pedistal basins returned coz the waste cant be piped up. How many times have you heard "but the man at the shop said it would fit,blah blah blah" The people who sell em are as daft as the people who go there and buy em thinking theres nowt to it.

 

[SimonG]

Hear this a few times and it's always the same answer, either I come and have a look or you've just wasted the cost of the phonecall. Half an hour to have a look can save all sorts of issues, including a quick 2 minutes on which 'muppet' sold you this and there is an extra cost of a decent syphon, bath & basin waste and you might want to consider a decent toilet seat.

 

[Phil]

When I do a bathroom I always make sure I'm the one who tells them what they can have and not the salesmanm if I get a call with someone saying "I've just bought a bathroom on a whim, can you start Monday? I always turn down.

Salesman don't understand high/low pressure taps and always sell the customer nasty high pressure mixer taps for their vented systems and I have to explain if I fit it theres a chance the hot will be greatly reduced. I also have to fit a low pressure non return valve.

Also toilets, how many times have you turned up to do the job and they have been sold a toilet that is only suitable for rear soil connection and customer have 90 degree from internal soil pipe. And this is after I've told them what type they can have.

 

[stevetheplumber]

Ive just walk of a job i started last weekcustard had two painters living in his half finished house and they wanted hot water but the imersion was n od he asked me how much to change it so i said as i was there anyway £40 plus parts he said it was to much so i left it came in monday and he has broken the cylinder quoted 550 to replace the 48x18 cylinder which is out of the ark with tapping for coil right at the top and bottom so got to alter heating pipes he said no so i just said ok and put the phone down he phones back saying he didnt like my moiney grabbing attitude and best if he finds another plumber to which ive said fine just need to get remainder of owed money now
we got of to a bad start when i said i wouldnt drill 50 mm hole through his joist for a shower waste as he had bought the wrong shower tray

 

[Destroyer2813]

The amonut of times you get rear exit toilets is ridiculos had one once were the customer had brought everything an when it went to get fitted surprise surprise rear exit (soil had to go to the right) but i cant return it was her answer cant u just cut it out for the pipe :banghead:. No was my answer cos if it smashes youll blame me i suggest u get another. come back two days later to find square cut out the side of the toilet.

 

[Ian10261]

Ive just walk of a job i started last weekcustard had two painters living in his half finished house and they wanted hot water but the imersion was n od he asked me how much to change it so i said as i was there anyway £40 plus parts he said it was to much so i left it came in monday and he has broken the cylinder quoted 550 to replace the 48x18 cylinder which is out of the ark with tapping for coil right at the top and bottom so got to alter heating pipes he said no so i just said ok and put the phone down he phones back saying he didnt like my moiney grabbing attitude and best if he finds another plumber to which ive said fine just need to get remainder of owed money now
we got of to a bad start when i said i wouldnt drill 50 mm hole through his joist for a shower waste as he had bought the wrong shower tray

What must it be like having to go through life being totally arrogant, ignorant and stupid to name but a few eh? Ask him that question when you got your money but he probably wont be able to answer coz he's too thick.

 

[Phil]

The amonut of times you get rear exit toilets is ridiculos had one once were the customer had brought everything an when it went to get fitted surprise surprise rear exit (soil had to go to the right) but i cant return it was her answer cant u just cut it out for the pipe :banghead:. No was my answer cos if it smashes youll blame me i suggest u get another. come back two days later to find square cut out the side of the toilet.

Nice!!

I bet they'd cut the hole too tight aswell! How did he do it, angle grinder?

 

[Destroyer2813]

As far a i know Phil yes certainly looked like it least it worked though boxed in at the side so couldnt see the cut fortuantly

 

[ADM360]

A lot of the problem with the customer buying from the 'shed is they see a nicely installed suite on display with tiles and flooring etc and it looks oh soooo theres nowt to itvery nice.

Had this before!! Thats not how it looked in the show room!! I asked how she thought the water got to the taps? and how once the basin was full of water it went away? after a bit of though on her side and more explianing from me she was happyish.

 

[stevetheplumber]

i actually had a similar argument after fitting a combi customer didnt like the 5 pipes running down the wall and she showed me the brochure picture for the boiler which was pipeless

 

[ADM360]

The amonut of times you get rear exit toilets is ridiculos had one once were the customer had brought everything an when it went to get fitted surprise surprise rear exit (soil had to go to the right) but i cant return it was her answer cant u just cut it out for the pipe :banghead:. No was my answer cos if it smashes youll blame me i suggest u get another. come back two days later to find square cut out the side of the toilet.

I had this exact problem with a customer, which after i'd explained that he would require a toilet that would allow for a side entry, he came back and said he'd found the one's he really wanted and they were fully back to wall! which as I began to speak he said that he had spoken to the sales people at the show room who had assured him that side entry would not be a problem cuase the plumber could "easly cut it to allow for side entry", at which point I said that it would not be this plumber that was going to set about a very expensive piece of vitrous china with an angle grinder!! if he wanted to risk it I would fit it after he cut it, but I would have nothing to do with cutting it!! funnily enough he went back to the show room and picked out a new pan!!

 

[secret squirrel]

What I've said to customers in the past 'if you don't want to see any pipework at all its easy, we can blue tooth the water to the appliance for you'

'Really'

'NO!'

Then I either get called a sarcastic 'BLEEP' or that's quite funny!, If I'm on a really bad day, I just say 'what did the man at B & Q say to do'

 

[AWheating]

did a counsil flat heating once and on day one i ripped out and hung new boiler and rads, day two i started to to pipe up new system as per normal when the tennant when bonkers, started to shout about having pipework run around skirting level to rads. After alot of shouting and him telling me his mate has all his pipework hidden and he wanted the same, he asked his mate to come around to explain it too me. When his mate turned up he looked around and said " my flats has electric space heating, i dont have gas" to which the tennant replied " oh, so can my radiators explode if they use gas?"

What a Muppet!! lets just say i made little effort to keep the pipework tidy and level!

 

[bigboy]

recently installed a new plumbing system in a 5 bedroom house, everything brand new, boiler, unvented 3 new bathrooms 1 ensuite. And new heating system 2 zones.
Firstly boss wanted me to use existing waste and drainage, told him impossible as all locations in 2 bathrooms have changed and the new ensuite was a bedroom. told him we need side entry pans, ignored me and bought bathstore back to wall pans, then bought basin with a chrome frame so all wastes had to be concealed, told after new floor been laid. told him pipes should be in 22mm except tails teed off for appliances actually did the loading units, ignored me and had to install 15mm. then told him 2 weeks before 1st fix drainiage and external soil stack need to be fitted ignored me now wants me to do second fix with just tails for drainage , now the best bit, gave me a bath for ensuite which is a show piece bath as it has no legs and is designed to be away from a wall and a hidden waste which must be concealed in the floor, and installed from under the floor, best bit is bath was only given once floor had underfloor heating laid and the floor finished by his builders, told them not to lay heating under appliances but there response was what do i know im a plumber, also then had to move rad positions about 5 times no joke, every week customer changed her mind, also must of replumbed the two bathrooms at least 3 times each as boss and customer changed theire mind again and again again. almost walked out, then realised im still gettin paid and no skin off my nose, boss dont want to listen and the foreman couldnt manage to organise the building of a dog kennel let alone a house refurb. i wont even tell u about the gas pipe scenario, any way all a learning curve, on how not to lose my temper and just smile,

the real icing on the cake though was, left pan and cistern dressed in final position no supply pipe connected to cistrrn and no waste visibly connected, go in on monday morning and some degenerate inbread animal has urinated in the brand new toilet, refused to clean out of principal,sais whoever ****ed in it can clean it or wait till its all connected,

sorry venting over

 

[Guest123]

i actually had a similar argument after fitting a combi customer didnt like the 5 pipes running down the wall and she showed me the brochure picture for the boiler which was pipeless

LOL, just like the bathroom suites in B&Q which will of course "easily fit any bathroom" just ask the "knowledgable" sales people there. Just finished one where the so called straight changeover, had 60 year old imperial pipes, lead wastes, copper and brass traps and before the tiles had to go on, the wall had to be rebuilt as it was in such a mess.
Yep every day I get these straight changeover requests. Don't know if people are trying to pull a fast one and hoping to get an installation done as cheaply as nowt, or are these people genuinely unaware in what is really involved? I blame a lot on the slick sales tactics and nice clean perfect displays in the big sheds.

Funny this one.... in our local B&Q they are siliconing down the lids on display cisterns to stop customers nicking the contents!

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

...
Yep every day I get these straight changeover requests. Don't know if people are trying to pull a fast one and hoping to get an installation done as cheaply as nowt, or are these people genuinely unaware in what is really involved? I blame a lot on the slick sales tactics and nice clean perfect displays in the big sheds.

As someone who is not a plumber I think i can more often see the customers point of view - when Mr TP comes home with these sorts of stories and annoying comments from customers -
Yes I think many people are totally unaware of whats involved and would be surprised if they knew.
And those Shed Salesmen add to the problem.

I remember Mr TP having a big arguement with a salesman from Bathstore. Mr TP had been to the customers house and is a plumber - but salesman insited that his design for the bathroom would work best and Mr TP's job is "just" to fit it not to give advice on a better layout!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

The amonut of times you get rear exit toilets is ridiculos had one once were the customer had brought everything an when it went to get fitted surprise surprise rear exit (soil had to go to the right) but i cant return it was her answer cant u just cut it out for the pipe :banghead:. No was my answer cos if it smashes youll blame me i suggest u get another. come back two days later to find square cut out the side of the toilet.

did you not ask how did they do it ???????????

 

[Phil]

I had a similar dispute with Bathstore,

Bathstore manager:

"No, this 1.0 bar rated shower WILL work in their house"

Vented system, upstairs bathroom, low ceilings. If I fitted that, there would be nothing but a dribble from showerhead and who's fault would it be? Mine.