some people

[hammers4spanner]

Done some heating work about three weeks ago which resulted me putting some cleaner in at the end of the job , explained to cust if they want me back to drain it out its an extra .

Three weeks later get a call to come round to drain the cleaner out but customer insists after seven in evening .

Well turn up after seven last night its a big old system takes me about 90 mins all done 15 odd big rads over three floors. Took a while to heat up and get back going customer all happy until i ask for payment which is all of 40 quid!!!!

She's 'what you mean you want money?' Have i not payed in the last job you done? I think your trying it on !!!

I explain to her that i charge each visit and spent 90 mins doing 'work', also that she was told on last visit it would be another charge to drain also its after 7 pm in eve and £40 is really cheap .

Well i have never seen anyone so annoyed and begrudgingly had over £40 in my life.

I swear to god some people really think our services are pitta or free talk about unappreciated

 

[oz-plumber]

I hope you ran your car key down the side of her car on the way out.

Not that I've ever done that before.

 

[Riley]

I've just had an awesome one bloke wants me to hide pipe in wall that he's just had plastered without damaging it. He said "can't you just thread it through". I despair sometimes.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Thread it through WTF!!!!!

 

[MarkAqua]

I've just had an awesome one bloke wants me to hide pipe in wall that he's just had plastered without damaging it. He said "can't you just thread it through". I despair sometimes.

Can you not then?

Some people, honestly!

 

[Riley]

I did have to choose my words carefully

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Ungrateful cowbag...

 

[cr0ft]

I think you are too cheap. If you price yourself higher you will instantly lose customers like this and attract ones who actually do value your time and effort.

 

[hammers4spanner]

I think you are too cheap. If you price yourself higher you will instantly lose customers like this and attract ones who actually do value your time and effort.

I know was to cheap

 

[rocketmanbkk]

I don't & won't do evening jobs.

I've been offered silly money to do jobs, £5 to do this or that.

Custards are idiots sometimes.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

I've just had an awesome one bloke wants me to hide pipe in wall that he's just had plastered without damaging it. He said "can't you just thread it through". I despair sometimes.

Tell him to phone Paul 'fecking' Daniels.

 

[TFGplumbing]

I think you are too cheap. If you price yourself higher you will instantly lose customers like this and attract ones who actually do value your time and effort.

Very True That

 

[Leo21]

Lesson learnt, be clear and repeat. And don't do jobs after 5 let alone 7!

 

[stevetheplumber]

i went to a job the otherday move a toilet aprox 1 m along the wall, wasnt difficultas as it was fed from the sside anyway so metre of 4 inch coupling new bent pan con bit of 15mm i said 120 guy said i was thinking about 30 quid i said bye

 

[Leo21]

i went to a job the otherday move a toilet aprox 1 m along the wall, wasnt difficultas as it was fed from the sside anyway so metre of 4 inch coupling new bent pan con bit of 15mm i said 120 guy said i was thinking about 30 quid i said bye

And people wonder why I don't want to quote in the evenings.

 

[Riley]

Had one today, went to quote for a boiler replacement. First question she asked was are you cheap to which I always quip that I'm reassuringly expensive. She then said oh I'm ️looking for a cheap job but could I give her a quote anyway. Don't think I'll bother somehow!

 

[cr0ft]

And the good British public wanders why cowboy builders do so well!

 

[Rickster123]

Glad I'm employed these days! Don't miss all that grief.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Glad I'm employed these days! Don't miss all that grief.

Its the amount of deductions from the pay packet that puts me off from employment

 

[Rickster123]

Its the amount of deductions from the pay packet that puts me off from employment

And the harder you work the more you pay. I try not to think about it.

 

[Whyme]

Not particularly close relatives are worse..Straight swapped a bathroom for my sister in law once to keep the wife happy, she was struggling for cash so i told her how much i'd usually charge (weekend job). She says oh dear i cant afford that so i stupidly felt sorry for her and said well just sort me out what you can afford...I got a envelope on the monday pushed through my door..£60....She now gets told to do one...

 

[woodsy]

Feels like it's getting worse, everybody wants your knowledge, experience but think you work for a fiver an hr, had it this week, can I fit only a boiler but tell her exactly what's needed for her to purchase/supply the boiler as her brother can get good deals. Shocked when I said no, you buy, you organise.

 

[Riley]

People just constantly think all trades are gonna rip them off. In my area there is a gang of 5 foreign lads that come in and do a boiler swap in three hours. One of them is gas safe but their work is horrendous. Actually looks like the boiler is thrown at the wall with glue on the back. Two customers ive visited afterwards have said they felt intimidated as all 5 turned up to quote and lent on her for a start date. They are throwing in biasis Screwfix deal for £900 but doing three to four a day easy money when you hit it like that and have no standards.

 

[kris]

I'd double the cost , big time , ungrateful ball bag

 

[Riley]

I'd double the cost , big time , ungrateful ball bag

Love it!!!! I'm not calling enough people ball bag these days :smile:

 

[Dotty]

Its the amount of deductions from the pay packet that puts me off from employment

as opposed to one huge payment at the end of the year?

And the harder you work the more you pay. I try not to think about it.

Which makes it different from SE how?

 

[Rickster123]

as opposed to one huge payment at the end of the year?



Which makes it different from SE how?

how much is national insurance when you are SE?! Like 4 quid a week or something pathetic. and you don't pay 40% tax and you know it. So it's different. Ok charlie big bananas?!

 

[cr0ft]

If you don't mind doing another tax return someone working through a limited company should be much better off tax wise than someone employed.

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Not particularly close relatives are worse..Straight swapped a bathroom for my sister in law once to keep the wife happy, she was struggling for cash so i told her how much i'd usually charge (weekend job). She says oh dear i cant afford that so i stupidly felt sorry for her and said well just sort me out what you can afford...I got a envelope on the monday pushed through my door..£60....She now gets told to do one...

£60????? she's taken the **** big time...

 

[PlumbBobBob]

£60????? she's taken the **** big time...

i would have said "thanks for the deposit, when can you drop the rest round?"

 

[IDCHAPPY]

It just makes me angry, i had a perfect example last night, potterton netaheat buggered, gave them a quote within 1 day and ordered the boiler but asked for 50% up front(standard for all 1K + jobs).
Asked her about which card she was paying for as i pay 3% on credit(on a £2400 job that's £72) and she pursed the lips when i said that's £1236... i don't mind paying 20p on debit cards but 3% is a different ballgame.
Being a stupido I only charged her £1210... she's getting a flomasta filter and horstmann wireless stat now though :lol:

 

[hammers4spanner]

as opposed to one huge payment at the end of the year?



Which makes it different from SE how?

What you guys pay in national insurance takes your weekly deductions around the 30% mark more or less, whereas SE pay 20% plus a fiver per week in national insurance.

 

[Millsy 82]

What you guys pay in national insurance takes your weekly deductions around the 30% mark more or less, whereas SE pay 20% plus a fiver per week in national insurance.

I thought national insurance was calculated from your final earnings? So if a self employed person earns 50k per year they pay exactly the same tax and national insurance as an employed?

As far as I'm aware the only additional tax comes in when you are allowed to use the van outside of work.

 

[village idiot]

Done some heating work about three weeks ago which resulted me putting some cleaner in at the end of the job , explained to cust if they want me back to drain it out its an extra .

I swear to god some people really think our services are pitta or free talk about unappreciated

hammers, it is my opinion that you did not think that job out properly? If I were to do such a job, I will charge for the return trip to drain down the cleaner or charge for the job done and not dose system with cleaner?

Why dose the system with cleaner and give customer the option to pay for cleaner to be removed through draining down? Let us asume the customer decided to do nothing and after say 4 months the boiler packed up due to the length of time cleaner was left in system. She will quickly lay the blame at your feet.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Wrong clearly told her second visit is a charge for cleaner to be removed down to customers then . The amount I charged was my fault however she chose to ignore what I told her.

 

[village idiot]

Not disputing what you told her, just saying I would have charged it differently.
- Charge as I expect to do/finish the job. If system is to be dosed with cleaner, then I will need to return at a later date to drain down, flush, refill and dose with inhibitant. On that basis, I would have charged on that visiit as opposed to expecting a later visit for another payment. Just my view.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Not disputing what you told her, just saying I would have charged it differently.
- Charge as I expect to do/finish the job. If system is to be dosed with cleaner, then I will need to return at a later date to drain down, flush, refill and dose with inhibitant. On that basis, I would have charged on that visiit as opposed to expecting a later visit for another payment. Just my view.

I have done it like that in the past but on return visits it felt like i was losing time and not being paid for it however i had been paid . I like to be paid per visit so feels like i'm earning probably same as a garage they charge per visit works for them and works for me.

 

[village idiot]

I have done it like that in the past but on return visits it felt like i was losing time and not being paid for it however i had been paid . I like to be paid per visit so feels like i'm earning probably same as a garage they charge per visit works for them and works for me.

Glad to hear it works for you. All I am saying is: I would have priced the job as a ''package''.
Okay madam, this is how the job will be done: I will dose with cleaner, then come back in 5 or 7 days to drain down, flush system, refill and dose with inhibitant. That will cost you £££.
I will never dose a customer's system with cleaner then give them the option of having me back to drain it out.