Was at end of my tether after a long, hard week. Every job yesterday tested my patience and sanity. I almost thought it was a set up. Then I walk into a inlet valve change which I'd driven for 45 mins to get to. Need piece of junk replaced with a fluidmaster, over flow cut down in height and new piping as old was under strain and leaking. Said £75. Picked the number off the top of my head but was roughly what I aim for. Perhaps £10 more than my min labour charge, plus parts, plus mark up but no great steal. She looked shocked at price. I immediately said 'feel free to have a think, you've got another loo as you say, maybe get another price, let me know after the weekend" in the most sincere, unthreatening way possible - because genuinely I wouldn't have taken much persuasion to leave and deal with the other two jobs I had booked (it was 3.30pm on a fri.)
To be fair they didn't know I'd driven 45 mins to get there so there's no justification for extra money on the price for that. But it is the south east and roughly the standard (edging toward top-end) price you'd expect to pay for that job.
She then backed down and said she'd prefer if I did it but would I mind bleeding all her rads and topping up her new combi afterwards for same price as the installer hadn't done so and they were all cold at the top. No prob I said.
I start work and I hear "New box is it?" From behind me. Turn to see angry looking husband.
"New what sorry?"
"New box, new...cistern, is it?"
"Ah, no. No. New inlet valve. And piping. And shorten the..."
"Why is it so expensive? How do you break it down in the labour and parts? The pounds and pennies."
"Well I don't. It's a fixed price which covers a multitude of..."
"It's too much money for this job though isn't it?"
I was in no mood. "I'll put it back together and leave you too it then." I turn and start re-attaching inlet piping. "Wish you'd said this before I began."
But I couldn't! I'd just undo inlet piping and it was cross threaded on inlet and needed wrenching to have undone it as far as I had. No way would it reseal. He kept growling behind me and then his wife reappeared and asked him to leave me alone. He walked away and she tried to persuade me to ignore him but I'd lost it. Nobody ever accuses me of ripping them off. It's happened maybe 3 times in 5 years. I won't work with that hanging in the air.
But I had no choice so I finished the job at top speed. But done properly. Then realised I'd shot myself in the foot because I'd finished it - even pausing to argue - in about 15 mins. So that's going to look great asking for £75. And I was dead-set I wasn't going to negotiate a reduced price. So I packed up and buggered off. No goodbye.
Felt odd but made sense in my head as the only route out at the time.
To be fair they didn't know I'd driven 45 mins to get there so there's no justification for extra money on the price for that. But it is the south east and roughly the standard (edging toward top-end) price you'd expect to pay for that job.
She then backed down and said she'd prefer if I did it but would I mind bleeding all her rads and topping up her new combi afterwards for same price as the installer hadn't done so and they were all cold at the top. No prob I said.
I start work and I hear "New box is it?" From behind me. Turn to see angry looking husband.
"New what sorry?"
"New box, new...cistern, is it?"
"Ah, no. No. New inlet valve. And piping. And shorten the..."
"Why is it so expensive? How do you break it down in the labour and parts? The pounds and pennies."
"Well I don't. It's a fixed price which covers a multitude of..."
"It's too much money for this job though isn't it?"
I was in no mood. "I'll put it back together and leave you too it then." I turn and start re-attaching inlet piping. "Wish you'd said this before I began."
But I couldn't! I'd just undo inlet piping and it was cross threaded on inlet and needed wrenching to have undone it as far as I had. No way would it reseal. He kept growling behind me and then his wife reappeared and asked him to leave me alone. He walked away and she tried to persuade me to ignore him but I'd lost it. Nobody ever accuses me of ripping them off. It's happened maybe 3 times in 5 years. I won't work with that hanging in the air.
But I had no choice so I finished the job at top speed. But done properly. Then realised I'd shot myself in the foot because I'd finished it - even pausing to argue - in about 15 mins. So that's going to look great asking for £75. And I was dead-set I wasn't going to negotiate a reduced price. So I packed up and buggered off. No goodbye.
Felt odd but made sense in my head as the only route out at the time.
