chipy
New Member
I'd like to address a few things here.
Yes i was given an estimate, but it wasn't written (there's even a spot for it on the work order). The most important thing i can note here was that it was assured if the job was done sooner it would be cheaper than estimated. The job was done 1 hour sooner..
If i am given an estimate, i expect it to be close; within 10%. If you can't produce an accurate estimate, you probably shouldn't be doing this kind of work or still have much to learn.
As others mentioned, a quote would be exact (as long as it is complete).
If are a professional plumber, you should have the tools (software/etc) to scan/itemize parts *as you take them off your truck*; for the good of you, your inventory, and customers. There are barcode scanners for cellphones, and you can start there. Even a pen and paper would be suitable. I won't explain how to build an industry here. Just because most are not competent at data entry doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing it, and that it shouldn't be done for customers.
Take a photo and mock-up a drawing; anything. A photo says a thousand words, and most plumbers could explain the job to the customer and themselves with a photo and overlay in a few minutes on a tablet. I saw those guys making decisions on the spot, and at one point, one of them had to go for parts nearby... Again, the degree of professionalism is something you choose. There are several industries besides plumbing where the culture of specification/documentation is severely lacking. The common "not good at drawing" is all too common.
I'm surprised how many professional contractors insist on not using email... Instead of wasting time on the phone (probably interrupting you on a job), we can share any amount of information both *instantly* and at our own pace, saving time (and what mostly sounds like aggravation) for both ends.
I believe they walked away with more than they should of. Will allow anyone to make their profit, but that's really part of their hourly rate that they set; not marking up part charges and adding mysterious service fees. 10-20% margin is reasonable, but in this case it much over 20% (at least 26%.. job was done sooner, remember?); which is a big number when you are working with bigger numbers. Sidebar: Anyone watch shark tank and get pissed at the margins? I do not buy those products (and apple) for that reason. Customers shouldn't be paying for marketing.
Aware there are con artists out there, and of my *6* estimates, 2 were ripoffs (using fear/etc), 1 didn't want to do it, and the other 3 gave a reasonable range.
Happy the job is done, but not counting my blessings, nor am I surprised about what i payed. It's a fairly simply formula: parts + labor (90-140$/hr) * hours + bullshit = cost. Obviously, reduce the bullshit.
IMO, that lead on pvc still still seeems stupid. Wouldn't expect a plumber to know about coefficients of thermal expansion. Aren't there gaskets for this? I believe the best option here was a no-hub as one of the plumbers offered, but they ended up taking it all the way down to the cleanout. There are pros and cons of each. I'll caulk it up an call it a day.
Lessons learned.
Yep.
Yes i was given an estimate, but it wasn't written (there's even a spot for it on the work order). The most important thing i can note here was that it was assured if the job was done sooner it would be cheaper than estimated. The job was done 1 hour sooner..
If i am given an estimate, i expect it to be close; within 10%. If you can't produce an accurate estimate, you probably shouldn't be doing this kind of work or still have much to learn.
As others mentioned, a quote would be exact (as long as it is complete).
If are a professional plumber, you should have the tools (software/etc) to scan/itemize parts *as you take them off your truck*; for the good of you, your inventory, and customers. There are barcode scanners for cellphones, and you can start there. Even a pen and paper would be suitable. I won't explain how to build an industry here. Just because most are not competent at data entry doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing it, and that it shouldn't be done for customers.
Take a photo and mock-up a drawing; anything. A photo says a thousand words, and most plumbers could explain the job to the customer and themselves with a photo and overlay in a few minutes on a tablet. I saw those guys making decisions on the spot, and at one point, one of them had to go for parts nearby... Again, the degree of professionalism is something you choose. There are several industries besides plumbing where the culture of specification/documentation is severely lacking. The common "not good at drawing" is all too common.
I'm surprised how many professional contractors insist on not using email... Instead of wasting time on the phone (probably interrupting you on a job), we can share any amount of information both *instantly* and at our own pace, saving time (and what mostly sounds like aggravation) for both ends.
I believe they walked away with more than they should of. Will allow anyone to make their profit, but that's really part of their hourly rate that they set; not marking up part charges and adding mysterious service fees. 10-20% margin is reasonable, but in this case it much over 20% (at least 26%.. job was done sooner, remember?); which is a big number when you are working with bigger numbers. Sidebar: Anyone watch shark tank and get pissed at the margins? I do not buy those products (and apple) for that reason. Customers shouldn't be paying for marketing.
Aware there are con artists out there, and of my *6* estimates, 2 were ripoffs (using fear/etc), 1 didn't want to do it, and the other 3 gave a reasonable range.
Happy the job is done, but not counting my blessings, nor am I surprised about what i payed. It's a fairly simply formula: parts + labor (90-140$/hr) * hours + bullshit = cost. Obviously, reduce the bullshit.
IMO, that lead on pvc still still seeems stupid. Wouldn't expect a plumber to know about coefficients of thermal expansion. Aren't there gaskets for this? I believe the best option here was a no-hub as one of the plumbers offered, but they ended up taking it all the way down to the cleanout. There are pros and cons of each. I'll caulk it up an call it a day.
Lessons learned.
Yep.
Last edited:
Are you a statistician by any chance?
