Did I pay too much?

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Rldev

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Wow that is some interesting stuff Terry. You have quite a few intersting stories:) The good news for me is that my neighbor has agreed to do my work for a very reasonable price. He is not a licensed plumber, but he is extremely good, well educated and a stickler for details. I have seen him do many plumbing related jobs and he did install my outdoor gas line for my BBQ. He used to build houses in Vermont. He is actually overseeing a reroof for me this weekend. What a great neighbor:)
 

Plumguy

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Terry said:
I could still knock a hole through a 8" foundation in five sledgehammer blows or less though. When my arm was good.

I'm no stranger to a sledgehammer, but, I would of liked to seen that!!

Of course you did'nt mention if the cement was dry!! :D
 

Cal

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Terry,

LOVED your describtion of apprenticeship !! Mine was VERY similar . First 6 months pick and shovel replacing broken sewers and water. In reference to another quote here,,,I felt sick as hell for the first 3+ months,then I've rarely gotten sick in the last 25 years.I believe we DO build up immunities or quit.

Yes,it was VERY hard but worth the fight.I would like to see more young people in the trades.Hope we don't run out of good people just because it's hard work !!
 

hj

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It's just when people start charging over a hundred thirty dollars an hour(no matter what their field), I want to see some qualifications. And if I am paying someone over $1000 a day I wan't to see more then just a regular license.

And what kind of "special license" might that be? Does your area have a "super plumber" classification? If not then you may just be paying for a more qualified "regular" plumber, or maybe a better one who charges a bit more, but completes the job faster so that the bottom line is better for you. I tell customers that a $50.00 plumber who takes 4 hours to do the job is more expensive than $100.00 one who takes an hour, or an hour and a half at most. And you have a better chance of getting the quality you want with the more expensive plumber. I also tell customers that if I am too expensive, then I know a lot of cheaper plumbers that they can call. Few take me up on it.
 

Rldev

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Unfortunately HJ, price does not neccessarily equate to quality. My area has "Master Plumbing certification". I have had 3 plumbers in my house. Two were horrible and one was good. The price was about the same for all of them. Just because someone charges more does not mean they are better or faster. I bet there are indeed some people out there that charge $50 an hour and are as good as you are. Probably not common though. And this is no slight on you or your skills. Where I live, most trade persons are very busy. There is endless construction going on. Most contracter quotes are very high because they can charge what they want, there is high demand. If you take it, great. If not there is someone who will pay. I have a couple of friends that work that work for contracting companies and they always review my quotes. I just received a quote for my 8.5 x 6 bathroom remodel. How about 20K without fixtures and tiles:) LMAO! I have had many different people work on my home in the last 3.5 years. I have found no definitive correlation between price and skill/quality. Some folks are good, some are not. Some are better at the business end, some are not. To summize, you don't always get what you pay for.
 
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Terry

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Plumguy,
I was plumbing new homes, so the foundations weren't that old.
Previous to someone telling me it was possible in seven blows, I tried harder.
Five became mine. I'm competitive, I'll admit that.
In softball I hit a gounder to the second baseman that hit his glove and went straight up in the air.
I rounded first and thought of taking second, thinking I could make it before the ball came back down. Naw, better to be safe on first.

Another time, I hit the second basemen and the ball ricocheted off his legs into right field foul territory. Easy double.

Rldev,
Having your neighbor work for you is always good.
I wish my neigbors would work for me in their spare time.
Anytime you can get neigbors to work under the table you can get good deals. I don't really want "my" workers doing it though.
I'm sure my customers would love it if I were to give them the "neighbor rate".
Years ago people from church would invite me over for dinner, "Don't forget your tools!"
One of my more recent churches had me replace the plumbing for the entire church. I chose Toto toilets and urinals. This way I don't have to do anymore plumbing when I go to church. It always works. I talked to a customer that works for the Port Authority for the airport. He says they have the least trouble with the Toto fixtures there.

I plumbed my friends new home, and at some point he says he will side a home for me. I don't know when that will be. It's banked I guess.

I help some people for free, but I choose the ones I help.
People in need I've helped out too.
 
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Dunbar Plumbing

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I've seen that $130 figure show up here numerous times since I posted it. :D I like the fact that only a select few considered that high. Here is how it played out today: That customer I charged $130 an hour told two of his neighbors today when they had a leak in their ceiling to call me for plumbing services. Found the leak, turned out to be a condensation leak off the AC coil pan leaking right at the connection to it, not a clogged drain. Took awhile to find it since the water travelled 16 feet from its original location. Customer affected by damage was impressed by the work I did the week prior, no matter what the charge was. I now have a kitchen sink faucet to install for the couple that had the AC leak, passed out 3 cards upon request.
As Terry mentioned, a great deal goes into running a business behind the scenes, sometimes I think the easy part is actually doing the work. The rest is just management. You're PR comes with your approach to new customers. I believe those that tend to whine and cry about charges usually have the issue of jealousy, wishing they would of applied themselves through life to make a wage similar to plumbers. I for one dodged the $50,000 education and student loans and drove home the point that if you apply yourself, become a good businessman without leaching off others, you will succeed. Of course I had to go through an apprenticeship, licensing and certifications which all cost money. None of which ended up in loans drawing interest. I for one am thanking those neighbors all the way to the bank. "What's in your wallet?" $$$
 
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Dunbar Plumbing

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Well, set the Kitchen sink faucet today and made $112 and the customer said that the beginning of next month she wants me to change out the vanity faucets to single handle instead of 2 handle faucets because of her Rumatoid Arthritis. (I know that is spelled wrong, who cares) I just told her to pick up what she likes and we'll take care of her. I believe here soon enough I will become a household name in that condo unit. Just wish I lived a little bit closer. (17 miles one way)
 

Master Plumber Mark

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terry you said it all

but something you forgot to mentioin about
running a plumbing business......THE BIG LET DOWN

the dummies working for you get paid wether
you ever get your money or not....
and they really dont care
about your troubles....all they want is a check on pay day.

So when a builder goes belly up and owes you 30k
or simply wont pay you , that has to be factored into
the whole picture too.

Those "billible hours" really shrink
when that happens...

as far as what you said about the process of becomming a plumber
you are right. ---- but the testing and time required
is almost too hard for the idiots that
consider themselves plumber apprentices today.
In My Opinion. Most of them can barely read and write.



sometimes I feel like going out to the zoo and
stealing a orangatang monkey, then just putting him
in work clothes to drive around with me all day.

(clint eastwood did that in some of his movies)

as long as half his butt is hanging out
I dont think anyone would notice the difference.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

it is very good karma to help others,

and I help little old ladies and the elderly all the time...but never freinds.

I have found that to be the best way to lose them.

I have found that "bartering out" somehting with
freinds seems to be the best way to end the freindship and
not see them anymore...
it never works cause it seems that
once they got their favor done, they never keep their word
or simply forget what they agreed to do or they
they simply crawl back into the woodwork.

I suppose as long as you look at all the favors
as "good deeds" that add up over time I guess its all ok.

I got lots of + credits right now in the "bank of good deeds."

I hope they carry over to the next life, cause I am pretty sure
I aint gonna see one red cent come back to me this time through.
 
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Rldev

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"Years ago people from church would invite me over for dinner, "Don't forget your tools!"

That is classic Terry. It's u always have to give back. I do the same for my neighbor with electronics.
 

Dunbar Plumbing

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Repeat business is awesome!

RUGGED said:
That customer I charged $130 an hour told two of his neighbors today when they had a leak in their ceiling to call me for plumbing services. Found the leak, turned out to be a condensation leak off the AC coil pan leaking right at the connection to it, not a clogged drain. Took awhile to find it since the water travelled 16 feet from its original location. Customer affected by damage was impressed by the work I did the week prior, no matter what the charge was. I now have a kitchen sink faucet to install for the couple that had the AC leak, passed out 3 cards upon request.



There is a response from me following this one stating I installed that kitchen sink faucet.


Fast forward to today, 9-27-05


Customer I charged $130/hour called yesterday "thinking" I had a leak in the piping I worked on that night of the emergency. I probably will not charge for my time yesterday because here is what I have to do today: replace his garbage disposal that isn't working, replace a Delta single handle that "WAS" leaking into the cabinet, rework all the drain piping since the new disposal is going to change all the piping underneath, along with replacing a basket strainer that is/was leaking @ one time. Pretty much I have a few hours coming to me today for all this work. And to top it off, the lady I did the kitchen sink faucet install as a spinoff, she told the customer I am doing all this work for to have me call her. I am now having to install a refrigerator icemaker line for a future delivery in October so that the delivery guys have good non-leaking line to connect to when they get there. This is my last posting referring to this subject since I know that my repeat business off of just one call @ $130 an hour is generating income and will continue. I'm starting to feel like the batteries in the energizer bunny. Keeps going,going,going,going and going with all the work/referrals that are coming out of this.
 
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