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You know sometimes a day starts off ok then...
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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...progressively gets worse, but right at the end of it something happens that makes you think, "Hmmm, well I never expected that!"
That was yesterday.  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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I had a relatively simple job to do yesterday in putting a bathroom extractor fan in in a downstairs flat, but this house had the toughest bricks I've ever had to drill through and the whole job took 6 hours. Not too bad considering my rates are £30/hour BUT I am in the middle of a rewire at another property and my intention was to do the bathroom job in a couple of hours then get back to the rewire as I was holding the decorators up. That never happened, and I finished the bathroom job at 4pm and went to the pub for an hour until we collected the kids from nursery at 5pm.
Whilst there I got chatting to a builder who wants wiring for two extensions and a house rewire doing, and then he introduced me to his mate who was selling tobacco at half price. So there I was with £180 in my pocket, the builder buying me drinks for a favour I'd done him three weeks ago, some cheap tobacco on the bar and Siren happy with the £100 I just gave her to get her hair done. And on top of that the customer who's house I'm rewiring phoned and said it suited her that I didn't return that day as she'd had to go out anyway.
And I got a blowjob. (I jokingly asked Siren if it was for the £100 I just gave her but she said "You'll never know, will you, but for future reference, I'm happy to suck your cock if you give me money for it!"). Dirty cow. Horny though.
THAT was yesterday.
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Whenever I get a quote from a builder/tradesman I do so on his estimate of the time the job will take and not on the time it turns out to do the job....so if he takes longer to do a job like putting in an extractor fan it's down to him and not my purse....
Example; I have just had an ensuite shower cubicle moved across to another side of the ensuite room, the company quoted me for the job which was £280 plus materials...but instead of the one day plus another day re-tiling it took them Three days in total as they miscalculated the extent of the job.
They still stuck to their original quote of £280 plus materials, and I would never pay for an over run on a DIY job as you are open to possible abuse.... |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Whenever I get a quote from a builder/tradesman I do so on his estimate of the time the job will take and not on the time it turns out to do the job....so if he takes longer to do a job like putting in an extractor fan it's down to him and not my purse....
Example; I have just had an ensuite shower cubicle moved across to another side of the ensuite room, the company quoted me for the job which was £280 plus materials...but instead of the one day plus another day re-tiling it took them Three days in total as they miscalculated the extent of the job.
They still stuck to their original quote of £280 plus materials, and I would never pay for an over run on a DIY job as you are open to possible abuse...."
It's impossible to quote for things you can't see, such as hidden cable runs that need to go through/over joists in the ceiling, or solid concrete walls hidden behind a thin layer of brick/plaster. I suspect that many homeowners know their own houses well enough but neglect to mention it when being offered a quote thereby getting a tradesman to do all the hard work and paying him as little as possible.
I make it clear to my customers that I won't rip them off but if I come across unforeseen obstacles/problems I will adjust the charge accordingly. The customer yesterday could see AND HEAR me drilling for TWO hours trying to get through her bloody wall, so it's not like I was out in the van pretending to look for non-existent items to pad the time out. It also took me two hours to find a route through her ceiling void to power the fan and the £60 that cost her was a lot less than the £300 she'd have paid to have her ceiling skimmed after I'd channelled it out to run my cable. It's worth bearing all this in mind when getting prices in for work and not try to scam the poor bloke who turns up to do an honest day's work. |
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So do you always charge by the hour and never quote for the job?
I can completely understand that on an emergency repair, but to be honest I have never put building/diy work out for quotes only to be told their hourly rate and it will take as long as it takes and will charge me accordingly.
Yes I have had overuns on major building work in the past, and the budget contingency has had to be adjusted accordingly, but I have always worked to quotes on simple trade works and I don't consider it 'scamming' a tradesman if he has miscalculated a job. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"So do you always charge by the hour and never quote for the job?
I can completely understand that on an emergency repair, but to be honest I have never put building/diy work out for quotes only to be told their hourly rate and it will take as long as it takes and will charge me accordingly.
Yes I have had overuns on major building work in the past, and the budget contingency has had to be adjusted accordingly, but I have always worked to quotes on simple trade works and I don't consider it 'scamming' a tradesman if he has miscalculated a job."
My customers seem happy to pay an hourly rate but they seem even happier when I tell them I don't charge a minimum call out rate. It takes as long as it takes and I charge them for the time I'm there, even if it's at midnight on an emergency call. I've had a lot of repeat business that way and it suits me - and them - to be upfront about my charges. Some people ask for a price for a job to which I always give them a price that will more than compensate me if it goes over what I think it should take, but I make it clear that if they go down that route they'll pay more than paying by hourly rate.
Take tomorrow for example, I have an Electrical Condition Report to do on a mobile catering unit. The guy asked for a total price and I said two hours: £60. He said great as the last guy charged him £400. If there are any problems that have to be rectified he knows it's extra to do that as it will take longer, but how can I know if there are any problems until I test it. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Wishy, do you charge for travelling time?"
No, I don't. I found that incorporating travel and fuel into my hourly rate kept things simple. I won't take on a job that takes me an hour to get there if there's only a couple of hours work, it isn't cost effective to do that and if I'm asked then I refer them to a local electrician who is a member of the same scheme as me (Elecsa). If a job is a good distance away but likely to span a few days then it's worth taking on so long as I stay in a B&B overnight. For those jobs I apply a daily rate of £200+materials. |
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By *icketysplitsWoman
over a year ago
Way over Yonder, that's where I'm bound |
"Wishy, do you charge for travelling time?
No, I don't. I found that incorporating travel and fuel into my hourly rate kept things simple. I won't take on a job that takes me an hour to get there if there's only a couple of hours work, it isn't cost effective to do that and if I'm asked then I refer them to a local electrician who is a member of the same scheme as me (Elecsa). If a job is a good distance away but likely to span a few days then it's worth taking on so long as I stay in a B&B overnight. For those jobs I apply a daily rate of £200+materials."
What if I provide the B&B? I'll even get brown sauce in for you. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Wishy, do you charge for travelling time?
No, I don't. I found that incorporating travel and fuel into my hourly rate kept things simple. I won't take on a job that takes me an hour to get there if there's only a couple of hours work, it isn't cost effective to do that and if I'm asked then I refer them to a local electrician who is a member of the same scheme as me (Elecsa). If a job is a good distance away but likely to span a few days then it's worth taking on so long as I stay in a B&B overnight. For those jobs I apply a daily rate of £200+materials.
What if I provide the B&B? I'll even get brown sauce in for you."
hmmm, brown sauce, now ya talking my language!! None of that ketchup malarkey, it kills a decent fried breakfast! |
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By *icketysplitsWoman
over a year ago
Way over Yonder, that's where I'm bound |
"Wishy, do you charge for travelling time?
No, I don't. I found that incorporating travel and fuel into my hourly rate kept things simple. I won't take on a job that takes me an hour to get there if there's only a couple of hours work, it isn't cost effective to do that and if I'm asked then I refer them to a local electrician who is a member of the same scheme as me (Elecsa). If a job is a good distance away but likely to span a few days then it's worth taking on so long as I stay in a B&B overnight. For those jobs I apply a daily rate of £200+materials.
What if I provide the B&B? I'll even get brown sauce in for you.
hmmm, brown sauce, now ya talking my language!! None of that ketchup malarkey, it kills a decent fried breakfast! "
I'll save up my jobs to make it worth your while. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I've just seen another thread. There's a free handyman this weekend so there'd be no need for me to get any brown sauce."
Oh cheers. You're so mercenary!! Sucker me in with promises of brown sauce and then, like a rat out of a sewer, whoosh! You're off after the first freebie that comes your way! I'm hurt! Hmmmmpf!   |
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By *icketysplitsWoman
over a year ago
Way over Yonder, that's where I'm bound |
"I've just seen another thread. There's a free handyman this weekend so there'd be no need for me to get any brown sauce.
Oh cheers. You're so mercenary!! Sucker me in with promises of brown sauce and then, like a rat out of a sewer, whoosh! You're off after the first freebie that comes your way! I'm hurt! Hmmmmpf! "
That's they way it crumbles cookie-wise. |
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