has my boss gone nuts?

[holty]

just started work for a new company trying to make its name.went to an emergency last sat, on a chaff britony 80,dhw/ch thermistor housing,it was leaking on the dhw side so just isolated, till replacement part came during the week.my boss charged 35+vat for emergency,then to go back and replace the thermistor housing he only charged 65+vat surely thats not right.i never have and never will own my own buisness so dont no much about pricing, but just wandering if this is right or would some of you charged more.ps sorry to the home owner but we all have to make a living.

 

[lor]

sound too cheap to me

 

[JohnD]

maybe he's working on the idea that £100 would have been fair if it could be fixed in a single call, and the customer should not be penalised because you hadn't got the right part on the van?

It would be a bit cruel to charge the customer £100 for your first visit if you hadn't fixed the problem. The customer could reasonably have disputed it "What am I paying for? You haven't fixed it. And I've been without hot water for a week"

And he's trying to build a reputation.
Each satisfied customer is worth hundreds of pounds spent on advertising. Each dissatisfied customer, however...

 

[Agile]

I needed a plumber in Cornwall to do a simple and reoccuring drain unblock on 4" soil drain near Newquayabout 2002. Would take about 30 min on site.

Plumber charged £7.50 an hour but insisted on a TWO hour payment before he went!

It all depends on the local rates and competition!

In London we charge a fixed price plus parts of £84 however many visits that needs. But then London can mean waiting in a traffic jam for two hours and then 20 minutes to find a vacant parking meter.

His charge of £100 is MORE than we would charge in London!

I doubt you would want to work in London! Cornwall has many advantages apart from expensive water supplies.

Tony

 

[holty]

thanks for the replys guys. yes i can understand what you mean agile i from near manchester originally. and trust me workin down here is a god send .you can even leave your van doors unopened with your sat nav telling itself to nick me.and get on a job in time, its bad pay down here but worth it.thanks for the input.

 

[Agile]

Dan popped into shop to buy a newspaper and just left a duster over satnav and it was gone when he came out of shop.

I had mine nicked from car parked on a client's private forecourt even with the alarm sounding!

Tony

 

[holty]

it a shame really learnt my trade down here under an old essex boy.he used to tell me how travelling down a 1 mile road would take him 1-2 hours and how not to leave tools anywhere.couldnt cope with off loading my van every 10 mins, then worrying that all the money iv put into my tools, some thieving t£$t is selling them for a laugh. my hat goes off too anyone who works in them conditions, cause it must make work, tenfold harder

 

[Agile]

It is a lot harder and you have to keep your wits about you all the time with your tools and the parking wardens etc.

Also the propertion of customers who are hell bend on not paying is so much higher.

I doubt anyone working in Cornwall gets more than one bounced cheque in a year. Even then its probably replaced if you ask the customer.

In London I expect 15% of customers would try to avoid paying but we cut that down a lot by asking for a cash payment in advance for all work in tenanted premises. Still end up losing 4-5% from non payers!

Tony

 

[breezer]

Agile, you dont work for pimlico do you?

 

[namsag]

Must say when i drive in cities and towns on the really large side i think this would drive me mental if i had to work and drive in it everyday.

Takes me no more than ten mins to get to a job due to a good road network also just about everyone wants to pay me cash even when i say just give me a cheque to save them having a lot of money hanging about the house..
And touch wood only been done for £50 in 6 years and that was a landlord

 

[Nige F]

Must say when i drive in cities and towns on the really large side i think this would drive me mental if i had to work and drive in it everyday.

Takes me no more than ten mins to get to a job due to a good road network also just about everyone wants to pay me cash even when i say just give me a cheque to save them having a lot of money hanging about the house..
And touch wood only been done for £50 in 6 years and that was a landlord

You wann try Shytty Sussex takes an hour to get 20 miles on the cart trax round here .Then you`re faced with City-like conditions when you get to the town ......Trust me ,it`s the Worst of both worlds

 

[chrishutt]

Wherever you live and work, you must decide how much time you want to spend travelling to and from jobs and then decline any work which involves spending more time.

Because I live in a city with quite congested roads I limit my working range to what can be accessed within about 15 minutes, which means roughly a 2 mile radius round here. Most of my work is less than 10 minutes away.

 

[JohnD]

how big is the city in St. Pierre and Miquelon?

 

[chrishutt]

how big is the city in St. Pierre and Miquelon?

Bigger than anything you've got in Hampshire.

 

[JohnD]

I think not.