Getting the price just right

[mbelectric]

Being relatively new to the trade I kept my prices low to try and build up a customer base, this seemed to work as I most work I get seems to be through recommendations. However, the last 2 quotes I gave have not been followed up despite me still thinking it was a reasonable price. The last one was a recommendation made by my next door neighbour to his other neighbour who has just bought the house, this has left me feeling slightly embarrassed now as he obviously thinks I quoted too much.
Basically the house was owned by an old gentleman who died. The electrics are a mess with spurs off spurs and extension leads everywhere.

The guy wants to leave everything for now apart from putting a new kitchen in. I therefore had to quote for putting a new kitchen ring in, this consisted of:
- 5 white dbl sockets,
- 3 SFS + single sockets for appliances
- 1 sfs for boiler
- New Cooker circuit (with socket at switch)

As the guy didn''t want to pay for a PIR and full CU change (yet) I suggested a Henly Block and a new 2/3 way RCD CU for the new circuits.

The main earth and bondings would also have to be upgraded.

The CU is approx 12m from the kitchen with relatively easy access under the wooden floors.

I would do all the chasing but he would do the plastering afterwards.

He wanted it doing 'yesterday' and I said I could start 'tomorrow' (not much work on at the moment).

I quoted him £391 for all parts, labour, certifying and notifying.

At first this didn't sound too bad but he obviously thought it excessive. If I had quoted £200 he probably would have snapped my hands off and I would at least be earning SOME money instead of being sat at home writing this!

 

[Chri5]

Sick with it. Sounds more than reasonable and some folk just can't see sense.

Make sure you follow up on quotes, even if you don't 'win' the job you should try and retain a professional approach and ask each failed client for some dialogue.

Often it seems that the quotes are not the same, which is unfair since side by side comparisons should be either "singing from the same song book" or "apples for apples" NOT "apples for pears" so to speak.

Always remind them of your scheme membership, your warranty for works, the certificate production- some cheaper firms don't mention these items, we all know why

Wish a failed client well, and always keep the door open- it can pay dividends to do so !

Some will argue a moral stand, but sometimes it pays to suggest on the quote a discounted rate. Even if you want £25 ph and quote £28 ph and then discount 10%.

 

[electronicsuk]

I'm not even sure how you can afford to do it that cheap, never mind anyone else! No doubt you'll get a call in a month's time asking you back to the property, as soon as the cowboy has been and gone...

 

[nozspark]

Your price sounds OK..

You must have £130 ish in material costs and a day and a half worth of work, so when you add on the notification cost at say £10,, there's £250 left in it for you!

Good price!

 

[huw169]

250 qid for a day and a halfs work! No wonder he thought you were expensive.
Wake up and smell the roses - those days are over....

 

[ricicle]

250 qid for a day and a halfs work! No wonder he thought you were expensive.
Wake up and smell the roses - those days are over....

Don't be such a tw@t. What about the business costs as well......

 

[Mark Elvin]

250 qid for a day and a halfs work! No wonder he thought you were expensive.
Wake up and smell the roses - those days are over....

Some people have no idea.

I detail a lot of high end cars & regularly get paid over £400 per day.

 

[bathstyle]

I think it is Vulgar to discuss what you get paid on a daily basis but I do think that £250 for a day and a halfs work is reasonable, it's a lot cheaper than my Electrician, he charges £250 + VAT

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[RF Lighting]

I quoted him £391 for all parts, labour, certifying and notifying.

At first this didn't sound too bad but he obviously thought it excessive. If I had quoted £200 he probably would have snapped my hands off and I would at least be earning SOME money instead of being sat at home writing this!

Maybe you were too cheap.

Some people like to get three quotes and go for the middle one.

They have the mind set of :
cheapest quote - must be using rubbish gear
most expensive - rip off merchant
middle quote - best of both worlds

 

[Johnmelad502]

my Electrician, he charges £250 + VAT

Yeh, but thats surrey prices, sit down before you ring a surrey gassafe bloke they want £70 an hour.

And that is why cowboys end up doing the work, (dangerously) greedy barstewards

 

[properleckie]

I'm in rural area (very), rate £30/hr plus tax. = 240/day, plenty of work, price seems more than reasonable to me!
Once you drop prices it's all down hill, how you gonna raise them again later, people talk to each other.

 

[mbelectric]

Once you drop prices it's all down hill, how you gonna raise them again later, people talk to each other

I think this is where I went wrong, the original job I did for my neighbour was very similar and I gave him a ridiculously low price because a) he was my neighbour, b) I needed the work and c) He may recommend me (which he did).

Unfortunately it has now backfired as I suppose this new guy was expecting a similar price. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[bathstyle]

Don't beat yourself up, I lose loads of jobs, most boil down to price, A lot of customers are clueless as to what is involved. When I'm doing the Quotation/site survey, people assume I'm doing the work, even telling me where the tea bags are!

 

[chapeau]

Some people like to get three quotes and go for the middle one

Very simplistic method.

Certainly, a good reason I advise getting three quotes is that it gives an reasonable idea of what the 'going rate' is.

More important, you get to see several electricians and can reject any who would be difficult to deal with, and there are no shortage of those. Well worth paying the most expensive one if he is a good lad who will turn up on time and will clear up after himself. Also, getting three quotes is often a pain in the buttocks as you have to waste your own time, and if the first one comes over as reliable then no point in taking time of your own out to get further ones.

Customers quite often get paid by the day too, and if an electrician is unreliable the earnings lost hanging around for an electrician to turn up can be more than the extra money a reliable electrician charges.