TALKING ABOUT RIPPING OFF

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

While there is so much talk about ripping off did anyone see the programme on TV last night about the black death, very interesting to note that just before it reached over here, the peasants working on the land for the rich people were on the poverty line and struggling, when the black death claimed lots of lives and the rich people couldn't get anybody to do there dirty work for them, the peasants started to demand more money and were getting it as they were at a premium, SO, the king passed a decree that the peasants could only be paid a certain amount, wasn't it strange that King twaat of the time didn't pass a decree to pay the peasants a minimum wage to keep them from starving before the black death.
Bit like plumbing really, worked extremely hard for years for a blloody pittance, now were in demand and making up for the years of struggling all of a sudden we are the bad guys for wanting a decent cut of all the money we generate, ha ha ha, I will cream in as much as I can while it lasts because when we are flooded with plumbers and back to a pittance, nobody will give a toss just like before, note that such as judges, politicians, solicters, barristers, estate agent etc etc dont have feast and famine times, they cream it in all the time, of course they dont rip people off do they, there just business men which makes it all right.
As one posh woman on the phone said to me "I THOUGHT YOU PEOPLE WERE SHORT OF WORK" when I said I couldn't get for 6 weeks, "you people" like were some sort of dirty lower class creature that only have to be dealt with at arms length under sufference in case they catch something.
One lady said to me that oh yes plumbing was the thing to be doing judging by what the job was costing her, so I asked what her son was going into after he left school, oh he's going to university to do a degree in history, !!!!!! oh that will come in handy wont it when he needs a job, anything in overalls was far too down the scale.
I love it every time someone comes on here moaning about the price of something, society has got the building industry it asked for, EVERYBODY wanted there kids to go to university and get a white collar job and work in or on computers, well you got it now live with it.

 

[blahblah]

PVM. Where I live many expect to pay well. If they can get you at short notice and quickly you must be cr*p! However, you also get those who earn magamoney who think you should do it for pennies. (Nobody got rich by wasting money!) Incidentally, had a man from BG 'phone today offering to sub out installation work. Wanted to pay £720-830 labour to fit a combi and seven rads. £290 to 400 to swap a boiler- including a powerflush, in one day. Now forgive me if I got it wrong- but don't BG charge more than that for a flush alone? And a proper flush takes most of the day. Funnily enough I said 'No ta'. Presume they must have more than they can cope with - and with winter coming too! By the time they pay their survey man, salesman, sparks, subbie, rubbish shifter and have profit for the company- how much must they be charging the poor customer?

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

As I have said before, if it's good enough for BG to charge what they do'it's good enough for me, I have to be the receptionist, the salesman, the surveyor, the estimator, the typist, the order clark, the fitter, the waste disposal man, transport manager, and then go back for any problems, I aint gonna do it for a single wage just so people dont think I earn too much, I do it all by choice rather than fill someone elses pockets, but what I make out of it is my business and nobody elses, the same for everyone else, if they make £800.00 a day so what, they most likely work hard for it, the customers only see the surveying and fitting, not the rest of the crap we have to put up with.
If the clever dipsticks want to do CH and Combi swops for £950.00 with the customer buying his stuff from the sheds fine, their the losers.
Bg charge about £3400.00 just to do a combi job and with a rebadged bottom of the range Worcester, seen the quotes with my own eyes, 5 rads and a combi for about £4350.00

 

[corgiman]

Here is a clue as to what bg charge

friend got them in to quote, I am book till new year at boiler is creamed, they price upo for a worchester bosh, verticle flue kit

3,800 plus VAT


PS

PVM for PRIME MINISTER

joking apart I agree with everything you said mate nice one

 

[croydoncorgi]

It's back to workers vs drones!
BG send round a salesman with a notebook PC with pricing software. He takes a superficial look at the job and cranks out an estimate which looks like megabucks for s**te. Behind the salesman there's a surveyor to deal with tricky ones and a senior surveyor behind him in case the first survey goes tits-up.
Then there's a LOT of installers so that if anyone goes sick, gets trapped under a falling boiler, goes for holidays to S America, whatever, BG can always roll in another crew so as to stay away from Watchdog accusations of the job taking too long. And then there's the wretched subbies who get a pittance for a lot of graft. Plus all the office overheads, the marketing, the PR, the cost of campaigns which don't deliver and jobs which (inevitably) go wrong in a big organisation. Plus the TV ads with some bald old git in reading glasses (aaaarghh - looks like me!!!) saying 'It's OK missus, it's only the pump!'

And then you're surprised the quotes are a bit high?
Me? I'm delighted - provides an easy target to compete with. Reasonable customers treated politely and reasonably will not demand ridiculous performance and will be happy to pay reasonable invoices. Unreasonable customers I leave to BG - they deserve each other.

 

[ChrisR]

A landlord I know quite well, having worked for him over several years, asked me how much would be reasonable to change a CH pump. Out of my area, but he wanted a guide. I usually say about £150, less if it goes easily, could be more if not - because so much can go wrong. He said he thought it was immoral to charge so much for a simple job which might only take 15 minutes. He'd missed the "it depends" point, but I asked him anyway about the house he was working on.

He was proud, He's bought for £230k, spent about 7k and had an offer for £275k. I asked him if he thought that was immoral - say £35k for perhaps 3 days time. "Oh no thats The Market Price".

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Yes its funny how it's always ok for THEM to earn lots of dosh, but when others charge them it's ripping off.

When I am in traffic and see the £30,000 Range rover or Mercedes megabucks model next to me I often say to the wife "I wonder how much they rip people off for to afford that" she will say, "oh it's probably a company car" yes but how much do you think the company is charging it's customers to be able to buy a £30,000 brand new vehicle, taking into account the vehicle and the persons wages what do you reckon their "hourly "rate is, are they ripping people off or just good in business ?.

Yea make me prime minister, but all the do gooders will hate me, lethal injection back for child molesters, murderer, frontal lobotomy for violent silverback type offenders wether drunk or not, "it's not an acceptable excuse" hands off for persistent thieves, dicks off for peristent rapsists, need I go on !

 

[htgeng]

Yes, the richer they are, the tighter they are!

Being in this game is a very interesting way to learn physcology. I already have my own 'sh1t-list' of types to avoid;

*those who take a sharp intake of breath when you give them a ballpark figure for a job (which you know is well below BG).
*a house that looks like its been burgled when you walk inside.
*smart alecs who try to prove they know as much as you do on central heating. Usually means they are a nit-picker.
*anyone who mentions they've had problems with other trades. This usually means they are nit-picking, potentially bad on payments and will try to offer you £100 for doing a £300 job.
*anyone who says they are having problems finding someone to work on an urgent problem.
*any problems with macerators. (assume bad installation)

plus some other categories that are not exactly PC.

On the other hand good customers are harder to tell, but they usually have traits. The best 'type' are middle class who are at work all day. When you give them a ballpark quote they say 'thats about what we thought', which usually means they've had a BG quote.

I could go on, or write a book. Move over Les Gradwell

 

[PaulAH]

..."you people" like were some sort of dirty lower class creature that only have to be dealt with at arms length under sufference in case they catch something.

Rude woman, PVM? Ever considered that traders get the customers they deserve?

 

[a1topdog]

Guys - answer honestly: - If you were to quote for two identical jobs (if there is such a thing) and customer 1 lived in a 500K house in a nice area and customer 2 lived 100K house is a less desirable part of town would you charge them both the same price for the job?

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

You should get what you can from any job, nobody comes round with a donation when you are off sick because you did them a cheap job 3 years ago, as long as they had a written quote, had time to think about it and wern't rushed into it, you did what was on the quote to all current regs, then I dont see a problem with whatever price you put in, yes if they are loaded I will probably stick a bit on, they probably made their money ripping off some women picking tea leaves in Ceylon, lets face it Mr Big rip off merchant the tax man, will have it off them if they were desitute and only had the house they stood in.

 

[ArtfulBodger]

Guys - answer honestly: - If you were to quote for two identical jobs (if there is such a thing) and customer 1 lived in a 500K house in a nice area and customer 2 lived 100K house is a less desirable part of town would you charge them both the same price for the job?

A

 

[ArtfulBodger]

Guys - answer honestly: - If you were to quote for two identical jobs (if there is such a thing) and customer 1 lived in a 500K house in a nice area and customer 2 lived 100K house is a less desirable part of town would you charge them both the same price for the job?

A

I've tried twice now to respond to this post - obliteratred both times - can't be asked!

 

[kevplumb]

did anybody see watchdog last night?