Gents your thoughts please

[townfanjon]

Probably not a good time to post this due to the forum being to quiet, but here is my dilemma...

Quite simply I need to slow down, and seriously contemplating semi retirement. I am pathetic at saying "no" to my customers, the answer is always "yes" to any job .

All my customers are great , I dont work for idiots so in semi retirement I need to keep them .

My work is apporox 60% plumbing 40% gas

The dilemma is, the old ACS is due this year , I am pretty sure financially theres no problem if I drop it .

It then makes it easy to tell the customers I have finished gas , so I have to say "no" , but can continue doing their plumbing ( I have plenty gas pals I can pass phone numbers on )

What would you do ?

Thank you for reading

 

[Last Plumber]

Do it one last time.

 

[Last Plumber]

Leave phone on silent more

 

[Stanios]

Normally I'd say keep the ticket and cherrypick easy jobs - services and landlords are probably ideal jobs for a semi-retired plumber. I reckon if you drop gas you will still work all the days and hours you do now it'l just be 100% plumbing.

Just think about what you want to do in your spare time then book it off every week i.e every thursday off to do your thing. Just treat it as a non work day and tell customers the same.
For me Tuesday is the day I do all business side of things stuff I know its still work but I just dont go out and see any customers.

 

[turnpin]

:biggrin:Would it not be better to drop the plumbing and just do the gas work Jon more servicing and breakdowns you could cherry pick any lucrative plumbing jobs......best of luck whatever you decide....regards Turnpin

 

[thereisawizza]

:biggrin:Would it not be better to drop the plumbing and just do the gas work Jon more servicing and breakdowns you could cherry pick any lucrative plumbing jobs......best of luck whatever you decide....regards Turnpin

Definitely! I'm giving up bathrooms this year as the breakdown and servicing and resultant boiler swaps are becoming more frequent! Surely it's easier to service a BBU rather than fit a bathroom?

 

[Stanios]

Definitely! I'm giving up bathrooms this year as the breakdown and servicing and resultant boiler swaps are becoming more frequent! Surely it's easier to service a BBU rather than fit a bathroom?

Your services result in boiler swaps?!

 

[julesverne]

Get your acs. Do it in bradofrd manchester rd for 500 quid ccn1 & 4 appliances.
Cherry pick your jobs.
Im thinking of the future and i rarely do installs the lad who works for me does it. Plus im moving onto things that stress the body less physically. Been doing ebay last 18 months which is doing very well. Also in the early stages of getting a glass making business that takes empty bottles and turns them into useful shizzle.

 

[julesverne]

Get your acs. Do it in bradofrd manchester rd for 500 quid ccn1 & 4 appliances.
Cherry pick your jobs.
Im thinking of the future and i rarely do installs the lad who works for me does it. Plus im moving onto things that stress the body less physically. Been doing ebay last 18 months which is doing very well. Also in the early stages of getting a glass making business that takes empty bottles and turns them into useful shizzle.

 

[thereisawizza]

Your services result in boiler swaps?!

Some of the first time services you go to, we've got loads of Alphas in Folkestone & Hythe

 

[thereisawizza]

Your services result in boiler swaps?!

Some of the first time services you go to, we've got loads of Alphas in Folkestone & Hythe

 

[SimonG]

Keep the gas, for now. Pick and choose what you want to do.

Work smarter and learn to say no. It's not easy though.

 

[SimonG]

Keep the gas, for now. Pick and choose what you want to do.

Work smarter and learn to say no. It's not easy though.

 

[rpm]

Feel once you pass any work on to your pals then you risk losing that customer for good, agree with others and cherry picking your customers to suit your lifestyle.

 

[stani]

I can draw my old age pension later this year, my Acs run out next year, but as far as today's concerned I will be renewing even if it's only to work 3 days a week. Once it lapses it then becomes difficult to renew, keep it going even if you only go out to one gas a month it's still there.

 

[townfanjon]

Gents , thank you all for your comments so far , they are all appreciated.

I do agree its a MASSIVE qualification to drop and Stanios makes a good point saying the time would then be 100% plumbing , so I gain nothing .

Please keep them your comments coming , thanks again .

 

[townfanjon]

Gents , thank you all for your comments so far , they are all appreciated.

I do agree its a MASSIVE qualification to drop and Stanios makes a good point saying the time would then be 100% plumbing , so I gain nothing .

Please keep them your comments coming , thanks again .

 

[julesverne]

Theres a lot of mileage in the phrase.

Work smarter not harder.

First time i heard ever that was on here in one Ray's posts and tried to do that ever since.

 

[Destroyer2813]

Sounds like plumbing is your part time job now jules, glass blowing, party shop, ebay. You got just the one bloke working for you

 

[Last Plumber]

Definitely! I'm giving up bathrooms this year as the breakdown and servicing and resultant boiler swaps are becoming more frequent! Surely it's easier to service a BBU rather than fit a bathroom?

I stopped bathrooms a long long time ago and never been happier in my job !!

 

[Last Plumber]

I agree with keeping the gas work. It's normally better for money and easier that crawling about in lofts etc.

 

[townfanjon]

Leave phone on silent more

Never works pal , the buggers keep trying lol

 

[townfanjon]

Leave phone on silent more

Never works , the buggers just keep trying lol

 

[Last Plumber]

Never works , the buggers just keep trying lol

I don't know why I even suggested it tbh, I'm worlds worst.
If someone rings me at weekend, in my head i'm saying "nope sorry, family time, i've worked all week and i'm not interested". my mouth on the other had says "yes of course i'll be ther in an hour "

I've never been able to overcome this problem and even if the phone is on silent, I think to myself, I'll ring em on monday but my hands pick the phone up and my fingers ring em back, then I loose control of my mouth again and my body takes me to my van !!!!

 

[Ray Stafford]

There has been some great business advice on this thread, and I would not contradict any of it.

However, I would offer a different perspective.

I am pathetic at saying "no" to my customers,

Dealing with customers is a skill.

It is absolutely no different from pipe-work, fault analysis or system design.

But whereas tradesmen are often prepared to invest time and money in "hard skills", they don't always consider investing training and practice in the softer skills that are just as essential in running a successful business.

Maybe consider not only re-doing your gas qualification, but also investing some time in gaining some customer management skills?

 

[Masood]

I'm going to agree with the consensus here and suggest you keep your gas ticket and drop the plumbing side of things. I also agree that the minute you pass a gas job to someone else, you've passed all of that customer's work on to that person. People don't like the hassle of remembering loads of different trades/numbers. They would prefer one contact for everything if possible.

Keep the gas, focus on light work like servicing, sub the installs to someone you trust to A) keep to your quality standards, and B) not to steal your customers. That brings you a future revenue stream from the servicing of those new boilers.

Ray's advice about customer handling skills is spot-on. It's the hardest skill you'll learn!

 

[Masood]

Double post

 

[SimonG]

I don't know why I even suggested it tbh, I'm worlds worst.
If someone rings me at weekend, in my head i'm saying "nope sorry, family time, i've worked all week and i'm not interested". my mouth on the other had says "yes of course i'll be ther in an hour "

I've never been able to overcome this problem and even if the phone is on silent, I think to myself, I'll ring em on monday but my hands pick the phone up and my fingers ring em back, then I loose control of my mouth again and my body takes me to my van !!!!

I have two phones. Work and personal. Work phone goes off at 6 on a night. Alarm goes off at 7. Phone goes back on straight after the alarm. Pick up any messages and away I go. Phone stays off all weekend now.

 

[townfanjon]

Great advice from all you guys today ,thank you again, but sombody please answer me this question,

the business has been going full time for 16/17 years and in my customers houses I do everything gas and plumbing how after all my hard work building up a relationship with my customer do I start picking and chosing jobs, oh sorry Mrs Smith you will have to get sombody else to unblock your toilet , I only want the easy jobs from now on. It never can work can it ... please tell me if I am missing something

 

[Shower Engineer]

I have been semi-retired now for just over a year.
Deciding how to cut out some of the work was difficult for me, I only had five customers and needed to cut it down to two.
It was a very hard decision, I looked at who paid on time, what work I enjoyed the most (or I liked the least!), what was the most physically demanding, which companies jobs were more urgent, what work paid the best, the relationship I had with each of the companies, which companies required me to undergo training and lots more.
Ultimately only you can make the decision what to do. If it was me I would look at what aspect of your work you can book in around what you want to do in your extra time and work that avoids urgent callouts so you can plan your free time with more confidence. Also think of the next few years and what work will be easier on your body :smiley2:

 

[SimonG]

Great advice from all you guys today ,thank you again, but sombody please answer me this question,

the business has been going full time for 16/17 years and in my customers houses I do everything gas and plumbing how after all my hard work building up a relationship with my customer do I start picking and chosing jobs, oh sorry Mrs Smith you will have to get sombody else to unblock your toilet , I only want the easy jobs from now on. It never can work can it ... please tell me if I am missing something

Just say that unfortunately on this occasion you are not in a position to be of assistance. Some people will jump ship, some will remain. You will also still get referrals from your current customers.

Or just say that you are starting to slow things down and it's not the type of work you are continuing with. Handy if you can combine it with a 'why don't you give xyz a call on xxxxxx, hopefully they will be able to attend'

The right sort of customers will appreciate the honesty and come back to you.

 

[townfanjon]

Cheers Simon , I have been using the" slowing things down " for a while now , it sort of works on some new ish customers but it doesnt seem to work on the regulars.

Eg , job last week , took some landing floorboards up in a house to pipe a new towel rail , found a waste pipe on a saniflow with a great crack in it , pipe disappears under a tilled bathroom floor , guy wants all the pipe swapping , all the floors to come up , hes got bloody porcelain tiles , I didnt want to do it but I tilled his son in laws cloakroom not 4 weeks ago ....... how do you say no !!! Lol ,
Eg , my accountant is my best pal , he like a lot of you guys tells me to pick and chose, hes asks me to reseal his massive shower tray , horrible job , silicone everywhere, didnt want to do it , I said no , just to prove a point and get his reaction ( I had every intention of doing it ) , he wasnt happy , untill I started laughing ," I rest my case " lol

 

[woodsy]

Trouble is all your regular customers will agree with you but all expect them to be an exception !! Would agree with the majority though that keep your gas and just work on your ' I'm busy line.

 

[joni os]

Great advice from all you guys today ,thank you again, but sombody please answer me this question,
... please tell me if I am missing something

What's not mentioned is, you have a business operating as a going concern with a customer base that anyone starting up as self employed would envy. Additionally there are many posts on this forum from people wanting experience for gas.
Matching your experience and skill with someone mature enough to appreciate the future benefit working with you will bring to them, could allow you to step back in the coming years whilst continuing to serve your customers.

 

[joni os]

Great advice from all you guys today ,thank you again, but sombody please answer me this question,
... please tell me if I am missing something

What's not mentioned is, you have a business operating as a going concern with a customer base that anyone starting up as self employed would envy. Additionally there are many posts on this forum from people wanting experience for gas.
Matching your experience and skill with someone mature enough to appreciate the future benefit working with you will bring to them, could allow you to step back in the coming years whilst continuing to serve your customers.

 

[townfanjon]

What's not mentioned is, you have a business operating as a going concern with a customer base that anyone starting up as self employed would envy. Additionally there are many posts on this forum from people wanting experience for gas.
Matching your experience and skill with someone mature enough to appreciate the future benefit working with you will bring to them, could allow you to step back in the coming years whilst continuing to serve your customers.

Joni, its great point you make , my accountant bud and myself have spoken about this a while ago , but we never took it any further , perhaps time for a re-think .

 

[townfanjon]

What's not mentioned is, you have a business operating as a going concern with a customer base that anyone starting up as self employed would envy. Additionally there are many posts on this forum from people wanting experience for gas.
Matching your experience and skill with someone mature enough to appreciate the future benefit working with you will bring to them, could allow you to step back in the coming years whilst continuing to serve your customers.

Joni, its great point you make , my accountant bud and myself have spoken about this a while ago , but we never took it any further , perhaps time for a re-think .

 

[Darren Jackson]

I'm with the majority on this one, keep the gas ticket and just service/repair+ CP12 and ditch the heavier jobs and Installs.