How much to fit a Gas fire?

[Bartdude]

Had a call today from someone who wanted a new Flavel radiant gas fire fitted. She told me it was a direct replacement.

"Ok" I said"I'll come and have a look"

"How much will it cost"

"Well,I can't say until I see it,but probably around £100" I replied

"Oh,well I'd better leave it then,I've already had a quote for £30"!!!!!

What can you do??

 

[quality]

Simply do not bother

 

[Blake]

I don't even bother to start the van up for less than £40, it just aint worth it. I'd love to know what RGI is fitting a fire for £30???? crazy

 

[GQuigley67]

probably some guy doing it as a homer

 

[Bartdude]

I was recommended to her by a customer that I've done a bit of work for already,so it wasn't just a cold call either.

But how can you go and look at it,go back and do the job,and notify it with GSR for £30?

I told her to go with the quote because there was no way I could get anywhere near it. Good job that I'm busy,it's no fun pricing against muppets like that!!

 

[Barry98]

it was probably some one like this

ROGUE trader Neil Patterson duped city residents into thinking he was a Corgi gas engineer, an asbestos removal expert and a qualified electrician, prosecutors allege.

 

[Bartdude]

it was probably some one like this

ROGUE trader Neil Patterson duped city residents into thinking he was a Corgi gas engineer, an asbestos removal expert and a qualified electrician, prosecutors allege.

You could be right bod. I live in Exeter too!!!!!

 

[Barry98]

there every where fella , ive had 2 in the last 3 weeks , next time im just going to ask what flowers they'd like me to send.

i know the argument over showing our cards will go on forever but i read in one of the mags recently of a MD of one of the main suppliers saying it would effect there sales. so the question to him then surely should be how do you sleep at night knowing you MAY be contributing to someones death. i think it was pham news

 

[gaspastemania]

Thats the rubbish i seem to get all the time , How much to fit a gas fire ? £100 plus i say then i get a reply oh wont bother will just get my dad to do it !!!
I went to fit a gas boiler few months back for a customer , checked gas before any work and it dropped like a stone , told them they had a gas leak somewhere and if they had smelt gas ? no came the reply !! Disconnected all appliances and had re tested tightness and still had leak obviously on pipework . Went ahead with boiler then looked for leak only to find it on pipework supplied to new cooker , coupling only half soldered and was full on chuffing gas out . Thats when custome3r explained her boyfriend had fitted cooker had done pipework etc ,,,,,makes me wonder whats the point !!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

ha ha ha gaspastemania good point mate! I am new in the game just two years since got my gsr. i tend to not worried about all this home DIY games !
customer called me today to tell me he needs new electrodes for his keston cos it does not fire .
my q - "how do you know is the electrodes"
cust - " i follow the sequence and I can hear the gas going to burner chamber but then it does not fire "
me - "you can hear the gas to "?
cust - "yes I can "
me - "never ever heard of this "
cust - " trying to educate me, you know when i put boiler one you hear this you see this ....."
me - " i can come and have look if you want me to but will cost you £50/h"
cust -"£50/h to fault fined my boiler ,when i know what is wrong with it "
me - "yes sir this is my rate so......."
cust -"will call you back to confirm your visit tonight "
me - " No sir £50/h 8am-5pm "
cust -"ok then can I call you back in 2 min "
me -"sure sir "

still no call back

what can I say about this ....they know more then we do , so what is the point going to college and learning it all and then all the aggravation from some customers

 

[villa_tom]

I had the same a few weeks back with a cooker install i said 85quid and they said someone had quoted 30quid. To be honest their probably trying to get you to lower your price. But I dont know how someone can charge this and make a decent living. If I where to fit a gas fire I'd change the restictor elbow etc plus you'd have to probably fit brackets in the loft if it was precast. The 30quid bloke was probably not going to fit anything new and would probably bend the existing fire tube to fit. Your probably better not getting it - you'll most likely get a call to put it right once the other bloke has gone. Some people don't realise you only get what you pay for until its too late. Its their loss.

 

[gaspastemania]

LOL i have had a batch of customers like that lately ., most want to supply the materials now i notice , seem to think buying a boiler off the net or travis perkins is saving them a small fortune . Then get asked for labour only quote for landlords cert with boiler change , i'm sure they think i work becaiuse i love it !!!

 

[REDSAW]

i had one last friday from a woman, it was all of a 30 second conversation....
hi, i have a vailant and i am after a new fan for mine as it has packed up, can i ask, where do you get your boiler spares from if you dont mind me asking?.

 

[dontknowitall]

Another way to look at it is if you're charging £90 and someone else is charging £30, they've got work 3 times as long as you to make the same amount. Then again, they're spending much more in motoring costs and other things so they've probably got to do two days of work to your one morning.

I'm not too bothered if I'm undercut. If a customer's going to go for the cheaper option I just let them as I much prefer to concentrate on quality than price. (It doesn't happen too often because often I'm less expensive than my local competitors.)

At the end of the day, price for most people is about 4th in a list of 10 decisions, including our own. For individual tradesmen looking and being trustworthy are much more important to customers than how much a job will cost. I bet you could have bought a cheaper van last time; but you chose to spend more because of other benefits which were more important to you (e.g. reliability on a newer one).

It can be frustrating to be undercut, but I don't beat myself up about it. Plenty more customers out there who appreciate my services!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

i had one last friday from a woman, it was all of a 30 second conversation....
hi, i have a vailant and i am after a new fan for mine as it has packed up, can i ask, where do you get your boiler spares from if you dont mind me asking?.

ha ha ha ,next time she will ask you where to get the right tools and who is your main source of work

 

[SafeGasInstall]

and let dont forget as dontknowitall mention the good customers who take the offer with no question ask and at the end give you tip had boiler change and customer gave me £50.00 on the top of my emergency boiler change rate
keep the good customers happy is the best thing we can do