Pricing + acceptable rates and mark up

[Ben-gee]

The best ‘family jobs’ are when they live somewhere with higher labour costs than where you live. Then they get a bargain price and you get overpaid - everyone’s happy, I’ll admit this has only happened once for me!!

 

[king of pipes]

Working for family and friends can be a challenge and you feel a sense of duty to do it cheaper, but as said above if you wasn't working for them then you would be working elsewhere and getting your rate so this needs to be passed on, I was once told I was reassuringly expensive they know jobs get done properly the prep work which is of the utmost importance is carried out, jobs take that bit longer so the costs adds up , I never give quotes anymore I'll give a estimate and always allow a couple of days more because things do go wrong breakages, missing items, 20 % on your material cost is the norm I'd say 30% on smaller less expensive items I'd say your more than fair where you are price wise, it's the times we are living in bud everyone is struggling to make ends meet in the middle classes , and wealthy clients never want to pay full price for anything Kop

 

[Knappers]

wealthy clients never want to pay full price for anything

Sooo true!
It's amazing the resistance I get from wealthy clients.
The latest was a customer who was straight up outraged by a £500 quote to repair their fire.
It's not so surprising to me that parts for a fire that cost £5000 10 years ago are going to be expensive but they would happily squeeze me out of any profit to save £50.

 

[Last Plumber]

Sounds reasonable (maybe a bit cheap). I wouldn't change it if I were you, unless it's going upward.
I don't do mates rates or relatives either. I make that crystal clear and as a result I don't get work from them. Which suits me fine. It's a business, hard work, cold, dirty and dangerous a lot of the time. Not to mention expensive to kit out and run.

Ask yourself this:
Would they come round and sort your garden out for you or decorate your house, you know as a 'mate'? I doubt it.
Don't lose any sleep. Only work for those who appreciate your skill, knowledge and experience.

 

[Ben-gee]

Inlaws are moving into a new house that will require a new bathroom. They were taken aback when I said I wouldn’t do it (140 miles from me by the way) - mind you I have insider knowledge that they will be a pain in the whatsit!

 

[Timmy D]

Nothing wrong with your prices, cheaper than me.

I only work for a select few friends and they’ve never questioned the cost. The work is top quality and the cost is the cost.

I’ve told them, if you’re not happy with the quality, I’ll fix it (Has never come in to question).

If you’re not prepared to pay the cost, I won’t work for you as I’ll earn the money somewhere else and not have to risk losing them as a friend.

It all depends on the relationship. I did a whole house refurb (mains/all supplies/rads/underfloor/3 bathrooms), friend didn’t even want a quote, told me to do it and tell him how much I wanted when completed. Saying that, he works in construction so understand the cost of works.

 

[Ric2013]

A few years ago, I estimated a job for a friend at 2 days plus cost of materials. And did she want a quote?

She said it's fine as long as it doesn't come to more than £500 as that was what she could afford.

As I finished and she handed me a plate of food for the second day running, she asked what she owned me. I said I was about to work it out and to give me a minute (think the total would have been around £400). She said she'd seen me working hard and later than expected and thanked me for working around her clutter. She handed me a brown envelope and said to keep the contents but let her know if it came to any more...

... inside was £500. "Mates rates" works both ways!

 

[chucka]

unless the people (friends) know what self employment means then they don't have a clue what your actual working/running costs are. And to be fair when i was employed I didn't understand either. However when i did start a self employed business (not plumbing but PC servicing/repair) as a naive young man i suddenly had all of these costs!!!

To make it worse I was quoting as if I was the client.. Totally wrong thinking till someone older told me I was quoting as an amateur. I was not making much money to live on at all. Your tools never last forever and the van doesn't get fixed for nothing.

When client say they can get a part from Aldi/Lidl for x amount I start looking elsewhere. If the part from Aldi goes wrong they can get there money back (great) but it won't be for sale again probably till next year!

It makes me laugh inside now but working for friends in the past was not usually a good idea (you always gave free advice and tips on getting their computers working)... However some wanted to pay 'before' the job was done and other kept you waiting for payment because they had an unexpected bill come in..; like you don't have bills either?

Stick to your quote or ask them to get another quote.. see how that goes .... LOL

 

[PETE 123]

My veiw is if your getting trouble b4 you even start a job its not worth the risk.