- Reaction score
- 1,536
Ah! The old "the other guys never said anything about this so they're all correct and you are wrong" chestnut. It's at this point in the proceedings that I start moving towards the front door in preparation for my exit. I got tired of hearing this line a long time ago.In terms of pricing to do the job properly, I had informed and spoke to the customer regarding upgrading the consumer unit to include RCD protection.
The answer I got was the other 3 electricians never said I needed the consumer unit upgrading your looking for extra work the other guys are just replacing the sockets.
I recall visiting a potential customer to price-up a consumer unit upgrade. After a quick inspection, I brought it to the homeowner's notice that there was no main bonding present for the gas and water services and informed him that it would need to be done at additional cost prior to the changeover. "None of the other electricians who gave me a price mentioned anything about this bonding stuff, whatever the hell that is." It's difficult to win jobs when you're competing against unprofessional numpties who care only about money.
Does that mean I should refuse the job as I know I will be more expensive because the customer won’t pay for the extra work of installing a new consumer unit
In a nutshell, yes. Definitely. I would certainly shrug my shoulders and walk away if it was me who was standing in your shoes. I really can't be bothered trying to explain the advantages of RCD protection to customers who then accuse you of inventing work for yourself when in actuality you are merely trying to do the job to the best of your ability with their safety in mind. Walk away.