Seem to find time wasters

[brodders97]

Hi all,

I’ve not long started out on my own, and so because of this I try to keep my quotes down to generate business to start, but I seem to spend half my time giving out estimations to people and that’s the end of it. I seem to only find tire kickers.

I know my prices are on the lower side, I believe I present myself well, chat to the customers a little while and get to know them etc, but when I sent the price out they’re never to be heard from again, and if they do reply, it’s always the same, too expensive!!!

For example, yesterday I priced one up, 2 days work. £800 in total including around £400 materials, to get told I’m too expensive… it seems most people want something for nothing.

Anyway, my question is, is this experienced by most tradesmen, or is it just my luck at the moment?

Cheers

 

[Dustydazzler]

It sounds unfair but part of the price (good) customer A pays, is to cover your costs of wasted time and effort caused by (bad) customer B. Customer-induced losses are just part of the ongoing cost of keeping your business running, like insurance or vehicle maintenance.

This is sadly another fact of business

Your 'price' has to factor in a certain amount of time wasted on non payers , slow payers and complete time wasters

It also has to factor in a certain tolerance for when some jobs go badly wrong and end up taking you twice as long as you first planned

I think this is a fact that joe public don't take into consideration when you turn up to their house to price a job , its not just 'their job' you are pricing but you are factoring several other factors on top

 

[nicebutdim]

It sounds unfair but part of the price (good) customer A pays, is to cover your costs of wasted time and effort caused by (bad) customer B. Customer-induced losses are just part of the ongoing cost of keeping your business running, like insurance or vehicle maintenance.

Pretty much how part of the cost of retail goods (especially online) covers customer returns, thefts etc. The aim is to turn a profit and it's never as straightforward as a simple mark up on each transaction.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Going way back to when I was a teen ager and I worked for a big retailer , I am sure I read in the handbook that roughly 3.5%-4% of the rrp price was to cover for 'shrinkage' which is basically theft , breakages and faulty returns etc

 

[LukeD]

People hate seeing prices going up. I binned a client that had used me for 23 years and both of us did ok from it . mentioned I was increasing my call outs and "out of hours " charges to be told they thought it was too much . Fine , they have had the likes of Pimlicos and a few others for urgent works and really feel the pain .They where so use to me turning up any day of the year for a reasonable fee. And that included a Christmas day once ! It means I have more time for others who will pay the increase >And i added on some for the extra cost of petrol etc .Now I am wanting a clear £50 a week extra to "aid the energy crisis " !

 

[Rich54321]

I think what happens to most of us in the end is
If you keep trying to avoid cheap problem customers and really look after the good customers that you get, they hopefully recommend you to their friends and contacts who are usually of a similar nature to themselves and also end up people worth working for(not always mind) but usually I find this the case(and also true with the other contractors you associate with too)

Don’t work for or with bodgers, rip off merchants or cheap --- builders that pressure you to cut corners

Starting out though you may have to sacrifice some of your principles to some extent (I did at least) just to bring in the money to pay the bills

But eventually you end up with a solid customer base with regular work and you get to the stage where you have so much work coming in you really couldn’t care less if they like your price or not

That’s when it all starts to really pay off being self employed

Took me at least 10 years or more of working my way through hundreds of cheap, tight, PITA, unappreciative idiots to get there though lol

I found a funny thing happens too, the less you are bothered about winning the work, the more you seem to win! Anyone else find that?

Yes and the more you do not get the more you think I would not have time to do it anyway!

 

[mainline]

Thanks all very much appreciated

There are also some people who think the higher the price, the better the job.

 

[brodders97]

There are also some people who think the higher the price, the better the job.

I have heard this actually, I thought living in the area I live in, keeping prices low would appeal to the masses. I guess by doing this I’m attracting the wrong kind of people haha. Time for a switch up perhaps

 

[LukeD]

Charge a good price.turn up ON time and communicate well. People are happy to pay for good service

 

[LukeD]

And DONT accept cash .... that makes anyone look un professional

 

[Pretty Mouth]

And DONT accept cash .... that makes anyone look un professional

Not sure I agree with this Luke. Lots of people like to pay with cash still, particularly older folk. Makes you look unaccommodating to refuse it.

 

[catdog1121]

Not sure I agree with this Luke. Lots of people like to pay with cash still, particularly older folk. Makes you look unaccommodating to refuse it.

I agree, especially with smaller jobs.. I would say to the OP I charge an hourly rate, doing quotes is a pain, I do it for some customers but it takes too much time, after a while though you will especially not not massive jobs get to know roughly how much the materials will be (Although I still always seem to underestimate how stupidly expensive materials are). So I tend to just say there and then, I would estimate parts will be about X, plus I think it will probably take me about X amount of time @ X pounds per hour, obviously if I find unexpected things then it might take longer but I explain to them that I find thats the fairest way, I only charge for hours I am onsite, I dont lark around, I find its just the fairest way to charge.. I'm not the cheapest, not the most expensive but I would say I probably get around 90% of the work...

Being prompt, if you can give them a price there and then not mess around you often find they might go oooh thats more than I thought then you can explain normally the thing that catches people out is cost of materials, they just dont realise how expensive materials are, gone are the day where the majourity of the cost was in labour, now it seems like the majourity is in materials.. Be friendly, reliable, give them a date you can do it, make it the easy option for them... I am also a landlord and so deal with trades, you know what the worst thing I find is having people say "Ok yeah ill try and drop in at some point ill give you a ring", I dont know if im going to hear from them again so I try other people, if you say "Yeah no problem are you about this evening ill pop round take a quick look for you, work out what is needed and give you a rough price".. People come off the phone and its like a relief that its sorted and they don't phone other people, you then are more likely to get the work..

You will always get some cheap bottoms.. think my last rejection which was a while ago was replace two consumer units in a flat (on peak and off peak), from old rewireable fuses after it failed landlord EICR (That I didnt do).. I came in at a reasonable price, not overly cheap but it wasnt the nicest of jobs, customers response... "Nah I can't afford it, its ok I wont bother, ive met the regulations as I have had an EICR done", I tried to educate her that because it failed she needed it done but she assured me she was correct...

Have you thought about doing any charity work if you have spare time, I have a job to fit a defibrulator for a charity, I am doing it at cost price (Materials plus a little bit to cover my expenses like insurance etc), my company name gets put on the defibrulator and there is going to be an opening with some press releases etc with my company name, puts you out there in the local community..

 

[LukeD]

Not sure I agree with this Luke. Lots of people like to pay with cash still, particularly older folk. Makes you look unaccommodating to refuse it.

There might be times when cash has to be accepted .But in 2022 its rare and I never entertain it as a "payment method " when giving quotes or chatting with clients . "cash" translates too easily as "Avoiding paying tax etc " !

 

[nicebutdim]

There might be times when cash has to be accepted .But in 2022 its rare and I never entertain it as a "payment method " when giving quotes or chatting with clients . "cash" translates too easily as "Avoiding paying tax etc " !

World of difference between a 'cash job' and accepting payment in cash. Method of payment is of little relevance when the customer is furnished with the same sort of invoice as every other customer and there's cetainly nothing dodgy about accepting cash.

 

[mainline]

World of difference between a 'cash job' and accepting payment in cash. Method of payment is of little relevance when the customer is furnished with the same sort of invoice as every other customer and there's cetainly nothing dodgy about accepting cash.

Wonder what would happen after giving a customer an invoice, and they say they haven't got a bank account and only deal in cash ?

 

[mainline]

There might be times when cash has to be accepted .But in 2022 its rare and I never entertain it as a "payment method " when giving quotes or chatting with clients . "cash" translates too easily as "Avoiding paying tax etc " !

Awkward to avoid paying tax if you are supplying invoices.

 

[nicebutdim]

Awkward to avoid paying tax if you are supplying invoices.

That's the point.

If a customer expects cash in hand, with no vat, it's easy to put them straight. To be fair, there is some legislation to comply with if receiving sums of cash above a certain amount, but that's no issue with jobs running only to several hundred pounds.

 

[LukeD]

In the last 3 years Ive only been offered cash 3-4 times and always for those "Saturday morning quick jobs" that dont get to much more than £120 etc .Everyone seems to be happy to pay by bank transfer or card ( iZettle)

 

[mainline]

In the last 3 years Ive only been offered cash 3-4 times and always for those "Saturday morning quick jobs" that dont get to much more than £120 etc .Everyone seems to be happy to pay by bank transfer or card ( iZettle)

Bloody technology and the ease of payments, I miss the days of feeling a wad of cash in my pocket, now all I feel is my leg

 

[LukeD]

Anyone accepting bitcoin yet ? !!!

 

[JBW175]

Anyone accepting bitcoin yet ? !!!

I’d quite happily take $BTC as a payment method, I’m well into my crypto, trading digital assets are becoming a lot more popular these days.