Waiting for a plumber to get back to you, how long do you wait?

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Do you really need guts to say "Sorry, I'm fully booked up to X month" or whenever?

That's the first thing I say. Booked till May and have a few slots on xdates.
Saves wasting my time quoting I'd there impatient

 

[brightspark]

my problem is telling existing customers im 2 busy but they don't want anyone else then your worked in to a hole and there prepared to wait but you never get caught up

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

my problem is telling existing customers im 2 busy but they don't want anyone else then your worked in to a hole and there prepared to wait but you never get caught up

In that hole now. Repeat business isn't something I complain about to much though

 

[earthman]

That's the first thing I say. Booked till May and have a few slots on xdates.
Saves wasting my time quoting I'd there impatient

That's good practice I'd say but until you provide a quote, the customer don't know if he/she actually has the money to give the go ahead for you to do the job.

 

[Olderisbetter]

We nipped over the neighbours house and he said can you see why my downstairs toilet won't flush and within 4 days later it was all plastered tiled and a new toilet fitted.. now he has a happy wife again.

 

[earthman]

We nipped over the neighbours house and he said can you see why my downstairs toilet won't flush and within 4 days later it was all plastered tiled and a new toilet fitted.. now he has a happy wife again.

Did he end up doing the work by himself then?

 

[dholdi]

I always find them really slow to get back to me.I normally give them a week then give them a nudge with a text or email asking if they have my email/number to send the estimate to.

Is that just plumbers who are really slow or all tradespersons ?

 

[Wedg1e]

The company I work for is forever having to reschedule jobs for customers - and I mean the MOD, big oil companies etc., not Mrs. Jones at number 47 - because despite the best planning, things go wrong, jobs take longer, kit breaks down or gets stuck in Customs, something doesn't work the way it was expected to, paperwork is incomplete and so on.
Chuck in a bit of staff (or their family) illness, staff leaving or new staff starting, staff moving to part-time hours or working from home, bosses letting clients jump the queue, vehicle breakdowns or the customers themselves having other issues and the knock-on effect can take weeks or months to recover.
Of course you could ease the situation by simply not taking on work in the first place, but start back-heeling customers and they tend to go elsewhere, never to return.

 

[waddycall]

Depending on the boiler and the parts needed it might take time to get price and availability. We get this with the spares company we use and sometimes have to chase them up. I’d give him a call and ask for an update. Ive just taken two weeks to get the info together for a quote to fix a gas fire.

 

[addjunkie]

Im not half as patient as I used to be. If I invite some one to do work for me, I try to stay local, to help the rural economy. I expect a price, that makes snse, and in a reasonable time. If your self employed or small buisness with out pricing work, you wont earn much , it isnt rocket science.

I asked a guy to price fitting two log burners, Id supply the fires, to save him laying out big chunk of money, a one man band. After 8 weeks and a reminder after 2 weeks, I gets a price. I replied, thanks for your price, but placed the job else where 5 weeks ago. I only contacted the other firm after two weeks as I was sick of waiting.

Breakdown stuff is a little different though, but why waste time going to look if you dont want the job.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Im not half as patient as I used to be. If I invite some one to do work for me, I try to stay local, to help the rural economy. I expect a price, that makes snse, and in a reasonable time. If your self employed or small buisness with out pricing work, you wont earn much , it isnt rocket science.

I asked a guy to price fitting two log burners, Id supply the fires, to save him laying out big chunk of money, a one man band. After 8 weeks and a reminder after 2 weeks, I gets a price. I replied, thanks for your price, but placed the job else where 5 weeks ago. I only contacted the other firm after two weeks as I was sick of waiting.

Breakdown stuff is a little different though, but why waste time going to look if you dont want the job.

I always try and get a quote back within a week. Gives me a weekend to get it done
Half the time I get home so shattered sitting in front of a quote doesn't happen
Occasionally I forget so appreciate a nudge from people

 

[Kayos]

On the other side of it, I never chase sent quotes on big jobs. Usually know which ones you will get but have been surprised both ways.

Most of my breakdowns come through insurance companies and I just tell them when I'm not available

 

[earthman]

If I invite some one to do work for me, I try to stay local, to help the rural economy. I expect a price, that makes snse, and in a reasonable time. If your self employed or small buisness with out pricing work, you wont earn much , it isnt rocket science.

That's my thinking too, I can appreciate that a 'one man band' doesn't have a receptionist etc to take calls/do paperwork but would have thought that spending an hour or two in the evening for example sending out quotes via email isn't too much to expect??
I don't doubt that being self employed isn't tough and doesn't come with downsides but if you don't even try to do the best by potential local customers, what sort of a reputation/business will you have??

 

[Morrisman]

Its 4 days without heat/hot water,to some that far to long

That’s one reason I pay for BG Homecare breakdown insurance. Like all insurance, you don’t need it until you need it, and then it’s invaluable.

I took it out when I was working offshore, in case anything went wrong while I was away and the wife and daughter were left in a house with no heating, or water leaks etc, but now I’m retired I’ve just left it in place. Boiler service once a year, general system check, and yes, I’ve only called them out twice in the last 10 years, but a blocked bog on a Bank Holiday Monday is no fun, and central heating at full blast that just refuses to turn off is no good either.


Please form an orderly queue to tell me why it’s a stupid idea and that I’m wasting my money.

 

[Morrisman]

....Of course you could ease the situation by simply not taking on work in the first place, but start back-heeling customers and they tend to go elsewhere, never to return.

I’d imagine a lot of guys get a bit greedy, £££ start flashing up in their eyes thinking of all that work.....

Or just lousy/poor/useless business planning?

 

[earthman]

That’s one reason I pay for BG Homecare breakdown insurance. Like all insurance, you don’t need it until you need it, and then it’s invaluable.

I took it out when I was working offshore, in case anything went wrong while I was away and the wife and daughter were left in a house with no heating, or water leaks etc, but now I’m retired I’ve just left it in place. Boiler service once a year, general system check, and yes, I’ve only called them out twice in the last 10 years, but a blocked bog on a Bank Holiday Monday is no fun, and central heating at full blast that just refuses to turn off is no good either.


Please form an orderly queue to tell me why it’s a stupid idea and that I’m wasting my money.

If such insurance works/suits you then great. Sadly we live on a tight budget, just can't afford to pay for such insurance schemes even if we wanted to.

 

[Morrisman]

If such insurance works/suits you then great. Sadly we live on a tight budget, just can't afford to pay for such insurance schemes even if we wanted to.

I was going to cancel it a couple of years ago, as I’m retired now, quite handy with fixing things etc, and had moved into what was once our rental property...


....and found they had put the cover price up to £55 a month.

I checked on line and found a new customer could get it for £19.75p.

So I called up and did battle, stood by my guns, and got it for that price. I had to drop the gas fire off it, which saved a tenner too. And each callout costs a fixed £60, whether it’s a leaking tap, or a boiler meltdown, no more to pay.

I definitely understand it is a lump of money a year that could be well used elsewhere, but I asked myself, how much would a single emergency call out cost for a plumber in the depths of winter?

 

[brightspark]

I was going to cancel it a couple of years ago, as I’m retired now, quite handy with fixing things etc, and had moved into what was once our rental property...


....and found they had put the cover price up to £55 a month.

I checked on line and found a new customer could get it for £19.75p.

So I called up and did battle, stood by my guns, and got it for that price. I had to drop the gas fire off it, which saved a tenner too. And each callout costs a fixed £60, whether it’s a leaking tap, or a boiler meltdown, no more to pay.

I definitely understand it is a lump of money a year that could be well used elsewhere, but I asked myself, how much would a single emergency call out cost for a plumber in the depths of winter?

not much if your mates are plumbers a rip off if they aren't

 

[Morrisman]

not much if your mates are plumbers a rip off if they aren't

I’m a plumber myself actually.


I may have made that up.

 

[brightspark]

I’m a plumber myself actually.


I may have made that up.

allways did get paid more than an electrician . dunno why probably when you have a burst they will pay any amount and the 1st to turn up with wiring they will do without and phone half a dozen up and go for the cheapest