Negotitiating with a plumber?

Right, got a quote for some work (central heating install). It’s more than I was hoping/expecting but I liked the guy. I usually buy things for work, and I expect the first price to be a starting point and negotiate but that’s with salespeople, for some reason this feels wrong when it’s a one man band. Is it normal to haggle, or is this the price; take it or leave it. Have never done anything like this and don’t want to offend the guy, nor do I want to be taken for a ride…

if he cannot make enough money he will refuse like any business
Its fine to haggle IMHO

I have seen several documentaries about plumbers and their ilk.

The first step is to open the door dressed in a negligee, then explain you have a leaky hole that needs attention.

You could ask him to break down the quote into parts (you can test with online pricing) and a day rate and then see if you think he’s trying it on.

You can ring him and tell him why you want him to do the job, but that it’s coming in a bit over budget. There’s nothing wrong with asking, but be prepared to be told to **** off. It’s what I told a client to do earlier this week. I’d just had enough with people whinging about a few pounds here and a few pounds there so he kind of bore the brunt of it. My words were: “You can **** off and find some shyster who can do it more cheaply if you want. I’m really not bothered.” I’m starting there tomorrow. And I feel bad now. 😳

sissdydeadlydyson

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For the originally agreed price I might add. 🙂

I wouldn’t appreciate being told to **** off by a tradesman (or anyone I was discussing potential business with).

Price is the reality of business transactions. You really should be able to negotiate sensibly without insulting potential clients.

Sorry and all that, I know it can be a PIA.

I wouldn’t appreciate being told to **** off by a tradesmean (or anyone I was discussing potential business with).

Aye, true. I did it out of frustration and with the full expectation that I wouldn’t be doing the job as a result. But y’know, sometimes the direct approach works. 🙂 To be fair, I don’t mind negotiating usually…I just tell them to **** off and find someone cheaper, just more politely. (I should add that the OP should not be surprised to be told to **** off either, but in more polite terms hopefully.)

sc-xc has the correct answer.

Flippin’ tradesmen 😉 I had a thread on here a while back where I discussed my plumber who came for an hour, didn’t fix anything then tried to charge me for 1hr 1/2. We discussed it, he got annoyed and said well don’t pay anything then. So I didn’t.

To be honest i have to agree with deadly darcy, being a tradesman is a pain sometimes, running about, sitting and working out and pricing, ringing wholesalers, it all eats into your homelife and do you get paid?? No so the customer gets a lot for free tbh, the price of copper changes weekly, so a quote may increase, allways get 3 quotes and obviously ask for past work completions, recommendations, a geezer turning up and sloshing shit water all down your stairs aint on now is it? Or worse leaving a bowl under a leaking trap that hes fit!!!!! (Yes ive sin it bin done)

Errrm, you’re running a small business. The admin is the shit that goes with the sugar of mitigating tax/offsetting purchases etc etc.

There is a very simple answer if you don’t like the admin overhead of running your own show…

EDIT. None of that is helping the OP.

Being self employed (or Ltd) has certain, errrr advantages when it comes to tax no? I run my own Ltd by the way so I’m not having a dig just trying to offset some of the negativity about admin overhead. You row your own canoe, you have to do it.

<edit> No it doesn’t help the OP but we seem to have digressed into belly aching about admin overhead. Sorry.

This guy won’t haggle!
Won’t haggle?

Right; I’m going to negotiate a bit I think (please note, I can spell. I can’t type).

I don’t own a negligee (yet).

Seriously, just tell him you like him, but not in that way. You’d really like him to do the job but is there anyway to reduce the price? If he says no, tell him you’ll have a think about it and give him a call back. He might change his mind while waiting to speak with you again. as I said before, nothing wrong with asking.

From another self-employed worker, unless my price was very expensive, I’d say I cannot do it for any less.
There is always someone cheaper, I don’t want to compete with them, so cannot cut costs any more. I’ve done it before, where you go in cheap to get a job, then you start regretting doing it, and end up cutting corners to get it finished. I’m sick of that now, so wont do it any more.
I think many people lose track of reality when they ask how much I should charge a day. 20 years experience, and good at my job – what should I be earning?
I’d say £25k.
What’s that, roughly £550/week – so £110/day. Add in overheads, and that easily goes up to £150/day needed to get a reasonable income.
Then people complain when you tell them it is £100/day for labour, let alone £150.
£100/day gives me an income before tax of less than £16k, along with long hours, calls at all times of day/night/weekend, no certainty of work etc.

See what he says, but if it was me, I’d be saying I cannot do it any cheaper.

If you cant afford the work dont get it done, if you can afford the work and you like the tradesman get him to do it.

Also ask yourself what answer you would give your boss if he asked you to do the same amount of work and also buy the stock for less wages, while also paying for all the stuff youd need to do the work with, eg tools, laptop, and stationery.

Oh and a few years ago quoted for a job, and the customer said she knew someone who could do it for half the price, i just asked her to get him to phone me and i would add on 25% to his price, get him to do the job and i would earn 25% of the job for free.

Him or her never rang back,

I wouldn’t appreciate being told to **** off by a tradesman (or anyone I was discussing potential business with).

Price is the reality of business transactions. You really should be able to negotiate sensibly without insulting potential clients.

Nah! at least you’d know where you stood with DD regarding pricing. I’d employ him.

Also ask yourself what answer you would give your boss if he asked you to do the same amount of work and also buy the stock for less wages, while also paying for all the stuff youd need to do the work with, eg tools, laptop, and stationery.

False comparison. Business vs employee.

If someone quotes for a job and the customer haggles you either

1. Compromise and come come to an agreement, may be an alteration in the service provided or spec or maybe a small discount for a different payment structure, whatever.

2. Politely refuse.

3. Justify your price. Its your job to sell your business.

There is no point getting funny and saying you should never haggle because the business is a trades man. Its just the same as any other deal.

1. Compromise and come come to an agreement, may be an alteration in the service provided or spec or maybe a small discount for a different payment structure, whatever.

A fellow tradesman tried that,told the customer,he would knock 50% off the price if the customer provided all the tools and transport to the job, customer agred till the tradesman rang him at 9.00am and asked where the taxi was, and where all the tools and equipment required on site, obviously the customer didnt understand the proces of haggling and negotiation.

What alanl said. I give a fair quote and never drop a price these days. It’s just not worth it. The people who haggled prices down in the dim and distant past when I allowed it also tended to be more of a pain in the arse to work for. Thankfully I am very busy though, if work was slack then I guess it might be different.

Of course we have a non representative group on here. All honest and giving fair estimates that accurately reflect the true time/cost/materials of doing a given job. That’s a given, only good eggs on STW.

However, this is not always so. Unfortunately there are enough taking the piss that most people now think a price is an opening gambit and the ‘game’ is to reduce just how shafted you are going to get.

This is why I always try and work with people who are recommended by friends and I like and will talk to me about how they arrive at their price. After all, if it’s reasonable, it’ll stand a bit of cursory scrutiny no?

I’d actually prefer to pay a bit more to get a decent job delivered on time from someone who cleans up after themselves and doesn’t treat my house like a building site during second fix.

I fit kitchens, self employed.
I give a price and that’s it.
No haggling.
If some one try’s I politely say “no I can’t and leave it”.
Unless its cash of course!!!!!!

Double post!

Unless its cash of course!!!!!!

^This 🙂

[pious]
So you chaps are sound and quoting prices that are fair and fixed unless we agree to commit fraud together? Hmmm, understood. 🙂
[/pious]

im dont mind customers trying to haggle with me. tbh they rarely get far but i dont take offence at it. i would rather someone questioned my quotes than gave the job to someone cheaper without questioning why they are cheaper so long as all haggling happens before the work start
customers who try to haggle after i have built them a beautiful wall that they and everyone in the village is chuffed with tend to see my unpleasant side, and possible even my van reversing through the wall

my next customer tried to haggle and the price was cheap anyway, but i did knock £150 off if he knocked down and took away the existing wall. i didnt want to do that anyway and he gets to swing a sledge for a day. winner winner

A bloke that did some work for us told me about a customer that short changed him £30 post job. The man took a hammer from his van and put 3 x £10 dents in the stainless sink he’d just fitted… 😯

Surely the first point of call is to get another quote, and compare?

I am non negotiable

The man took a hammer from his van and put 3 x £10 dents in the stainless sink he’d just fitted

No doubt did more than £30 damage to his reputation and lost potential business.

I’ve hired loads of people over the last 24 months, usually haggle but if I want someone to get the work I usually go with them, if they can either get close or say why they can’t come down a bit. The cheapest quote doesn’t, always translate to cheapest price.

What really pisses me off, is people on a price who then try and increase it once they have started work if they overrun by a day; its like they want the best of both worlds, day rate and fixed price (and short days).

Personally I hire people I like, and come recommended as people want to protect their reputation, and really don’t like photos of shitty work being shown around the pub.