# Be a Repair Plumber and see the world...



## Putty Truck (Oct 6, 2007)

....like it really is.

Out of all the trades, repair plumbers get to meet more people in their home territories more than anyone else. For almost 30 years, I've been going to at least 5 - 10 homes a week. That's 5 -10 different families from different backgrounds, economic levels, races, etc, etc. and trying my best to get as much sales as I could.

I've seen the most beautiful and the ugliest America has to offer. To say a repair plumber has to be flexible is an understatement. To say I haven't put my foot in my mouth would also be an understatement...:laughing:

For all my experience, I have learned one thing: wear nitrile gloves at all times. Except in bed with the wife, of course. And at the dinner table---that didn't work well at all.


----------



## All Clear Sewer (Nov 8, 2006)

I know what you mean 100%


----------



## Putty Truck (Oct 6, 2007)

All Clear Sewer said:


> I know what you mean 100%


Hey, have you switched to flat rate yet? For the risks we take, we deserve to make great money.

For example (not to nag you), today I rolled on a bath valve and toilet repair, okay? 650.00 in 3 hours (that includes toilet shut-off and rebuild, rebuild shower trim, etc. and I had to go back to the shop for trim). 

You may or may not have your plumbing license yet, but you sure can flat rate anything to do with sewers and drains.


----------



## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

nah, if he charged more, he wouldn't be able to work 18 hrs a day:whistling


----------



## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

Repaired Kohler laundry faucet, cleaned aerator on kohler lav faucet, scraped lime out of shower drain, made adjustment to tw&o trip lever assembly, and repaired handy man hack job on outside hose bibb. 4.5 hours, one drop eared ell, one copper coupling, 4 ounces clr to soften the scale in the shower drain,
$754.00


----------



## PARA1 (Jul 18, 2007)

mahlere said:


> nah, if he charged more, he wouldn't be able to work 18 hrs a day:whistling


"that's crule"


----------



## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

smellslike$tome said:


> Repaired Kohler laundry faucet, cleaned aerator on kohler lav faucet, scraped lime out of shower drain, made adjustment to tw&o trip lever assembly, and repaired handy man hack job on outside hose bibb. 4.5 hours, one drop eared ell, one copper coupling, 4 ounces clr to soften the scale in the shower drain,
> $754.00


I'm guessing you don't get alot of referals. :sad:


----------



## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

skyhook said:


> I'm guessing you don't get alot of referals. :sad:


You must understand that the customer approves these charges ahead of time. That's one reason flat rate is also called "up front pricing".


----------



## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

skyhook said:


> I'm guessing you don't get alot of referals. :sad:


On the contrary, month in and month out for as long as I have tracked it, our #1 producer of revenue is repeat business from our clients and our #2 producer of revenue is referrals from our clients. In January well over 50% of our revenue came from repeat business from our clients. It's usually not quite that high but 30% - 40% is common.


----------



## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

Certainly not all but MANY people recognize the value of excellent service which is what we go to great lengths to provide. We will service anyone but we want the people who recognize the value of what we provide to be our clients.


----------



## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

$168 per hour. 



skyhook said:


> I'm guessing you don't get alot of referals. :sad:





mdshunk said:


> You must understand that the customer approves these charges ahead of time. That's one reason flat rate is also called "up front pricing".





smellslike$tome said:


> Repaired Kohler laundry faucet, cleaned aerator on kohler lav faucet, scraped lime out of shower drain, made adjustment to tw&o trip lever assembly, and repaired handy man hack job on outside hose bibb. 4.5 hours, one drop eared ell, one copper coupling, 4 ounces clr to soften the scale in the shower drain,
> $754.00


----------



## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

skyhook said:


> $168 per hour.


Yes.

And if something went very wrong and it turned into a nightmare requiring twice as long they would have paid the same amount and I would have made $84 per hour.

Ever had a job blow up on you?

$150 is the target.


----------



## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

smellslike$tome said:


> Yes.
> 
> And if something went very wrong and it turned into a nightmare requiring twice as long they would have paid the same amount and I would have made $84 per hour.
> 
> ...


I charge $140.00 now, and bill all the travel time.

We don't do very much service work though.


----------



## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

skyhook said:


> $168 per hour.


No, he didn't charge by the hour.


----------



## smellslike$tome (Jan 22, 2006)

mdshunk said:


> No, he didn't charge by the hour.


Yes, lest anyone become confused, we do not have an hourly rate. All work is priced ahead of time, it's up to us to get it done in the proper amount of time. In this case, if you wanted to break it down to an hourly rate, I guess it comes out to $168 per hour.


----------



## Bjd (Dec 19, 2003)

I guess if you flate rate a price for the average job of say 4 hrs, and lets just say for some reason things do go right and your done in less than an hour.

This is when things get a little hairy, huh.

Its kinda of hard to justify the 4 hour charge when it was completed pretty quick, this is when customers become pretty ugly.

BJD


----------



## Putty Truck (Oct 6, 2007)

Bjd said:


> I guess if you flate rate a price for the average job of say 4 hrs, and lets just say for some reason things do go right and your done in less than an hour.
> 
> This is when things get a little hairy, huh.
> 
> ...


Wrong, wrong, wrong!

The flat rate prices are based on historical prices, parts and labor costs, and other overhead. Usually the price is dead on, if not favoring the h.o.

We know how long it takes to install a toilet, but we also know the associated costs of installing that toilet. Employee taxes, truck and associted charges, etc., etc. These costs add up quick in a real business.

If we did charge hourly, it would be at the minimum of 150.00/hour including travel. It really does cost that much to be a service company in 2008. This is not 1990 and we are not going to work for 50.00/hour. Get over it.


----------



## plumbmaster (Feb 26, 2008)

*flat rate*

The easiest way to explain flat rate is this. If you have two plumbers one has one-year experience and the second 15 years and you put them both on the same job say a shower valve install. a flat rate book might say to charge 3 hours to install that valve the 15 yr plumber installs it in 1-1/2 hrs and the other plumber takes 4 hrs. Flat rate allows the customer to pay standardize pricing based on a national average to do a specific job. It is actual a fair pricing structure if used the way it was designed but a lot of salesmen dressed as plumber know how to manipulate the book. It is the same as a car mechanic the only difference is you have no clue how long they actually worked on your car.


----------



## masterk (Dec 29, 2007)

plumbmaster said:


> The easiest way to explain flat rate is this. If you have two plumbers one has one-year experience and the second 15 years and you put them both on the same job say a shower valve install. a flat rate book might say to charge 3 hours to install that valve the 15 yr plumber installs it in 1-1/2 hrs and the other plumber takes 4 hrs. Flat rate allows the customer to pay standardize pricing based on a national average to do a specific job. It is actual a fair pricing structure if used the way it was designed but a lot of salesmen dressed as plumber know how to manipulate the book. It is the same as a car mechanic the only difference is you have no clue how long they actually worked on your car.


I totaly agree. 
I am new with flat rate, and finding out that this way of pricing is helping to not just spin my wheels on service work. We have to cover the overhead and be profitable or it's not worth it.


----------



## roullette (Feb 28, 2008)

ive been using flate rate for 9 years.. its the only way to go.. if you even have a slightest worry that a job could bite you in the ass you always let the customer know that this other price could be the repair cost.

i used to give flat rate prices out of a big bulky book. now i moved to another company that has palm pilots and its alot easier..

only problem with the flate rate is the IRS when you get audited hard to show them parts labor profit break down.

as a service plumber not only are you a repair technician but your a sales man 
so if you know what to say and know how to approach the customer and deal with there problems, then flat rate will make u a fortune.

gives the customer the comfort of knowing that even if the plumber doesnt have the part on his truck there not paying for him leaving to get it and coming back to install it. Also gives them equal pricing opportunities. 

my company charges 342.21 an hr based on our flate rate books......and people love it..lol


----------



## roullette (Feb 28, 2008)

for a toilet install at my company $696.71 thats for a regular white round front 12" rough..
and i think all of us plumbers know the time an cost of these parts.. and if there toilet flange is gone and needs repair its another $400+..

service is where the moneys at!


----------

