Whats Wrong With Gas Fitters??

jennifernil

jennifernil wrote: »

We have a regular boiler at the moment, fully pumped system with 2 pumps, HW tank, thermostatic valves, timer, frost stat etc, large 4 bed house.

Looking at keeping present system but changing to a condensing boiler, keeping boiler in same (wall mounted) position.

Looks like a decent boiler is around £850 inc VAT.

So, how long would such a swap reasonably take, and how much per hour should we expect to be charged?

So.................any suggestions, anyone?

Peartree

sparky883 wrote: »

No personally speaking i'm totally fed up with free quotes why should i waste my time giving advice or quoting on work that is never going to happen its getting worse.
i have not earnt a penny this week,but have quoted 7 jobs but what can you do? We are just being a bit more choosy now so i suppose so are Gas Fitters.
I'm Thinking of giving up,We quoted a job yesterday and by the sound of the customers phone call we should have got but he was just a "messer" and it cost me:
#£10-00 Fuel
#£20-00 Extra Wages
#£25-00 Parking Ticket
£55-00 Because a customer lied on the initial call,if he had told me the truth i would not have bothered going (and there i have Found the answer)
Customers lie to tradesmen to get them to go out so that they can pick their brains/Comment on whats already been done.
This is why our charges as (Emergency Electricians) are so high too make up for all "messers"
Quotes should not be Free And Call Out Charges Should Apply but if we done this we would go under,i cannot see a way forward!!
thanks canknuclehead i agree with all you say! And yes i am adding the parking ticket lol

If you run your own business you have a pricing structure that includes your overheads. Surely when you do your business planning you include the cost of quoting for new work (including allowing for some so called 'messers') in your overheads? Therefore, in fact, quotes are not free, are they? If your competitors don't do the same and undercut you then, unfortunately, that is the real world of business (although they probably won't be around long). I'll go back to my earlier point. You're running businesses - if you want to be treated as professionals act like professionals.

Surely you know what your area is like and what the parking situation is and build that into your overheads? Presumably you ask the customer where you can park your car?

Having said that, personally, as a customer, if I could not provide parking for someone coming to quote I would feel it was my responsibility to at least advise them of the parking situation and, if I could not, would indicate where they could park and at what cost. I would also indicate how long they might have to allow to find free parking so that they could be on time for their appointment with me. It would then be up to them to decide if they wished to come and quote for the job - but I'd expect them to tell me that upfront. Then I'd expect them to pitch up on time as agreed and without their bottom lip out. For example, I know that satnav tends to send the uninitiated right into a traffic hotspot when coming to my home so always tell visitors the better route.

It seems odd to me. I don't know anyone who is a 'messer'. I just know really ordinary, decent people who want to pay fair price for a good job. They don't want to cheat anyone. And all of these people are desparate for someone to do a job on that basis. The tradespeople reporting seem only to find customers who want to cheat them despite their consistent efficiency and good quality work. Seems to be a bit of a mismatch of expectation somewhere along the line.

andrew-b

I agree with much of what you say peartree and share the same frustrations as you in getting quotes in. which appear to have worsened drastically in the last year or so alongside increasing prices for fuel and everything else and the changes to the state of the property market.

sparky883

If i am going to be less than 1/2 late for a job/appointment i dont bother contacting the customer as i assume that customers will give us 30 mins either way due to traffic etc.
If the customer does not know whar He/She wants or keep changing thier mind i lose interest and just go along with the flow.
I get insulted if a customer asks for referances or quotes in writing for any job under £50-00
Customers allways try to get more out of you than you have Quoted for no matter how trival it is.
When we give a timescale we are being honest at the time(but things change) and we dont expect to get financially penilised for it.
The trust between tradesmen and customer is now lost.
But most of all i wish customers would have a bit of consideration,
I dont mind taking my boots off-But not if your house is dirtier than them!
I dont expect to find Dog/Cat mess inside the house.
i dont want to crawl around in your dirty washing.
I will tidy up but i am not making your house cleaner than when i got there.
You Would Not Believe Just How Some People Live Or Expect It To Be Like That.

amcluesent

Biggest conman I ever had around was CAI registered to do aerials; I still kick myself for not giving him £10 for petrol and telling him to bu**er off.

A bodger from start to finish who was "too busy" to take 1 moment to discuss options and then out of sheer spite left me with all cables cut short and pulled tight as a drum so I'll have no choice but to do everything again when I move stuff.

'Professional' trademen...don't make me laugh! I'm more skilled than 99% of them which is why they've colluded with 'elf'n'safety jobsworths with 'Part P' etc. so you have no choice in being fleeced by them.

sparky883

Pricing Structure? Overheads? Business Planning? Most tradesmen are Self-Employed there maybe 2 or 3 of us working together all trying to earn a weeks wage which is getting harder week by week,Along with all the overheads and tax @ 18%.
Try if you can explain this to me then Peartree,This is one example of many:
Phone rang yesterday,Enquiry for Tarmacing Work customer asked for a quote and asked our when can we do the job (without the quote)
Said if we dont quote today we will miss out as he needs to make a decision Today.
Made the effort juggled things about and off i went,Our Quote cut right to the bone £2000 His Buget £1300.
But story transpires,His car leaked oil on drive after dealer repair,Dealer paying £1300 customer trying to get whole drive done,Wants written quote for dealer, What a waste of time Get This Day In Day Out.
If we could get away with it i would send him a bill for wasting my time!

Canucklehead

Good afternoon: Sparky883...do you have our place bugged?:rotfl:
The OH has experienced all you have described...he now turns down insurance work, won't do any work for landlords or letting agents (the state of some rental properties down here in East Kent is appalling not to mention owner occupied: a particular favourite of his was a Landlord's gas safety cert in Margate 2 years ago...his dust sheet stuck to the floor, in fact he could see a path in the filth where the tenants walked to the fridge...as soon as he got home the dust sheet and his clothes went straight into the washing machine:eek:).

If a customer is flip-flopping on a job/quote the OH will give them short shrift. He is not a bathroom design consultant i.e he won't give advice on which tiles, paint, accessories look 'nice' but he will suggest suppliers, advise what is technically feasible and will fit the client's bathroom to a high standard. Fortunately he has been in plumbing and heating for 30+ years, has built a good client base and can survive yet another economic recession: he won't underbid a job just to get the job...as someone once said on here 'pay peanuts, get monkeys'.

HTH

Canucklehead

jennifernil

andrew-b wrote: »

You can expect to pay at least £2k all in for parts and labour for a couple of days work - which is what it was for us about 2 years back. My parents have recently had some quotes in for a similar boiler change and again cost come in between £2k and £3k. Will vary depending what area your in but that gives you a guideline.
If your in the Kent are i highly recommend Swale Heating who did our boiler change and whom i have a service contract with. Ignoring the ongoing argument (!), you need to try and get at least 3 quotes in before you make a decision.

Hope that helps and good luck with getting your quotes!

Andy

£2-3k!! I better keep my old boiler going a good while longer then!

For 2 days (as in 16 hours) work my OH would get paid only £880 as an engineering consultant. If he was younger I would send him to retrain as a plumber/heating engineer!

We are in Scotland, would that make it less expensive?

sparky883

I think you OH is OK Where he is,Only £880
Out of interest "jennifernil" Would you object to paying an Electrician £44-00 Per Hour (Or Part Of ) lol

sparky883

• GARDENING SERVICES

Gardening with:
our equipment and tools £9.00
With your own equipment and tools £10.00 only
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just found this,Just shows you why "Tradesmen" cannot be trusted!!