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Thanks Ash , and I do see your point, but I believe that 100-150 would be a fair price for this job. Of course plumbers have done years of training, and need all sorts of obscure tools, and everyone does free quotes so the $ has to be made somewhere, but this guy charged like a bull.
I think he could see that this job was a one time only thing, and he wasn't worried about trying for repeat business.
I repeat, and I mean it: if anyone thinks that this is a good price I heartily recommend him for your plumbing needs.

Carmel, of course, every experience we have with a trade or service will give us a perception of value, either good or bad, justified or otherwise.

As a carpet cleaning technician offering a professional service, I am continually assessing my worth, and taking all sorts of cues about how my services are perceived. In otherwords, I am acutely aware that I must not only provide value for money, but BE SEEN to be doing so. There is no perfect rule of thumb here... I must make value judgements about jobs, and my customers make value judgements about me. If I ask/charge too much, I risk losing them as a customer. Too little, and I am devaluing myself, and my time. Its a fine line!

Two weekends ago, I had a call on a Sunday morning at 8.30am. A regular customer of about 22 years rang coz a dog had shat all over the carpet. I was there within an hour and had the carpet clean, disinfected and smelling much better. How much was the time worth away from my family on a Sunday morn? How much was it worth to them? Really, my time was worth heaps more than the cash amount I asked for. They happily paid and were more than thankful.

Its all a matter of perception. What I'd like to impress on you and others here is that someone who is really good at what they do, have invested, and invested and INVESTED in their businesses, in terms of capital, training, qualifications, tools etc DESERVE to be respected and paid well for what they do! I have little time for short-sighted people who do not see this, and want to belly-ache about it. If a tradie gets things wrong, are dishonest, careless or incompetent, by all means... rip away! But its bloody unAustralian to winge about someone charging a $ for a quality service!


Ash.

Carmel,

I'm not really having a go at you personally. Its just that I want to make a point in this forum because time and time again, I read about people wanting to save a dollar every which way. Sure we all want to save a $ where we can, but I see a lot of people who fall for the lure of 'false economy'.

What are the sayings? "the bitterness of poor workmanship lingers long after the sweetness of saving a $ has been forgotten".

"Buy cheap, buy twice"

or many other words of wisdom.

I may have taken this opportunity to hammer the message home. Its not a personal attack. Its a bit of grandstanding to gets peoples' attention to the issue at hand! I'm not necessarily here to win popularity prizes, but to make a point where I feel it needs to be made.

Glad you got your plumbing fixed!

Ash.

I dont think $220 is classified as quality service for 10 mins work. And I believe we have every right to winge if we feel wronged, and if that was my bill I would not be very happy either. It has nothing to do with being unAustralian at all.

Next time Jilamint, I would ask how much the call out rate or minimum charge is and then I dont think you would of been so shocked. When I get called out I get paid a minimum of three hours.

I dont think Ash is being rude or a bully at all, he is entitled to his opinion, just like everyone else here, just because you dont agree with him, dosnt make him a bully, and it takes two to tango, thats what forums are about verbally sparring. If you get upset with other peoples opinions dont post.