Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 25, 2009 3:27 pm Hi,
The company name is 24Hr Emergency Plumbing. Blacktown Area. I called them today, as a non emergency, and they came out within the hour. They replaced a $25 part in about 10 mins, and I got to pay $220. AWESOME. If you think that this is a good price for 10 mins work, then I highly recommend giving them a call. Cheers, Mods, if this is breaking any rules I'm sorry and feel free to censor me. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 2Aug 25, 2009 3:50 pm Is that your tongue I see planted in your cheek, Carmel? What many folk fail to realise is for a qualified tradie to roll up, efficiently diagnose and locate the fault/problem, supply the correct part and fix the problem properly and swiftly can take years of training, expertise and experience. He is worth every $ he earns! It boils down to this.... For $220, did he fix the problem? If yes, it is money well spent! On the other hand, a *** tradie (or you trying to DIY) can pi$$fart around for hours, maybe create as many problems as you fix, and all sorts of outcomes. Or yes, you might do your homework and fix it yourself for $25 and save yourself some $. This is the gamble we take! I know this forum is a haven for DIYers, and it can be sweet to DIY and save some cash, but really, good tradies that offer professional services are worth supporting and paying their worth! I'd be a millionaire if I had a $ for every time I've heard of a fooken cheapskate that tried to do a job that they have no idea about, only to make things worse! Rant over! Ash. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 3Aug 25, 2009 4:08 pm 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. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 4Aug 25, 2009 4:17 pm Carmel Hi, The company name is 24Hr Emergency Plumbing, phone 0411 695 855. Blacktown Area. I called them today, as a non emergency, and they came out within the hour. They replaced a $25 part in about 10 mins, and I got to pay $220. AWESOME. If you think that this is a good price for 10 mins work, then I highly recommend giving them a call. Cheers, Mods, if this is breaking any rules I'm sorry and feel free to censor me. I guess you've never called an Emergency Locksmith before ?? They'll certainly charge more, for less work, with no parts involved. .... I guess they do have one of those fancy tools that let's them break into any lock - legally of course !!! Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 5Aug 25, 2009 4:29 pm 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. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 6Aug 25, 2009 4:58 pm Ash, you can keep your to yourself thank you. And do not call me a whinger or unAustralian. You are being rude. You sound like a great carpet cleaning person, and I congratulate you for having a customer for 22 years, I believe that says a lot about you and your business. I would like to impress upon you that I have the utmost respect for tradies, and I would never expect them to work for less than they are worth. Thank you for your concern for my eyes, but I am not short sighted. I have had them tested recently and all is well. Also, I do not have an ache in my belly, but I seem to be developing one in my neck. Please stop verbally sparring with me, I am not enjoying it and I think you are being a bit of a bully. I welcome your comments and I am interested in what you have to say but there is no need to get personal. Cheers, Carmel. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 7Aug 25, 2009 5:15 pm 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. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 8Aug 25, 2009 5:18 pm I just have to say Carmel.. your kitty is soooo cute!! In regards to the tradies price.. yep.. it seems a little high to me.. then again I've never had to call a plumber.. so what would I know? Did you ask what the call out fee was or the hourly fee was when you called? I'd be pretty happy that someone was out within the hour.. as thats REALLY quick.. normally you are stuck waiting days for someone to come out and see you and they can never give you a proper time. Building with PD - Regent 23 Cascades on Clyde Estate HomeOne Building Thread - PCI Completed - 28th August. Handover - 11th September. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 9Aug 25, 2009 5:24 pm Quote: But its bloody unAustralian to winge about someone charging a $ for a quality service! 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. Quote: You are being rude.....Please stop verbally sparring with me, I am not enjoying it and I think you are being a bit of a bully. 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. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 10Aug 25, 2009 5:48 pm Good to have others' thoughts! Again, if any business we deal with gives us the impression that we are being ripped off, we clearly have the right to not use that company again. It does pay to inquire about costs before engaging any tradie, but we should be realistic. If you try to screw a price down at the beginning, don't expect much from them. Perceived value for money is a very subjective thing. I believe I offer good VFM. I think most of my customers would agree, but I'm sure I don't win every one of them with my charm and outstanding services! Its why I always try to be aware of what customers' expectations are, and do my best to communicate what's what before and during a job. Remember that running a business may have many unseen costs that you hadn't dreamed of. Real costs that mean just to stay in business, a certain charge must be applied. Insurances, licenses and all sorts of costs! Its best all round that when you do business, you communicate carefully to determine that you are on the same page, in terms of charges and what to expect. If they don't seem reasonable, don't engage them. Which begs the question... Carmel, when you rang the plumber, did you discuss the charges before booking them? And when the job was done, did they charge what they said they would? If so, there shouldn't be an issue. Cheers! Ash. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 11Aug 25, 2009 5:53 pm Its the price you pay to be attended to instantly I suppose. Could have found a plumber cheaper, but with a wait. So many plumbers wouldn't touch small jobs either, so the supply for emergency plumbing dwindles further. I do agree that its expensive but that's coming from someone who has contacts (through partner). Now to get my european car serviced, now THAT is a rip off. Considering my other halfs work horse ute is cheaper to service by about half! Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 12Aug 25, 2009 5:58 pm Thanks Ash well said And erinleigh and buildingwithhamra Yeah, Rocky is super cute, I've just posted some new photos in the good times thread. Yep, I have learned my lesson about asking about prices upfront. I should have known better. It seems so obvious in hindsight. And don't worry, I wasn't upset Thanks for your concern and advice. I really like this forum because I get to learn lots of new things and speak with people that I would otherwise have never met. Have a good night everyone Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 13Aug 25, 2009 6:19 pm I thought you weren't allowed to name and shame people on this forum let alone post phone numbers? Darn....I could have posted what I wanted to yesterday without getting moderated after all. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 14Aug 25, 2009 6:50 pm Can i say that there are good plumbers around... Once when hubby was away on business the laundry tap wouldn't turn off. After turning the water off at the mains i rang a plumber who turned up within 30 mins and changed the washer for me. Yes it was only a washer and if hubby had been home he could easily have fixed it...but can i add that it was a sunday AND a public holiday, so i was quite happy to pay the plumber the $45. I thought it was going to cost me heaps more than that! Now he WAS an awesome plumber! I think milking the damsel in distress part may have helped also! Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 15Aug 25, 2009 8:01 pm If an emergency plumber can make it out within an hour that means they are most likely either sitting around alot of the day waiting for calls or can only take on work that allows them to leave at short notice. So from that perspective I can understand why it would be expensive, you are paying for the fact that they can't take on as much work as a regular plumber. Either that or they are contracted by a larger company that is taking a cut of their service charge. If you want a plumber that will charge normal rates then by all means wait 2 weeks for when they can make room in their busy schedule. That said it is an eye opener when you see tradesmen earning hourly rates that would compare to doctors and probably double what many engineering contractors etc. might earn. What was once considered the bottom end of the employment ladder (at least by high schools anyway) is now an opportunity to do very well - provided you work your *** off. All I can say is that I hope they are saving for a rainy day because like the IT industry, at some point the work will dry up or become less lucrative and there is no point putting your hand out when times get tough. Not all trades are at an advantage though - I have a brother who is a mechanic and I can tell you mechanics earn absolute crap money considering the skill level required. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 16Aug 25, 2009 8:45 pm I see this as pretty standard rates for a call out job for a one off client. We charge $60 / hr for our qualified tradies ($65 for sparkies) and we have a 3 hour minimum. 3 x $60 = $180 1 x $25 part + 15% mark up = $28.75 Total $208.75 + GST ($229.60 incl GST) I have heard of plumbers charging $75 an hour so it could have been a lot worse. To put your mind at ease ring a few more companies and enquire about their rates. Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 17Aug 26, 2009 3:02 pm wake_me I see this as pretty standard rates for a call out job for a one off client. ...we have a 3 hour minimum. Sounds like that lawyer joke... A lawyer makes it to heaven and finds that they intend to give him a party for being the oldest person to have ever lived... The lawyer replies that he was only 60 when he died. To which St. Peter replies - "Well according to your billable hours, you are 240!" Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 18Aug 26, 2009 3:10 pm [/quote] Sounds like that lawyer joke... A lawyer makes it to heaven and finds that they intend to give him a party for being the oldest person to have ever lived... The lawyer replies that he was only 60 when he died. To which St. Peter replies - "Well according to your billable hours, you are 240!"[/quote] Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 19Aug 26, 2009 3:25 pm joeygbh wake_me I see this as pretty standard rates for a call out job for a one off client. ...we have a 3 hour minimum. Sounds like that lawyer joke... A lawyer makes it to heaven and finds that they intend to give him a party for being the oldest person to have ever lived... The lawyer replies that he was only 60 when he died. To which St. Peter replies - "Well according to your billable hours, you are 240!" That's funny!!!! MagicJ I finally have my own reno thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28335 The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue! Re: Check Out My Plumber, He's AWESOME 20Aug 26, 2009 4:13 pm Been around for a while and a fair and reasonable charge for a plumber is $90 call fee which covers labour for 1 hour. Parts on top of this of course. For emergencies i have no idea but i would imagine $135 call and this covers 1 hour would be fair. That guy who said 3 hours charge for a call out has to be joking or is bankrupt lol. Daryl. Ask yourself if the insurance company will be aware of the Reno. 4 7380 i would suggest nothing is unreasonable for PCI. we did all sorts, including checking the hot water, checking all the GPO's had power, testing that the showers were… 9 98693 4 14302 |