Plumbers shouldn't get paid 100hr and or several hundred dollars for 45min for fixing a broken radiator pipe from old grandparents who don't know better.
It's like that with any trade really computers, cars, ect. Your really paying so much for the licensed part of it and now in NY they past the law now you need a inspection permits to change toilet out "really?"
If you need to come out to solder a coupling on a pipe that broke I can't imagine charging hundreds of dollars.
It's the fact that they can charge out the nose because they are licensed and certified.
The big plumbing companies are even worse then the small ones.
Well the only good thing I can say is I have done enough plumbing to kill a small animal I'm way too late to become a apprentice under a plumber & get certified therefore when I do it it's for peanuts I guess I'm just little jaded.
The cost of doing business as a legitimate plumbing company is higher than many imagine and our rates whether T&M or, Flat Rate must cover those costs or, we won't be there next time you call. It's that simple! What company can exist losing money on every job?
I can sit home and do nothing and it will cost me less money than busting my butt all day and losing money on the job....
Some of the costs associated with running a legitimate company are:
Payroll, typically the average billable hours per employee are about 4.5 hours of the 8 hour day. There is time lost between the last customers door and your door which is paid...
Advertising all those yellow page ads, websites, mailings, and other forms of advertising cost money. Our customers need to find us just as much as we need them to find us. Where would it come from other than what the customer pays? Thin Air?
Administrative costs, who answers the phone? Who does the payroll and bill paying? Who pays for employee benefits? Who tracks inventory and restocks the trucks? Who pays for the insurance? Who pays the taxes? All of these are passed on to the customer....
Training and licensing costs, the laws dictate that we maintain licenses in our trade and that we complete ongoing training to maintain our proficiency in the trade for your protection.
We also are required to have insurance which covers our liabilities in the event of a fire caused by our torches, or a failure of our work causing a leak. Heck we are even liable for failure of the parts we buy and install in your home. This is again for your protection
Fleet costs, the trucks, the jetters, and all the other tools and equipment rolling down the road to your home to handle your plumbing problem costs money to buy, maintain, and replace which had better be paid for by the customer base... The money isn't coming from anywhere else....
Warranty costs, legitimate plumbing companies warrantee their work and we do this for your protection. Unfortunately as hard as we try to be perfect it doesn't seem to be in reach. Most of us are really good at what we do and manage to have warrantee work of less than 1% of the work we do. In addition we cover defects of the products we install... This costs money which is passed on to the customers to provide this level of protection...
These are but a few of the expenses legitimate plumbing companies face...
Business expenses need constant monitoring to keep them within the confines of what the market will bear or, the customer base is gone and we're out of business.
We are also out of business if our workload and customer billing does not cover these expenses...
So yes, Billing rates of what you mention are not unreasonable nor unexpected.
If you don't want to pay the "Expensive Rates" of a legitimate plumbing company then by all means find an "Plumber on CraigsList" :rofl: who is unlicensed, uninsured, won't pull permits or, have inspections required by law for your protection performed. Not that his work would pass an inspection
Just be ready to pay a substantial part of the bill up front as he will need the money to go and buy the supplies needed for the job as he doesn't have established accounts at suppliers or, he may need to buy tools to perform the work as well. Maybe he'll just need the money to buy drugs too....
Hey Buyer Beware! You get what you pay for...
That Unlicensed Plumber off CraigList is a criminal that is telling you to save money by using his services...
Of course we aren't interested in matching his prices, if you expect us to it's not going to happen, as we are comparing apples and oranges, and his expenses are much lower than ours...
If you can live without the peace of mind that the work done on your home is properly done in accordance with the plumbing code, with a warrantee against failure, insured against damage to your home, completed in a reasonable time frame, by a carefully screened employee, and by a company that can be reached again with a simple phone call, then by all means have the work done for less... :hide:
You are not the customer that our company wants!
