i think that's a special case normal people will be buying upvc for crappy fall down in 100 years houses is what we are talking about
UPVC windows quote - price reasonable?
- Thread starter nin9abadga
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i think that's a special case normal people will be buying upvc for crappy fall down in 100 years houses is what we are talking about
My mother and father paid £7,800 (I remember it) for a 3 bed semi in the 80's from the company I worked for. We made 5% margin on that as I did the pricing. They used National Profiles uPVC, Cego Handles and Securestyle hinges (I think I recall) which were high end back in the day. Glass was Kappafloat too, which was brand new in those days and it also involved a bay window. Today I would expect that to be higher. I say again, not all windows are the same and simply comparing prices is like saying I can buy a Fiat for 10000 why pay 20000 for the Mini.
I'm a self employed kitchen and bathroom fitter and have been so for almost 30 years.
You would not believe the amount of jobs i have walked away from when people try playing games like this even though most of the time they would have gotten far better quotes from me than the ones they "conveniently" had lying around.
I've quoted them and politely walked away telling them i don't want the job and why.
And as for self opinionated dickheads that try telling me what a job is going to cost because they had "worked it out" well lets just say i tell them that seeing as they know so much about my job then they should do it themselves, just not in such a polite manner.
Good post and exactly how i price almost any job before getting quotes. DIY sourcing + labour + overhead. Its amazingly accurate and it is important in my view to know the figures to expect before getting quotes. I would usually then expect a large outfit to better my numbers as they will certainly not be sourcing at retail like i would have to.
This line makes you sound like a complete moron. Instead of this childish rant at the customer why do you not simply explain what value add you bring over their calculations, or indeed where they may have gone wrong? In my experience when a tradesperson has a stupid rant such as this, it is usually that they overvalue themselves and feel insulted that someone "not in the trade" might just be able to work out that banging a few cupboards up in a room is actually reasonably easy to price.
Luckily tradespeople are usually more understanding and realise that is is natural to want to negotiate the best deal. It really irks me when people take negotiations personally as if asking for a price is somehow insulting their trade
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It really irks me when people take negotiations personally as if asking for a price is somehow insulting their trade
It's nothing to do with asking for a price or negotiating, thats normal and expected.
I'm talking about people who i have gone to quote actually telling me what they think they should be charged for a job because as i said they have "worked it out" or thier mate pete at the pub says "it should cost this amount" and this is the price they are going to pay and not a penny more.
A lot of the time my quote would actually be cheaper than what they thought, but i would rather walk away from work than be dictated to by a control freak.
Don't forget that said client is in need of a service i provide not the other way round.
And this, ladies and gents, is why British fitter is a dying breed. Read what you wrote sir. Expectation of customer being uninformed and unprepared. Check. Unwillingness to compete, walking away if customer admits to having had previous quotes. Check. Being rude to anyone who prepared their own DIY fitting calculations. Check. Overcharging customers based on your opinion or prejudice against them (for being I quote - "dickheads" - and telling you what their expectations and budget are). Check. Then finally cherry on the top - "Don't forget that said client is in need of a service i provide not the other way round" - right, because it's the customer competing to give you with their hard earned money, not you competing for their business and depending on their custom for your livelihood, I mean - who do they think they are?
I certainly hope you are the only/best fitter in your area, really can pick your jobs and honestly wish you best of luck in your future endeavours, but for something like this to be written by tradesman in second decade of 21st century, it's just unreal. I thank you for this experience.
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Never assume ignorance in your customer.
Soldato
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Where did you get the overcharging bit from? i never once said that!
If anything i'm guilty of undercharging. This isn't my only means of income so i'm not driven by money.
People still are not getting what i'm saying. I've walked into jobs and had a piece of paper rudely thrust under my nose with a rough breakdown of prices on it for example £1500 and been arrogantly told they won't pay a penny more.
I have then had to go on and tell them i could have done the job for 900 to 1000 but that i don't want the job for the simple way they they portrayed themselves in the first place.
As for am i any good, well yes. I work by word of mouth only (recommendations) and have people happily wait up to 6 months for my work.