customers

[wayne]

anyone else noticed that customers are always willing to pay a plumber£500 pound for a days work fitting a suite but as soon as you try to charge them£450 for 2 days work tiling the room they look at you like your a rip off merchant! people tend to think tiling is a diy job but when i have to go out a rip all there work off the walls and re-do it they soon think differently.

 

[McP77]

You've hit the nail on the head. Anyone can tile (apparently) but it takes skill to be a plumber. When will people realise that tiling is a skill?

 

[scrubmuncher]

Although tiling isnt rocket science and most people to a certain degree can manage to tile to some extent their is an aweful lot more to go on than the clients think. You have to wonder how many diy jobs are done with the wrong sticky etc. Leading to the next thing of, well, how important is alot of it, different sticky, tanking etc. To a client, tanking is usually a thing they have in their heads we are trying to add on and not needed, and in most cases isnt really. When they've seen a tub down B&Q for £5 Add and grout in 1 and then our gear comes to £150 it must get people thinking, and I understand to a certain degree. Ceramic tiling will never be thought of as as much of a skilled trade as plumbing because people understand it, pick up a tile, whack it on a wall, and most have had a bash at some point in their life, usually people who have, dont mind paying if they've had a mare. People will pay alot more for a job they dont understand as much.

 

[faithhealer]

All the more reason for us to talk the job up when we go in to quote. Just chucking a price at them isn't enough!

 

[GazTech]

I think we should all go on strike for a week in protest....we are treated like the victorian tradesmen....left alone to die in the poor house.I accept less money to not be a plumber !

 

[IvegotsTILE]

I always make a point of explaining how difficult everything is,I then get out every tool I have and bring it in their house,when they see how many tools I have and I tell them the cost of each one they soon realise how much work is involved and they then think their getting me at a good price.Which of course they are:wink_smile:

 

[guy1976]

I always make a point of explaining how difficult everything is,I then get out every tool I have and bring it in their house,when they see how many tools I have and I tell them the cost of each one they soon realise how much work is involved and they then think their getting me at a good price.Which of course they are:wink_smile:

jesus how long does each estimate take. i would just accecpt your price to get you out of my house and stop you showing any more tools :wink_smile:

 

[scrubmuncher]

LOL, I think I used to over explain everthing in depth. I soon learnt that they are either realistic people or not. I think I'd probably be going a bit over the top if I got allmy tools out and gave them a run down of the price list, lol. If it works dont change it though.

 

[CON5933]

LOL, I think I used to over explain everthing in depth. I soon learnt that they are either realistic people or not. I think I'd probably be going a bit over the top if I got allmy tools out and gave them a run down of the price list, lol. If it works dont change it though.

I remember being advised to 'look smart' 'act knowledgeable' 'behave courteously' when going to give a quote....but to get your tool out? WOW...i never thought of that:wink_smile:

 

[GazTech]

I remember being advised to 'look smart' 'act knowledgeable' 'behave courteously' when going to give a quote....but to get your tool out? WOW...i never thought of that:wink_smile:

Reckon thats just for the ladies
----
An old trusted tiler once said to me that "the job would be so much easier if it wasn't for the customers" lmao

 

[devonmark]

when i get my tool out i don't get the job....can't think why..:icon9:

 

[simonb43]

Customers need to realise that they are only going to get what the pay for. I've just done an 18sq meter kitchen, every wall, work surface to ceiling. Charged day rate, plus materials and got tiles for them. Was told today that other 'tilers' had quoted 240 / 260 for the same job, but customer had no confidence in them, one of them didn't even measure up. I informed customer it would take me 5 days to do job and she got me to do the job and waited 3 weeks for me to start. I'm not out to rip people off, i need to make a living. Each job gets done to the best of my ability and word of mouth is a good advertisment. If you quote a decent price then you should get the job. However, we all know that certain tilers will undercut us, just to get the work, irrespective of the quality of their work. We all know the standard rates, so we should all keep to them and the not so good tilers will be found out eventually and we can all get on with our work and give the customer what they want without getting the ' you're ripping me off stare'

 

[IvegotsTILE]

I like getting my tool out:wink_smile:

I quite often end up having to take my son with me when I quote,he charms the pants off em,so their happy to pay anything.

I'm always told that I'm the most expensive quote they had but they liked me the most and seem more knowledgeable than the rest(Even though I've only been going 3 months).Plus I have a great tool.