I believe I was price gouged for a repair of 2 foot pvc pipe

[CT18]

That’s a horrible job by the way. Sloppy sloppy work. That’s what I’d be mad about.
I would want the plumbers name that did the work so I could check if he’s licensed.

They would also get the glue off my house.

You guys have pvc inside the foundation walls. Outstanding !

The deregulated world of Texas, where anything goes as long as someone makes a buck. I would at least tell him to replace the insulation. Then his sloppy joints might look better

 

[rickwhoo]

You’d have to ask that plumber.

Not all plumbers price match like Walmart.

Again, gouging has a legal definition.

If this plumber is from Hawaii (example)then he could’ve charged even more. The plumbers costs play a roll in if the law considers a cost price gouging in emergency situations.

That was just an example, I’m not saying the plumber in this case was from out of town.,

Maybe that company is paying that plumber $100 an hour and paid his way from Alabama and is putting him up in a hotel room and feeding him .
They’re allowed to pass these costs on. No matter what it costs......
Except for emergency situations or a case of mental incapacity I can charge whatever a customer agrees to pay. Period.,

You saw this job... What would you have charged? Just curious...

 

[Twowaxhack]

The deregulated world of Texas, where anything goes as long as someone makes a buck. I would at least tell him to replace the insulation. Then his sloppy joints might look better

I don’t think pvc is legal inside the foundation walls in Texas.

It was probably handyhack work and the plumber put it back like that. Probably a code violation but when people haven’t had water for 3 weeks you can’t stay and repipe the house.,

I would’ve wrote that up as a temporary emergency repair. .

 

[Twowaxhack]

You saw this job... What would you have charged? Just curious...

I’ve already posted that info to the thread.
But that doesn’t matter.

Does it matter that I can buy a water supply from my supplier for $2.25 but big box charges 7.50 for it ? Sure doesn’t.

 

[rickwhoo]

I’ve already posted that info to the thread.
But that doesn’t matter.

Does it matter that I can buy a water supply from my supplier for $2.25 but big box charges 7.50 for it ? Sure doesn’t.

These days you have to shop around for everything. I see price differences on everything I buy. One website sells an item for $10 and another charges double that or more. It's just the way it is.

 

[rickwhoo]

I’ve already posted that info to the thread.
But that doesn’t matter.

Does it matter that I can buy a water supply from my supplier for $2.25 but big box charges 7.50 for it ? Sure doesn’t.

What's your normal hourly rate?

 

[Twowaxhack]

What's your normal hourly rate?

Depends what I’m doing.

 

[Twowaxhack]

These days you have to shop around for everything. I see price differences on everything I buy. One website sells an item for $10 and another charges double that or more. It's just the way it is.

Does shopping around cost money ?

Maybe they should’ve shopped around for a plumber.......

Remember I consider time to have a value.

 

[TomFOhio]

Flat rate is high. When I was working I hated the flat rate pricing. I would of rather charged by the
hour any day but I couldn't. We would give the customer the price for the job up front and have them sign
the invoice and then there was no question. Sometimes I was embarrassed by the price but that is how it
was.

 

[rickwhoo]

Depends what I’m doing.

The job in this thread.

 

[Twowaxhack]

The job in this thread.

The job in this thread.

That really doesn’t matter. I don’t have to charge by the hour.

I can contract jobs to cost whatever I’d like, as long as the contract is lawful.

I just got off the the with my attorney and that’s what he told me to tell you.

I hope you guys have a great day.

 

[rickwhoo]

That really doesn’t matter. I don’t have to charge by the hour.

I can contract jobs to cost whatever I’d like, as long as the contract is lawful.

I just got off the the with my attorney and that’s what he told me to tell you.

I hope you guys have a great day.

WOW! That is not what I expected to see from you...

 

[Twowaxhack]

WOW! That is not what I expected to see from you...

It comes down to if it was legal or not.

Do I think she paid a lot ? I sure do.

Would I have charged that much ? Nope

Does any of that matter ? Nope.

I think the real rip off is a guy charging $50 an hour bootlegging jobs out of a minivan without license or insurance..

But that guy is good for my business. He’s not a threat to it.

 

[Wiggums1]

Flat rate pricing is all about charging for the (value of a service), not for (the time it takes to provide that service).
If a price was given up front, accepted by the customer, & the service was provided, then it was obviously worth it for the customer to have that service provided, regardless of how long it took.

You can make a legitimate arguement that the job looks sloppy, that PVC may or may not be legal inside a building (it is NOT where I come from), or that the technician did not put the insulation back on the pipe. However, in my eyes, if the “job” was to get the customer back in water, if the price was discussed & agreed upon ahead of time, and if the job was compleeted successfully (customer has water again), then the price should stand.

It costs a LOT (time, schooling, etc.) to become a plumber, let alone to set up and run a legitimate plumbing business. If you go to a doctors office and expect them to perform an hour long surgery for less than thousands, you’re delusional. Why expect to pay less for a plumber? In my case, I am coming in with a $200k fully stocked & outfitted vehicle, contractor license that took me 8+years to obtain, 20+ years of experience, liability insurance, and all the other things it takes to run a successful plumbing business. Those things cost, there is no reason for me to struggle month-to-month because I don’t feel like charging appropriately for my services.

 

[AEHadi]

It comes down to if it was legal or not.

Do I think she paid a lot ? I sure do.

Would I have charged that much ? Nope

Does any of that matter ? Nope.

I think the real rip off is a guy charging $50 an hour bootlegging jobs out of a minivan without license or insurance..

But that guy is good for my business. He’s not a threat to it.

Do you realize that it is actually the guy that price gouged me that is in fact really bad for your business though. At least for honest plumbers out there. Here's why. Because now I will never trust a plumber again to step foot in my house. It just isn't worth it when the money I get paid at my job is not nearly $600/hr so I am willing to learn and do the job myself even if it would take much longer (in this case I had done similar repair and it took just as long). What that means for other honest licensed plumbers is that they get less work as people either start DIY or delegate the work to an unlicensed handyman which is what my neighbor did. In other words, the money he gouged from me today will ultimately be taken away from another plumber tomorrow. Plumbers here get upwards of $300/hr. Is that really not enough to get by for someone where they have to start gouging.

I had already called their company in complaints to their practices. Still waiting for their callback but am sure I wont be getting any money returned from this. Lesson learned.

 

[AEHadi]

Flat rate pricing is all about charging for the (value of a service), not for (the time it takes to provide that service).
If a price was given up front, accepted by the customer, & the service was provided, then it was obviously worth it for the customer to have that service provided, regardless of how long it took.

You can make a legitimate arguement that the job looks sloppy, that PVC may or may not be legal inside a building (it is NOT where I come from), or that the technician did not put the insulation back on the pipe. However, in my eyes, if the “job” was to get the customer back in water, if the price was discussed & agreed upon ahead of time, and if the job was compleeted successfully (customer has water again), then the price should stand.

It costs a LOT (time, schooling, etc.) to become a plumber, let alone to set up and run a legitimate plumbing business. If you go to a doctors office and expect them to perform an hour long surgery for less than thousands, you’re delusional. Why expect to pay less for a plumber? In my case, I am coming in with a $200k fully stocked & outfitted vehicle, contractor license that took me 8+years to obtain, 20+ years of experience, liability insurance, and all the other things it takes to run a successful plumbing business. Those things cost, there is no reason for me to struggle month-to-month because I don’t feel like charging appropriately for my services.

Yes I agree that price should match the value of service that it would bring to a customer. However this should not be the case during a weather emergency situation where millions are without water and struggling through something that is no fault of their own. Because now the demand that is creating that excess value is fueled by people suffering. You are no longer only providing plumbing services at that point but also in the business of leveraging the crisis and profiting off of peoples struggles. That is where the unethical part comes in. Price gouging is illegal btw, just really hard to prove in court like in this case but obvious to the layman when they look at the ridiculous cost of it vs what other same skill plumbers would charge. But even if it was legal, that does not make it ethical of course.

 

[Twowaxhack]

200k fully stocked vehicles? What do you drive my man?????? And what do you have in it ?????? I’d like to see your Rig . Post pics brother

I was wondering when a flat rate guy would chime in. I’m a mixture of T&M and flat rate.,

 

[Wiggums1]

200k fully stocked vehicles? What do you drive my man?????? And what do you have in it ?????? I’d like to see your Rig . Post pics brother

I was wondering when a flat rate guy would chime in. I’m a mixture of T&M and flat rate.,

 

[Wiggums1]

 

[Twowaxhack]

Set up to make money. Very well done.