Got a call today....

[Octopus]

Customer wanting an EICR on a 4 bedroom house he's thinking of buying. How much he asks - I quote my day rate of £225

I hear a sharp intake of breath - he was obviously thinking of a smaller number.

So he's about to spend between £550K to £800K

What does he expect??

 

[trev]

A pound to a pinch of pig poop he drives something very flash, has all the latest must have gadgets and an expensive designer wife/trophy girlfriend.

 

[Richard Burns]

For an 800K house I would be charging more than that!!

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Did he accept your price Murdoch?

Thats all you can do is stick to your prices knowing that you will do a proper EICR and that your remedials will be genuine. I'd be pretty certain from all your posts that this is how you would go about doing an EICR and you will have built up a good reputation. This will far outweigh the one or two jobs you lose to those who just want a piece of paper and are not concerned with the actual content of the EICR.

 

[Octopus]

Did he accept your price Murdoch?

Thats all you can do is stick to your prices knowing that you will do a proper EICR and that your remedials will be genuine. I'd be pretty certain from all your posts that this is how you would go about doing an EICR and you will have built up a good reputation. This will far outweigh the one or two jobs you lose to those who just want a piece of paper and are not concerned with the actual content of the EICR.

Not yet.

I suspect he's calling around and there are a couple of "drive by" ECIR goons reound doing them for a ton so I'm not holding my breath!

 

[sparkdog]

Saw the receipt a customer had for a PIR in London 2010,three bedroom house.Guess how much.....it was £900 and something.

 

[D Skelton]

I get the same all the time now. I say to them "If you want an actual periodic inspection carrying out with a professional and unbiased report that's worth the paper it's written on at the end of it, this is the service we offer. We charge what we charge because to do the job properly and without cutting corners we allow a full day (half day for a bedsit or small flat) for a fully qualified and time served electrician to carry out the report. If all you want is a piece of paper then you can easily find a short course electrician, commonly known in the trade as a five week wonder, that will drive by the house for fifty quid."

If I'm being totally honest, I reckon that speech works between 70-80% of the time.

I'm also amazed at how many commercial PIRs I pick up simply because the others that quote per circuit over the phone simply fail to mention any form of pre-inspection survey!

"Pre-inspection survey you say? No one else has said anything about that?!"

I then calmly explain to them that without a survey being carried out prior to an inspection, how am I able to meet with them and discuss issues such as the scope of work required? How am I able to ascertain whether any circuits need to remain energised or whether any special arrangements need to be made in order to complete the work? I tell them that I need to be able to see records of previous work undertaken and the results of any previous testing. I tell them that I need to see the installation to ensure that I can put any safety measures in place if needed and that a small amount of preperatory inspection may be needed to identify circuits and highlight any items that may need a deeper degree of inspection, all in order to help with determining sample percentages.

I let them know that once a survey has been carried out, only then can I provide them with an accurate price.

"Oh yeah" they say... "There's a lot more to this than I thought" they say...

"When can you do the work?" they then normally say!


Edit: I mean this in a totally non-arrogant way, but by highlighting your strengths, you expose the weaknesses of others, thus meaning you can land more work as a result. If they're still only willing to pay peanuts, then they're more than welcome to their monkeys!

 

[ImpededLoop]

I think it's the same with most work we quote. If you take the time to discuss and explain the options with the potential customer, and write down what you discuss, it makes you look like a reliable outfit.

In my experience, I've won quite a few jobs this way.

 

[ipf]

I get the same all the time now. I say to them "If you want an actual periodic inspection carrying out with a professional and unbiased report that's worth the paper it's written on at the end of it, this is the service we offer. We charge what we charge because to do the job properly and without cutting corners we allow a full day (half day for a bedsit or small flat) for a fully qualified and time served electrician to carry out the report. If all you want is a piece of paper then you can easily find a short course electrician, commonly known in the trade as a five week wonder, that will drive by the house for fifty quid."

If I'm being totally honest, I reckon that speech works between 70-80% of the time.

I'm also amazed at how many commercial PIRs I pick up simply because the others that quote per circuit over the phone simply fail to mention any form of pre-inspection survey!

"Pre-inspection survey you say? No one else has said anything about that?!"

I then calmly explain to them that without a survey being carried out prior to an inspection, how am I able to meet with them and discuss issues such as the scope of work required? How am I able to ascertain whether any circuits need to remain energised or whether any special arrangements need to be made in order to complete the work? I tell them that I need to be able to see records of previous work undertaken and the results of any previous testing. I tell them that I need to see the installation to ensure that I can put any safety measures in place if needed and that a small amount of preperatory inspection may be needed to identify circuits and highlight any items that may need a deeper degree of inspection, all in order to help with determining sample percentages.

I let them know that once a survey has been carried out, only then can I provide them with an accurate price.

"Oh yeah" they say... "There's a lot more to this than I thought" they say...

"When can you do the work?" they then normally say!


Edit: I mean this in a totally non-arrogant way, but by highlighting your strengths, you expose the weaknesses of others, thus meaning you can land more work as a result. If they're still only willing to pay peanuts, then they're more than welcome to their monkeys!

I've just been asked if I can do an EICR for a printing firm. 800amp supply, a couple of 10 colour Heidelberg printers, folders, guillotines, paper extraction, offices, 6 3phase db's, etc. In this case, I say bo$$ox to all that lot, Damien............................I installed the whole shebang, in a brand new unit.................FIVE years ago.

 

[D Skelton]

I've just been asked if I can do an EICR for a printing firm. 800amp supply, a couple of 10 colour Heidelberg printers, folders, guillotines, paper extraction, offices, 6 3phase db's, etc. In this case, I say bo$$ox to all that lot, Damien............................I installed the whole shebang, in a brand new unit.................FIVE years ago.

Ah, but did you install it well and label up your circuits correctly???

That is the question!

 

[7029 dave]

Put an other £100 on it Clive.

 

[ipf]

Ah, but did you install it well and label up your circuits correctly???

That is the question!

What do you think?

Only problem is....it makes it easier for another.:sad3:

 

[davesparks]

Ah, but did you install it well and label up your circuits correctly???

That is the question!

Or is the question:

Who's been dicking around with it since then? Not specifically looking at the in house maintainence crew!

 

[ipf]

Or is the question:

Who's been dicking around with it since then? Not specifically looking at the in house maintainence crew!

Sorted a new folder supply last month. Any problems I get the call.

 

[davesparks]

You're laughing then, the EICR should be pretty straightforward for you.

 

[ipf]

Yeah. It was a great job over about five months with regular interim payments. My idea of ideal. Wish we had one of those every year.
Only trouble now is that the office db is full because of all the extra circuits for new stuff, since. Ways round that, though.