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Competition

6K views 73 replies 21 participants last post by  electrictim510 
#1 ·
Service guy came back today and said "I used to think we were expensive but not any more!"
It was a loose stab lock. Level one diagnostic including a minor repair. $171 in and out in 15 minutes.

Evidently the customer had another company out first, they opened the panel (condo unit) said you need a new panel - $1750 which may or may not get the lights back on. He said no, just get the lights working. They told him min $450 to diagnose the problem not including repair. WHAT??? The panel was totally fine too.

Wow is all I can say.
BTW dronai, it was the main branch of your cybersquatter.
 
#4 ·
I had a guy call My receptacle is sparking and it is tripping the breaker how much will you charge?

Well sir if it is just a bad receptacle it will be $169 if there are other problems I will give you a price to repair it:)..


:mad: "THAT'S WAY TOO MUCH I'VE GOT SOMEONE ELSE FOR $75...:eek:"

That made the rest of Monday just FCKING pissa....:no::laughing::rolleyes:
 
#5 ·
Yesterday a lady called to get an outlet moved 10-15 feet. Wanted to know how much. I told her someone would have to look but minimum $159. She was horrified and said it should cost no more than $50. Good luck.

Goes to show you, there is always someone higher and also lower.
 
#9 ·
Who said anything about a FPE panel? I didnt. We wont work on them either and we charge $3400 not $1700 to replace rhem. It was a perfectly fine newer panel that did not have anything wrong with it. Why would we suggest changing out a perfectly fine panel? We want to make a profit but we also like to be fair to the customers.

It was a loose stablock outlet which was causing an outage. The electrician knew he would find the problem in 5 minutes. Of course he also suggested changing out the plugs but the customer only wanted a bandaid fix and to keep his cost down. So thats all we sold on that call. 10% buy the top option, 10% buy the bottom snd 80% buy somewhere in the middle. We'd rather sell more too IF the work is needed but we dont want our guys to be pushy and they would get fired for selling unnecessary work. Our rates are top of the market but $450 minimum to find a loose stablock in an outlet is a bit much even for a franchise.
 
#11 ·
Who said anything about a FPE panel? I didnt. We wont work on them either and we charge $3400 not $1700 to replace rhem. It was a perfectly fine newer panel that did not have anything wrong with it. Why would we suggest changing out a perfectly fine panel? We want to make a profit but we also like to be fair to the customers.

It was a loose stablock outlet which was causing an outage. The electrician knew he would find the problem in 5 minutes. Of course he also suggested changing out the plugs but the customer only wanted a bandaid fix and to keep his cost down. So thats all we sold on that call. 10% buy the top option, 10% buy the bottom snd 80% buy somewhere in the middle. We'd rather sell more too IF the work is needed but we dont want our guys to be pushy and they would get fired for selling unnecessary work. Our rates are top of the market but $450 minimum to find a loose stablock in an outlet is a bit much even for a franchise.
How do you know the panel did not need to be changed? Maybe the other electrician knows something your guy doesn't. Maybe your guy is afraid of being fired for trying to upsell.
 
#10 ·
Service guy came back today and said "I used to think we were expensive but not any more!"
It was a loose stab lock. Level one diagnostic including a minor repair. $171 in and out in 15 minutes.

Evidently the customer had another company out first, they opened the panel (condo unit) said you need a new panel - $1750 which may or may not get the lights back on. He said no, just get the lights working. They told him min $450 to diagnose the problem not including repair. WHAT??? The panel was totally fine too.

Wow is all I can say.
BTW dronai, it was the main branch of your cybersquatter.


Not ONE WORD about a receptacle. Stablock is an FPE panel. Most people would call a receptacle "back stabbed" if that's what you are talking about.
 
#12 ·
electricmanscott said:
Not ONE WORD about a receptacle. Stablock is an FPE panel. Most people would call a receptacle "back stabbed" if that's what you are talking about.
There are regional differences in terminology. We call an FPE panel an FPE panel. We call "backstabbed" receptacles stab lock receptacles. I have never heard of a panel referred to as a stablock.

Would someone from out here chime in please.
 
#15 ·
stlouis said:
How do you know the panel did not need to be changed? Maybe the other electrician knows something your guy doesn't. Maybe your guy is afraid of being fired for trying to upsell.
This guy is our #1 sales person and the best troubleshooter we've ever had. Trust me, he's not afraid to upsell. We change a Lot of panels, and he sells the most. If he says it didnt need it, then it didnt need it. Otherwise he would have sold it.
 
#16 ·
This guy is our #1 sales person and the best troubleshooter we've ever had. Trust me, he's not afraid to upsell. We change a Lot of panels, and he sells the most. If he says it didnt need it, then it didnt need it. Otherwise he would have sold it.
So your "best" salesman thinks your prices are to high? My top guy would have came in my office and told me we are not charging enough. I'm in a race to the top.
 
#19 ·
Wrong. Geez you guys seem to live to argue. He is fine with our prices, I was telling a story for heavens sake. Everyone at ou company understands providing value commensurate with our prices. Trust me we are waaay higher than most here.
 
#35 ·
Service guy came back today and said "I used to think we were expensive but not any more!"
It was a loose stab lock. Level one diagnostic including a minor repair. $171 in and out in 15 minutes.

Evidently the customer had another company out first, they opened the panel (condo unit) said you need a new panel - $1750 which may or may not get the lights back on. He said no, just get the lights working. They told him min $450 to diagnose the problem not including repair. WHAT??? The panel was totally fine too.

Wow is all I can say.
BTW dronai, it was the main branch of your cybersquatter.

sounds like your competition is able to upsell better Yrman

~CS~
 
#41 ·
One last thing. I know exactly what the OP is talking about. We have the big flat raters here as well. They DO NOT want to fix a back stabbed receptacle, they like to claim that the problem is the service is not adequate and the customer needs an emergency upgrade. They toss the terms fire, and hazzard, and children around like it's second nature to them. They try and scare the customer into spending more money than they need to.

One of my buddies....ex-buddies, works for one of these outfits. They get paid hourly and commission. He states he doesn't make money fixing receps, he makes money changing panels. This is why they do it. Regardless of whether the customer needs a new panel, he scares them into a panel change, while his helper fixed the receptacle, when the customer wasn't looking. It's a huge scam. The firm he works for is well known by other EC's in this area, and has been written about in the papers many times. The company just changes their name every couple years.
 
#44 ·
most homeowners don't spend a lotta time in the basement , many have to think about it when asked where their panel is....

i use those small repair jobs to get my foot in the 'estimate door' forlarger work, while others flat rate themselves outta the pix

there's always something that could be updated , easily validated in the state of VT's colonial home arena ....

all one needs do is bring them to the basment , and point it all out

~CS~
 
#49 · (Edited)
Couple who live across the street from me had an unnamed EC come out for the "free Home Inspection". They were left with an estimate for the following:

Correct oversized AC breaker- Homeline 2-30 instead of a homeline 2-20/ $225

Correct grounding issues, estimate stated that the ground rod was too close the house/ $175

Correct the Non UL listed breakers in panell ( I found one ITE installed in a homeline) /$125

Install 2 replacement smoke detectors/ $127

Reccomended the "Energy Crusher", (cuz it stores energy)/ $379

Whole house surge protection/ $398

Reccomended a "panell rejuvenation" / $1267 ( i am not clear on the details of what this would include. (house is 10 years old with a 200 amp Homeline service)

They called me for my opinion. WOW!

Well, they did not get that job.
 
#50 ·
well you won't if you're being either disengenous, or pose numbers far and above that of your local peers

that said, the majority of EC's FR, the majority of EC's also bid

but there are those among us who are actively being tutored to FR, and forgo bidding against anyone

they are sorts that choose to remove themselves from the competition, to pursue the >>>>

sell a 150 amp. service change to a little old lady for $6,450.00
when outed as far and above the norm (and by norm we mean our peers normal $$$) they'll pose themselves as having superior service, confidence, customer relations.....etc ad nasuem....

~CS~
 
#56 ·
I dont have a problem with pricing your work to make a profit or making suggestions for repairs or improvements. That is good business. However saying that someone NEEDS unnecessary work is dishonest. Making suggestions for real issues even if expensive is not. Saying they Have to do the work is.
Sometines its a judgement call. We generally wont add circiuts to zinsco or fpe panels, but lots of people have no problem with it. We will usually suggest replacement. However it is dishonest to tell every customer that they need to replace their panel if it is in good condition.
I'd rather have a reputation as being expensive but good and honest than expensive and dishonest or cheap but you get what you pay for. If you are good, you dont have to be cheap. Expensive and dishonest are not the same. Sometimes the low price is ultimately the most expensive. We ALL know that. Expensive and bad or unnecessary work is dishonest.
 
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