# Selling Camera Service



## Mr Plumber (Oct 20, 2011)

When you pull the camera off the truck are you using it for your benefit to make sure the drains clear or are you charging the home owner to use it. 

Do you try to sell the service as well? What are some ways you are selling it, for dig ups etc?

I have been using my camera for my benefit but would like to start making money with it as well.


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## AssTyme (May 15, 2010)

It's a very hard sell for me nobody wants to pay for it


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

nothing should be given out for free....

how do you recover the money for a new one or repairs if you don't charge it out...


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Mine has paid for itself in replacements. I also have 2 different prices for mainline stoppages. I will unstop the line for one price, or I will clean the line and inspect for another. If they are smart they pay the extra $100.00.


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

We tell people if we suspect a problem, and then offer that we will camera the line for $X,***,***.XX () if they would like a more accurate diagnosis. We tell them our normal price for camera is $***,***.00 but since we have already performed a service at full price we give a $50 combination discount. Not all will do it but a number of them will, and often it will result in a repair.

We also camera for other plumbers at a discount so they can mark it up and still make money. And then there are the occasional calls for strictly camera inspections where we charge full price.


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## Mr Plumber (Oct 20, 2011)

SlickRick said:


> Mine has paid for itself in replacements. I also have 2 different prices for mainline stoppages. I will unstop the line for one price, or I will clean the line and inspect for another. If they are smart they pay the extra $100.00.


This will help out a lot thanks for the advice.


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## switch045 (Jan 25, 2012)

i cable, clear the drain, tell the customer i "restored flow" but cant guarantee it wont back up again because we dont know whats wrong without camering the line. with the camera we can gaurantee the cabling if the drain looks good, if it doesnt, then we know what to do next and can discount the camera if you want to do the repair. the price for the camera now is $*** if you want it later, its $*** more than now.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Sometimes you just need to use the forum search function to discover there ia already a bunch of answers to the question you are about to post... :laughing:

http://www.plumbingzone.com/f4/marketing-drain-camera-work-16436/#post228596

Considering there are Threads: 16,370, Posts: 239,291, Members: 8,450, Active Members: 901 on Plumbing Zone it might have already been asked at least once... :laughing:


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## drtyhands (Aug 16, 2008)

OldSchool said:


> nothing should be given out for free....
> 
> how do you recover the money for a new one or repairs if you don't charge it out...


 You sell sewers for $10,000 a pop.

The companies out here are finally down to telling customers they camera for free just to get on the property and rip them off for a new sewer.
I've been telling my customers for a long time now it would come to this.

Had a customer last week that needed other work after I used my camera on my own for his benefit.He asked me to put a cleanout under his porch.I used my camera to confirm his problem,it was not.He had roots underslab.

He called free camera rip-off company,they gave him a ridiculous price to beat mine, they raised their price $1,000 in the middle of the job.I called him and asked where he wanted my invoice sent.He said it was my choice to use camera.Short exchange resulted in me telling him to keep his f****** money.


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## bizzybeeplumbin (Jul 19, 2011)

I had a call from a customer yesterday afternoon, she called the night before at 1030 friday night, then at 1145, no message was left, woke me up both times, I will always call back if they leave a message, but I will not answer the phone "out of it"

she had a main line stoppage, she called RR out, he cleared it, ran the camera and located 2 spots of roots. 5' deep. Ran the camera for free, left no DVD or tape. She was calling to see what they could do instead of dig. I said hydro jet, as long as the sewer isn't broken. Last root penetration I had the pvc sewer was broken, the 1/8 bend split all the way around. 

This is the RR way, they have live dispatchers 24/7, go out with no service or after afters cost, give a free camera and gett he job, usually.

I won that last job from RR, I came out, cameraed the spot, sent her the pictures right from my laptop while my camera was still in her sewer, this way her husband was brought in on the decision while at work. I also beat RR price by 1200.00 and still made decent money. I did not bring in a back hoe like they were going to do either nand probably tear up the yard or sell her a complete repair. Who needs a backhoe for a 5' repair thats 3' deep?

If this women calls back, I will charge her a service call for the camera, and see if I can repair her sewer with a jet, or dig it up. 

I know pipe bursting is not approved here, I am now trying to find out if permaliner is approved. 

I remember when cameras first came out, we could charge 650 for the camera. Thats all gone. I charge for it if it is a real estate inspection or a line location. If it is for a sewer repair I will be doing, I won't charge for it.


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

bizzybeeplumbin said:


> I had a call from a customer yesterday afternoon, she called the night before at 1030 friday night, then at 1145, no message was left, woke me up both times, I will always call back if they leave a message, but I will not answer the phone "out of it"
> 
> she had a main line stoppage, she called RR out, he cleared it, ran the camera and located 2 spots of roots. 5' deep. Ran the camera for free, left no DVD or tape. She was calling to see what they could do instead of dig. I said hydro jet, as long as the sewer isn't broken. Last root penetration I had the pvc sewer was broken, the 1/8 bend split all the way around.
> 
> ...


Do you actively go after the realtors or just when they find you? I was thinking trying that with my realtor. It was one thing i wanted to inspect when I bought my house, I'm not sure how many people think about it.


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## bizzybeeplumbin (Jul 19, 2011)

DesertOkie said:


> Do you actively go after the realtors or just when they find you? I was thinking trying that with my realtor. It was one thing i wanted to inspect when I bought my house, I'm not sure how many people think about it.


 
They usually just find us through a referall, we work with a lot of property managment accounts, some have spin off's of real estate offices. 

Not a lot of people with think about it, and the agent usually does not want it because it can kill a sale. You can send your persepctive agents office a flyer noting the benifit for the seller and the buyer if it is completed. A smart buyers agent will have it done I have found.


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## user8601 (Feb 3, 2012)

i agree with the camera selling being hard.. i have the provision 2.0 by spartan , with locator and beacon as well and u know ppl just dont want to pay unless u tell them look u have a problem and i wont charge u if i dont find a problem with my camera but if i do find a problem u have to pay but my machine when i got it was over 6k and i only charge 180.00 is that too cheap?


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## SimplePlumber (Feb 1, 2012)

Mr Plumber said:


> When you pull the camera off the truck are you using it for your benefit to make sure the drains clear or are you charging the home owner to use it.
> 
> Do you try to sell the service as well? What are some ways you are selling it, for dig ups etc?
> 
> I have been using my camera for my benefit but would like to start making money with it as well.


Just an observation first...In the context of what you are asking, if you are using the camera for any reason other than checking something you did wrong, it was always for the customers benefit. (unless you are a sewer line voyeur )

I have personally never given away a video inspection and electronic locate (V.I.) in any company I worked for or owned, since my first one in 1995. When I had my company, I charged $425 to perform a V.I. if they called for it specifically. If I was already on the site for some other paid reason, it would be $125 plus the hourly rate.

Many of the rooter companies in my area were offering it for half that amount and some even free as others have stated. When a customer would ask how I could be charging "so much" for a V.I., I simply stated, you are getting a licensed professional plumber to perform your service, not simply a drain "tech". This is the plumbing equivalent of a doctor diagnosing your problem.

I typically used the analogy: If you had to have a colonoscopy done, wouldn't you rather have the doctor who is going to be fixing your issue perform it, since he knows what to look for? Or, would you like to get it done cheaper by letting his "tech" quickly do it and show him the recording of the procedure, hoping he didn't miss anything crucial? After a few seconds of silence on the phone, I would say 75% got a laugh out of the analogy and understood the value, the other 25% didn't.

Drain calls follow certain steps from getting the call, to getting paid, and is relatively predicable if you stop and think about it. If you develop a plan in the beginning on how you will handle them and do not deviate from it, it will make it easier to do more of them. To make it easier, make yourself a flow chart to help you in the beginning. You can start with something in the first box like...mainline call; cable line; open? yes; recommend to V.I.; not open?; recommend (whatever your particular diagnosis calls for), or recommend electronic location of the problem to offer repair; etc.

The reason this helps, is that it not only creates a clear and logical path to solving the customers problem; but everyone, including your employees, managers, owners, estimators, and customers know what *your* procedure is on handling mainline calls. This eliminates the hesitation in your presentation to your customer, relating to more V.I. done...not to mention, the side benefit of more sewer repairs (if you do that work).

Be well,

Rich


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