# Contractor or not this pricing is too cheap



## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

saw this card today at my local sewer equipment repair shop . the equipment mechanic actually said that this guy has all this equipment. this piss's me off . my 30th yr in plumbing and I am watching A - HOLES like this ruin our industry and any chance at actually making money with jetters other than making an upsale .this guy has 2 - 4018 US trailer jetters and 1 - 4018 skid on flatbed .
The cost of a truck is all but the same no matter where you go , and that goes for equipment also . maybe he 's a victim of of a trust fund or something . this stuff just frustrates me . hope my attatchment works
Camera and locating - 150.00 $ - ok
jetting - 200.00$ - no way 
jetting & camera 250.00 $ - no way in hell

what the hell is wrong with these guys ???!!!


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## Drain Pro (Nov 3, 2013)

Don't worry about it. Cheap prices will never win over quality work. Besides, I'd be willing to bet once he gets his foot into the door those cheap prices go out the window.


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

name of business


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

Drain Pro said:


> Don't worry about it. Cheap prices will never win over quality work. Besides, I'd be willing to bet once he gets his foot into the door those cheap prices go out the window.


these guys are all over the place here in the san fernando valley . the majority of these guys could'nt plumb an outhouse , but the clientel here is also fueling the cut rate /budget contractor . seems that most of these guys are what you would refer to as a " plumbing tech " with an inheritance , obviously .


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Hydrojetting and camera is a big gray area into the quality of work done.


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

That's not bad for here, at least by the hr.


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

gear junkie said:


> Hydrojetting and camera is a big gray area into the quality of work done.


Understood , but there seems to be a big grey area in this guys business plan . if one actually does the math with even only some of the factors figured into the calculations , these numbers cant sustain the costs . the equipment in use is way too costly . Hence the 39.95 drain cleaning van . It has to be a loss - leader.


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

I had a competitor that was charging $125hr, no minimum to jet a line. No call out fees or anything. He'd jet with his trailer jet for less than I'd rod a line with the Gorlitz.


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

Do they do repairs and lining? If so those prices are just sales techniques. If they are truly just a jetting company I would hope those are at least hourly rates


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

DesertOkie said:


> That's not bad for here, at least by the hr.


I understand what you are saying Okie, but there is a heck of a cost of living difference here in L.A.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

1manshow said:


> Understood , but there seems to be a big grey area in this guys business plan . if one actually does the math with even only some of the factors figured into the calculations , these numbers cant sustain the costs . the equipment in use is way too costly . Hence the 39.95 drain cleaning van . It has to be a loss - leader.


Why do you think that? If the guy did 3 jobs a day, 5 days a week, he'd be at over 16k a month. No materials, consumables are kept low. Labor is super easy when jetting. Not much skill involved to train new employees. Seems like a solid business model to me. Maybe I'm missing something But I'd be happy as hell to make much.

But as I said earlier.....quality is unknown. Is he just opening the line or is he cleaning it? Months ago a plumber with a 4018 was clearing a line at a dog pound once a week. I cleaned the line with my 3045 and maybe 6 months later, still no issues.


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

ChrisConnor said:


> I had a competitor that was charging $125hr, no minimum to jet a line. No call out fees or anything. He'd jet with his trailer jet for less than I'd rod a line with the Gorlitz.


 ya , I charge 150.00 to snake a main , thats residential .


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## sierra2000 (Sep 19, 2011)

At $200 it's most likely by the hour which isn't bad.


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

Unclog1776 said:


> Do they do repairs and lining? If so those prices are just sales techniques. If they are truly just a jetting company I would hope those are at least hourly rates


I was told by my sewer equip. mech ." thats all they do is jetting" . It just cant be true . I get the whole sales ploy thing . we all need to make additional sales to keep our businesses healthy , but not every job has room for these xtras . so when they dont , we should still leave the job making xlnt money for our time . the business costs still have to be covered. and if these are hourly rates they are too low for this area .


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

sierra2000 said:


> At $200 it's most likely by the hour which isn't bad.


so if you get a call are you going to quote them 200.00$ an hour to jet , cause lets face it . the client is countining on you to show up , do your jetting ( most likely in 1 hour ) . than you tell them " i AM GOING INTO THE 2ND HOUR " and all of a sudden you dont have a happy client anymore , and they throw it back in your face all about the jetting for 200.00$ . just the same as any quoted price for any given job .

there has to be a higher price atleast for the first hour or a two hr minimum - something like that .


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## sierra2000 (Sep 19, 2011)

No, I give a flat rate way more than that. I say it's NOT BAD if it's hourly cause I know a few guys in our area that are jetting for $300 and they're clearing all roots. I used to hire one of them before I got my jetter.


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

gear junkie said:


> Why do you think that? If the guy did 3 jobs a day, 5 days a week, he'd be at over 16k a month. No materials, consumables are kept low. Labor is super easy when jetting. Not much skill involved to train new employees. Seems like a solid business model to me. Maybe I'm missing something But I'd be happy as hell to make much.
> 
> But as I said earlier.....quality is unknown. Is he just opening the line or is he cleaning it? Months ago a plumber with a 4018 was clearing a line at a dog pound once a week. I cleaned the line with my 3045 and maybe 6 months later, still no issues.


3 jobs a day , 5 days a week . here in the city , 1st job in burbank , 2nd job in santa monica , 3rd job in calabasas - this could be typical . you have approx - 4 hrs of drive time in this scenario . The - 3 jobs per day @ 5 days per week = 16000.00 does sound great , but it aint going to happen without alot of OT .


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

sierra2000 said:


> no, i give a flat rate way more than that. I say it's not bad if it's hourly cause i know a few guys in our area that are jetting for $300 and they're clearing all roots. I used to hire one of them before i got my jetter.


200 bucks per hr after an initial charge of some sort aint bad at all. Just need that initial charge .


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

If they are busy all day everyday you can make a profit with those numbers and multiple trucks all day every day. That's just my area I can't speak for others. If we schedule right I can usually have less than 20 mins of drive time between calls


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## sierra2000 (Sep 19, 2011)

Unclog1776 said:


> If they are busy all day everyday you can make a profit with those numbers and multiple trucks all day every day. That's just my area I can't speak for others. If we schedule right I can usually have less than 20 mins of drive time between calls


That's the key. Working on volume and having employees driving and working long hours all over. As an owner operator I don't want to be the one doing it.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

1manshow said:


> 3 jobs a day , 5 days a week . here in the city , 1st job in burbank , 2nd job in santa monica , 3rd job in calabasas - this could be typical . you have approx - 4 hrs of drive time in this scenario . The - 3 jobs per day @ 5 days per week = 16000.00 does sound great , but it aint going to happen without alot of OT .


Great point. Whats funny is I just looked up another jetting only company in LA onyelp. Number 1 complaint about them is they're late.


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## wharfrat (Nov 1, 2014)

The numbers must be hourly.


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## Shoot'N'Plumber (Apr 27, 2013)

It's funny cuz I'm way more than that jetting with my POS amazing machinery 4040. That sounds better...4040 cuz it's got a higher number than the us jetter 4018. Wait, is my jetter a POS if its paid for itself 10 times over? HMM!


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

I occasionally will jet for a single hour ($500) with a warning that we revert to the $395 hr once I cross over the 1 hour. This week I backed up to a garage cleanout and was gone in under an hour, the customer was happy and we scheduled a return trip the following year. Now I can catch him on a day when I'm already jetting elsewhere.

The funny ones are when the job is going to be over an hour regardless and the customer starts to get frustrated as the full hour approaches. Can't you jet faster is what I have heard. Sure I can I say, let me crank up the power and bury my hose deep in the sludge where it does nothing. Maybe I will get the hose stuck and spend a couple of hours extracting it. Nothing like having a unique tool I say.


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

dhal22 said:


> I occasionally will jet for a single hour ($500) with a warning that we revert to the $395 hr once I cross over the 1 hour. This week I backed up to a garage cleanout and was gone in under an hour, the customer was happy and we scheduled a return trip the following year. Now I can catch him on a day when I'm already jetting elsewhere.
> 
> The funny ones are when the job is going to be over an hour regardless and the customer starts to get frustrated as the full hour approaches. Can't you jet faster is what I have heard. Sure I can I say, let me crank up the power and bury my hose deep in the sludge where it does nothing. Maybe I will get the hose stuck and spend a couple of hours extracting it. Nothing like having a unique tool I say.


your numbers are much more realistic . i have not done a budget work sheet in a few years for the business and for personal expenses ( weekly, monthly , annually ) but it sounds like its time. Thing is though , once you do one, than you can see just what you should be charging . I already know that there is not alot of room for raising prices , thats for sure .


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

gear junkie said:


> Great point. Whats funny is I just looked up another jetting only company in LA onyelp. Number 1 complaint about them is they're late.


hopping from location to location here in L.A. can kill you on time . I always try and set first appt. in stone . than give the remaining clients a call when I am approx 1 hour away .


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## 1manshow (Jul 15, 2014)

Thanks to all of you for your input on this thread . I will have to do a budget planner / cost evaluation work sheet for this up coming year . Maybe this will put me in my place


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