I recently had an inquiry for a pretty bog standard parquet floor sanding job which was quite near to me. Subsequently visited the site and the customer asked me to email him a quotation as he had an urgent call. He left immediately afterwards and his wife seemed quite a nice person who gave me the impression that the job was in the bag. I duly sent him a quote saying that it was our normal standard rate. However, this wasn’t quite true because I worked the price out by deciding how long it would take to complete the job plus materials. The client came back on the phone asking how I could charge this outrageous amount and his reasoning went like this, he is a carpenter/joiner and did a 5 years as an apprentice, has approximately £15000 to £17000 tied up in tools and plant, runs a van, has PLI and PAT and an advertising budget… phew! He went on to say that for this he charges £14.00 per hour which he reckoned is the standard rate. He then went on to point out that I was charging £38.00 per hour and as far as he was aware there was no formal qualification to be a Floor Sander and my operating costs were similar to his! He then went on to say he had other quotes that were even more outrageous than mine from other operators who on paper seemed even to have less investment than me and were even less experienced than me and commented before he slammed down the phone, "this floor sanding business is a complete rip off ". Now I know the building industry does not seem to have a standard rate for tradesmen because of the variations on regional areas and depending if you have the necessary cards or certificates, and I am trying to see his point of view because if like me, he is self-employed and has undergone some sort of proper training (City & Guilds etc.) he may have a valid point. I can understand why he feels bad about a Floor Sander who can buy some kit this week and set up next week as a wood floor restoration expert and charge much more than he does. I am neither for nor against this argument but just thought members would be interested in this man’s point of view and wondered whether anyone else has received a similar reaction. I have always thought the Floor Restoration industry is pretty much unregulated - some of us endeavour do it right, some are just cowboys. There are top earning craftsmen in all of the building trades. They're usually in high demand and for a very good reason - because they can demonstrate why they are worth the extra. Take the full qualified carpenter and joiner - he wouldn’t like it if you referred to him as a Chippy would he? The services have ranks that indicate higher levels of responsibility and experience (and pay of course). No real argument about the differences in pay levels between people who risk their lives and devote their time to help people for little reward (armed services, firemen, nurses, ambulance etc) and other jobs though, so I wouldn't even attempt that one. I'd just agree and say they are grossly underpaid and it's not fair, but everybody has to make a living and there are many jobs that pay better and don't get me started on bankers and footballers etc. I personally think it all comes down to making yourself stand out from other people offering the same service, not necessarily better, but different in some way and a perfect match for that client. If you can't get that across then they have nothing else to go on but what you charge and what they can see - which isn't any different to anyone else. We all have professional looking equipment, and we all say we give a quality, bespoke service etc - but with some clients it really does come down to getting in tune with them and creating a relationship. I also think that replies from customers who don't book you are worth their weight in gold. People send out feedback forms after successful projects and get very little back they can use, so comments like these from non-bookers gives you a real insight into where improvements can be made.
Phew!!! I don't personally that that £38 per hour for what you are offering is unreasonable, you have to cover time for quotes/paperwork/time off/quiet times/tools and everything else that goes with being self-employed, if he's only charging £14 per hour he needs to look at his business model. Occasionally I get asked by a customer how much my hourly rate is, I just tell them I try to offer a good service at competitive prices, what I earn is between me and the taxman,If they find what they feel is better value elsewhere then thats their choice as to who to use. I'm sure they wouldn't want to tell me what they earn!! I Understand your point about nurses and those in the armed services, but thats an entirely different issue.
So, who set his hourly pay? Him.. or someone who is only willing to pay him said amount? or the area he lives in? I charge £20 an hour to uplift old materials and THAT is certainly not a skilled job, but that's the rate I set for myself. Am I charging an outrageous amount for this unskilled job? I could charge £14 or less or perhaps I should charge less than £6 per hour because the people on this rate must have an unskilled job... They are not.. They are on this wage because that is what is set.. If he was to put his hourly rate up would he loose more customers??? probably not, if he's good his customers will pay, if they are happy to have him.. Bet he wouldn't complain about a plumber or sparky.. but then they are regulated.
In any one hour i cant see him using £6000 to £ 7000 of tools which you will running a BM & an edger.If he doesn't want your services he has the freedom to choose without a rant & slamming down the phone.There are plenty of people prepared to work at the rates he finds acceptable but will they achieve the finish he expects.
Lol, the best thing about being self employed is the that you decide what you earn (providing you can get the work)...that includes what you charge. No one can tell you thats too much? although plenty will. You decide what you want to earn from a job (one that will definatly **** you up pretty quick physically) and then you go out and work your tits off to show people thats what the jobs worth. Sometimes I look at a job and think it will be easy so I drop the price.....dont think Ive ever done that with a sanding job!! Ive definatly lost more sanding jobs than Ive won. Every self employed person gets its....my sister does photography and over the years has built up a steady work flow because she does a good job, then some one rings her and asks her to do thier wedding and very kindly offers to pay her £150 for the day because thats what they have decided she is worth? I think any1 thats married will know a photographer for the day and all your photos costs a little more than £150 on average
You can drive yourself mad trying to substantiate what you charge but it comes down to one thing....supply and demand. If he were the only joiner in fifty miles he'd be charging much more. If there were a multitude of floor sanders/finishers in your area you'd be charging less. He could have invested/trained in becoming a floor sander and finisher ....but he didn't. Btw I very much doubt he's only charging £14/hour
Got nowt to do with him what you charge, if he isnt happy with the quotes to do it professionally then he can do a cheap diy job with wickes gear, how dare he dictate what you should earn I would of told him his £14 an hour is to expensive as he only screws bits of wood together, would wind him right up for talking to me like that
nothing wrong with wickes gear, I did a full bathroom refurb with all the gear coming from there and it looked fabulous.. but then I did it, not for £14hour though.... lol and i'm not qualified in any of it....
Again ....it just goes to show how people , including other trades look at the flooring industry as a non skilled trade. How very wrong they are !! Personally I think our trade is one of the hardest to perform. But I would say that as I only got home an hour ago !! Unlike a 'chippy' that would walk through the door at 4.30 !!!
How people see it though isn't it? I no longer work weekends or fit on Thursdays, if I tell customers that a normal response is "alright for you part-timers" The fact that the other 4 days I'm out loading the van by 7-30 and not usually finished till 8-9pm !!!!!!! make that about 48hrs a week, wonder how many of them work that many hours?
I don't get involved in sanding but that doesn't sound expensive mate, fitting generally meterage but if I worked by the hour carpet fitting would work in at £30 ish an hour £40 ish for laminates £80 for wood etc... that's what I think I'm worth
