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Pricing is a subject that’s been debated between homeowners and tradesmen for a number of years now. So which one is the better bargain for the buck? For starters in certain aspects a hourly job pricing would be more homeowner friendly but if we consider the whole overall picture flat-rate pricing is much better. Why is flat-rate better you may ask?
For starters Flat-Rate pricing includes the cost of Materials and Trips associated with going to buy extra materials or materials in general, compared to per Hourly where you would pay for materials + each trip + hours. This way you know that you pay what the Contract Price is (another term for Flat-Rate pricing) instead of worrying about charges the plumber can be racking up by doing his job slowly and going to buy materials, because remember you're paying for his time going to get the materials as well as his gas, and for all you know he may be going out to grab a cup of hot Java. Now look at Flat-Rate pricing, you pay the contract price no matter if the job takes 2 hours or 10 hours, you're not paying a dime extra for those extra hours, this would not work on per Hourly bases.
And let’s not forget that a handful of plumbers are flexible with their Flat-Rate pricing, as such you can always negotiate a better deal. Sure some will refuse to provide you with a better deal, but most plumbers would try to negotiate it out in favour of getting the job, instead of wasting there time with estimates. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that if you get a discount or a better deal then Flat-Rate pricing is a rip off or a scam, remember we as plumbers have already invested our time to come out and see you, we spend time in traffic and we spend gas as well as racked up millage on the work truck. As such where possible we don’t mind to negotiate a price, instead of going back to the shop empty handed and have wasted our own resources. Not to mention we are people as well and understand negotiating prices/costs.
The only time per Hour plumbers are actually cost efficient is for small jobs, like replacing a leaking water supply line or tightening a loose connection. However jobs like this would take 10-30 min, and in logical concept you would only have to pay for the fraction of the hourly cost. But most of per Hour plumbers would indicate that they have “A minimum charge”, or it’s their company's Policy to charge for the full-hour.
Where’s Flat-Rate pricing would be more expensive in such cases, but many Flat-Rate plumbing contractors don’t mind fixing little things for you at either no extra charge or only taking material cost, if they are already doing a job extra 10-15 min isn’t a big deal for them. Now the thing we hear quite often is “How come I’m paying so much if the job only took 30 min?”. Well that’s quite simple when any job is performed by a skilled and experienced plumber it’s gonna take him much less time to complete vs a rookie plumber. Let’s face it, when you do something repeatedly you get very efficient in it, and completing it at a faster rate.
It’s actually much more convenient to have a job done quickly as compared of getting the same job done slowly, not only will a skilled plumber would get the job done fast, they would also allow you to have the rest of the day to do whatever you wish, instead of having you waste the whole day waiting for the plumbing repairs to get done by a less experienced plumber. As for the cost you must not forget to factor in many business expenses that come with operating a business, let’s not forget that you're not only paying for the labour and parts, the job cost also goes into covering liability insurance, WSIB, vehicle insurance, gas, vehicle maintenance, rent, phones, utilities, advertisment, staff, tools and equipment. Plumbing is a skilled profession that requires a never ending learning as new codes/regulations are passed, new fixtures become available and new materials are introduced. In order to become a plumber you must complete 9000 on job hours, which translates to 4 ½ years, and then you have to pass Ministry designed exam before you gain a Plumbing Licence. As such not everyone can be a plumber, thus we kindly ask not to pretend that plumbers time is less valuable than any other tradesman or that of a doctor or a office worker. In part we are doctors, just for the house.
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