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| Subject - prices for services | |
| jcarl |
hello everyone, this is very nice to go to this page and see that i'm not the only electrician out there trying to improve our trade by sharing ideas and information,with that said i work in massachusetts.and have been getting leads from an on-line site it has been working out okay we do residential,light comm.and service calls.recently the quotes i have given are coming back as too expensive,for a 100 amp over head service change in pvc, al. wire, panel,meter socket,2 ground rods, you know, the typical service is $ 1200.00 which i think is resonable. any thoughts????????? |
| MONOLITH | $1200 for a 100 amp is typically what I charge. Just did one recently for exactly that. Southeast PA. I would never go lower than $800 for one. $1000 is good. $1200 is my preference. |
| Romex Racer | I've been getting $1150 for a 100 amp service change here in Los Angeles and $1400-1600 for 200 amp service changes. |
| jcarl | romex racer& mono, thanks for the response i didn't think i would get any. if you don't mind me asking why only 1400-1600 for a 200? |
| blackrd | Ive been shooting prices of around $1200 for 100A. Im outside Chicago where services for anything is moderate to high priced ( union electrician $35hr). I try to spend more time to explain to the customer why certain things need to be done, etc. Problem is, after you spend the time, people ultimately seem to vote woth their pocketbooks and wallets. Guys are coming in after me at $800 without doing anything beyond the panel change(no strapping of water meter,heater, new ground rod, etc). You try to explain the safety issues involved but people want to save that extra $300-600. At the end of the day, youve done your part and if somebody else comes in cheaper, less experienced,and less safe, there isnt much you can do about it. Ive been doing the internet service too. Ive found servicemqagic to be the highest quality of all of them Ive been to. |
| Romex Racer | quote: The labor involved in a 200 is about the same as a 100, and the additional parts cost is only around $250... |
| jcarl | blackrd, thats the company i'm using its not bad i just figuring new ways to get the word out. |
| Romex Racer | quote: Can you expand on that? I've been thinking about ServiceMagic but worried about too many guys chasing too few jobs. How many leads do you get? How do you receive them? How quickly do you contact the prospect? What is the quality of the leads? |
| jcarl | romex racer, can i call you r.r. i agree about the labor costs being about the same but i try to get between 1800 and 2200 on the 200. now about servicemajic and bare with me as i type slow.i found them on line when i googled for electricians in my area(ma)again i'm just starting out and figured you can't just go word of mouth or working w/ one g.c. you have to fill out a form and they get back to you to make sure you are licensed and insured for your area.,pay an entrance fee and you start to receive lead for the towns around you. there is more to it but thats the basic premise. leads have different costs the most i've paid for a lead is 45.00. if you respond fast to clients that helps. its been okay so far. i have gotten 3 jobs out of 10 leads ,they scaled back the price on one when the job was listed wrong. all and all a good service just remember you have to pay for your leads whether you get the job or not. i find that i'm usually up against 2-3 other companies,but future referals from that new client are yours kind of like partially free advertising.. try it out you can always cancel! its at servicemagic.com good luck |
| blackrd | Their customer service to the contractor and the customer is superb. Their reps are seemingly very well trained , polite, and respectful. You set up your area by zipcodes. Somebody gets online for a job to be done, and it goes out to three sm contractors. I dont remember how they determine which three first. Chris Hassett is the national account manager, he is the guy to talk to. You get charged for every lead sent to you. you must spend a minninum of $100 max $250 per month on leads, (Panel job is $29). If you dont get $100 in leads, you only pay for what you got. You have got to push the customer service aspect of your buisness, thats the only way to fight off the unqualified trying to steal the jobs for nothing. The leads ive been getting have been fair to good, but you get garbage everywhere. SM' idea is trying to help you eliminate the tire kickers, and it helps, but you never get rid of those types 100% anyhow, but it helps. You want to contact your prospective customer asap. You get contacted by SM in real time via cell, pager, e-mail, text messaging, landline,etc. |
| jcarl | in regards to service magic i agree the staff is nice and responsive to questions i actually received my first customer review she gave a great rating and she was great to deal with,not bad when things go right on the other hand, set up appointment to look at a home theater install job and the client said he had someone else do it! learned the old call to confirm lesson that day!!!!!!!! lol |
| tugboat | Hey, I work in southwest pa. and sometimes I loose bids at $9.00 an amp including inspection ? |
| John A. Peters | Review these postings, and move up to noncompetative jobs. http://www.electricalknowledge.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=838&SearchTerms=promotion and this one titled A more profitable business model. http://www.electricalknowledge.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1188&SearchTerms=handout+book |