Plumbers. Charging for failed repair visits?

shane0007

goat2 wrote: »

i know him well enough, and he has had to come back to adjust some small thing, he never charged for the recall,

Let's hope he can fix technical issues with boilers so or hope you never get an issue with your boiler!

goat2

goat2 wrote: »

then gary,
you would lose a good customer who pays before a person leaves the house,

One mans good customer is another mans pain in the arse;)

Billy Bunting

goat2 wrote: »

then gary,
you would lose a good customer who pays before a person leaves the house,

Problem is, you only pay if YOU feel it was worth it. I really would rather not have you as a customer but if i was one of the unlucky one you really would only see me once.

goat2

shane0007 wrote: »

Let's hope he can fix technical issues with boilers so or hope you never get an issue with your boiler!

i suppose that he being in the business with the past 20 yrs, he know his job really well, he has always nailed the problem on first call out, experience and knowledge of how the thing works counts, he has never had to second guess the problem, then again i may be one of those customers who are able to explain the problems or (symptoms) that i am having with plumbing, that may be a factor also,
there may be some customers who are not able to express the problems they are having, which means for the plumber that he has to go the extra mile to get to the bottom of the problem,

shane0007

It is no joke being both self employed and an employer. 1/2 hour work is not 1/2hour work. It could take 1/2 hour or more to get to the job, another 1 hour to stand in suppliers to wait for parts, another cost to keep general spares stocked, sundry items that can't really be charged for such as boss white, ptfe, pastes, wipes, tissues, refuse, etc., etc. Another couple of grand for insurances, taxes, etc. More €'s on annual registration fees, annual calibration of equipment, and then get moaned about for charging €80.00 of which €9.52 goes to the VAT man!
No wonder this country is fecked!

DoneDL

HicksLennon wrote: »

Hey,
I'm looking to get some feedback here. I had a plumber out to the house yesterday. He was a decent bloke and obviously charged us for his services. The plumbing he did hasn't fixed the problem and i am back to square one today. I just rang him up and he is coming back out. Considering by his own admission that the problem wasn't fixed on his first visit, should the fee i paid be deducted from the € he will charge for the second visit

If the plumber is as you described above then it`s reasonable to assume that the problem will be fixed and you will be treated fairly. Nobody gets it right all the time.

gdavis

goat,u r great,im surprised u cant solve all ur problems urself

shane0007

goat2 wrote: »

i suppose that he being in the business with the past 20 yrs, he know his job really well, he has always nailed the problem on first call out, experience and knowledge of how the thing works counts, he has never had to second guess the problem,

Jaysus he's a great fella. Never has to second guess a problem. What happens if he comes across a boiler he has never worked on before or new to market. I think you are even building him up too much as I bet he himself would not agree with you and if he saw you moaning about his €80 on here, would he come back to you again!

goat2

ye are coming at me from all angles,
i did not say that i am a know it all, i am just saying that the man who look after my central heating system has never charged me to come look at the problem before he got the part, and usually if he cannot find part or does not have time to get it, i go get for him,

DoneDL

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

A mate of mine brought his sick dog to the vets. emergency surgery was needed, the dog survived the op but died a couple of days later. My mate still has a €1200 bill and no dog.

Well done that mate. Sorry it didn`t work out for the best.

goat2

shane0007 wrote: »

Jaysus he's a great fella. Never has to second guess a problem. What happens if he comes across a boiler he has never worked on before or new to market. I think you are even building him up too much as I bet he himself would not agree with you and if he saw you moaning about his €80 on here, would he come back to you again!

it is up to him to update himself with new machines coming on the markets, they all work generally in the same way

DoneDL

DoneDL wrote: »

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

A mate of mine brought his sick dog to the vets. emergency surgery was needed, the dog survived the op but died a couple of days later. My mate still has a €1200 bill and no dog.

Well done that mate. Sorry it didn`t work out for the best.

My mother murdered my dog with bacon and bloody cabbage:(

shane0007

goat2 wrote: »

it is up to him to update himself with new machines coming on the markets, they all work generally in the same way

Of course it is up to him but I am afraid they can vary significantly in how they operate and they all have their wee problems. You are the one who built him up to be able to solve every problem first go. This I assume is on day one of new prodcut to market or even the first time he gets to work on one.

gdavis

goat u r winding people up now,u know a chap by the name of heinbloed per chance?

goat2

gdavis wrote: »

goat u r winding people up now,u know a chap by the name of heinbloed per chance?

i dont know this chappy,
and anyway it is good to have a good auld banter

shane0007

gdavis wrote: »

goat u r winding people up now,u know a chap by the name of heinbloed per chance?

STOP, STOP: Tears are flowing here! Think about what you are saying. He might get involved in this conversation.

goat2

goat2 wrote: »

it is up to him to update himself with new machines coming on the markets, they all work generally in the same way

All due respect, but the nature of fault finding on appliances is knowledge led and everyday is a school day, i'v been fixing gas appliances for 25 years and no matter how arrogant I get there still a job that will put me on my backside, I will and do charge for recalls as I'm a honest man doing a honest job, a lot of defects are intermittent and no amount of skill or training will but a fault to bed.

sh1tstirrer

gary71 wrote: »

DoneDL wrote: »

My mother murdered my dog with bacon and bloody cabbage:(

And it didn't cost you or her a cent unless you take into account of the cost of the bacon and cabbage the dog ate.

goat2

shane0007 wrote: »

Of course it is up to him but I am afraid they can vary significantly in how they operate and they all have their wee problems. You are the one who built him up to be able to solve every problem first go. This I assume is on day one of new prodcut to market or even the first time he gets to work on one.

it is in his best interest to understand the workings of these machines, it is his bread and butter,
updating himself,

shane0007

That's it. Yer man is a master coz he is a HEATING ENGINEER!

sh1tstirrer

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

gary71 wrote: »

And it didn't cost you or her a cent unless you take into account of the cost of the bacon and cabbage the dog ate.

Cost me a fortune:(, emergency vet who spent the evening pulling out the cabbage, I think she's gone off cabbage now.

Billy Bunting

goat2 wrote: »

i suppose that he being in the business with the past 20 yrs, he know his job really well, he has always nailed the problem on first call out, experience and knowledge of how the thing works counts, ,

And considering the past topics you have started on this forum looking for advice and using the services of several plumbers its very suprising you have never in the past just asked ya man.

gdavis

does op realise how many different makes and models of boilers are out there?

gdavis

the vet or the dog gary????? lol

goat2

shane0007 wrote: »

That's it. Yer man is a master coz he is a HEATING ENGINEER!

i did not say he is a master, but then again my old boiler is about fourteen yrs old, so of course he would be up to speck with it, hoping to change to a more updated version for next winter, as one of the baffles cannot be put back on the boiler as the ridge that the baffle rested on has broken off or burnt off, it is a pity as otherwise it works great

goat2

Billy Bunting wrote: »

And considering the past topics you have started on this forum looking for advice and using the services of several plumbers its very suprising you have never in the past just asked ya man.

and i got great advice on this forum,
we were not speaking of ones ability to fix a product, it was about call out prices we are on here about,
i did say that i am really happy with the prices the plumber charge,
it was the washer felow i was not too happy with, then again it was my first time asking this person out, as the machine fixer i had in the past has left the area since the fall in the economy

shane0007

goat2 wrote: »

i did not say he is a master, but then again my old boiler is about fourteen yrs old, so of course he would be up to speck with it, hoping to change to a more updated version for next winter, as one of the baffles cannot be put back on the boiler as the ridge that the baffle rested on has broken off or burnt off, it is a pity as otherwise it works great

But you did say that he can solve every problem first go, that in my eyes is a master to be bowed to.

Did he not know that that can be repaired? Funny that...

I wonder could that be due to overheat, perhaps he does not possess a flue gas analyizer. Hmmmm....

Billy Bunting

shane0007 wrote: »

I wonder could that be due to overheat, perhaps he does not possess a flue gas analyizer. Hmmmm....

60 quid a go :rolleyes: what do you think?

DGOBS

Goat, everyone coming at you from all angle maybe a result of you attacking our profession on the very forum where us guys 'professionals' give up our time and experience free of charge here to try and help people, only to have you come on here slagging us off

I can vouch for most of the frequent posters here as I know most of them professionally (even some of you guys who think I don't, think most have figured out who I am by now!!) and they are high quality plumbers and repair technicians and know what they are talking about

If I don't fix an appliance (ie. my opinion is that it isn't worth fixing, not cost effective, or components are discontinued) I would and should be entitled to charge you from the time and expertise I have given you, afterall I has cost me to come out and diagnose this for you, your take seems to be, it's my fault that your boiler can't be or isn't worth fixing, where it's your boiler, and I did not create the problem.

Intermittent problems sometimes require multiple visits (if the fault isn't occurring when your there, well, you can't fix something that ain't broken) and this is a fact of life for gas boiler servicemen, we do try to reduce cost to the customer as much as possible and don't charge for call backs where possible, if your mate has never had a boiler call back I can safely say he has walked away from problems then, and every technician here will back up that statement

Maybe the normal guy 'left' because of too many no-paying callout put him out of business

JohnnieK

I love threads like this. I'm still waiting for Heinbloed to come in:D.

Fair play everyone, I was feeling Sh*t this evening but you've cheered me up:)