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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 6, 2018 19:49:01 GMT
The urinal job, I did it this morning. I was upfront with the chap, he asked my charges, I told him first hour £65 then £30 per half hour plus materials
I was there early, did a shopping list, tested what was going on, the urinal would continually flush, so I turned it off. Went to screwfix & back, that’s the first hour gone, the chap rings me, 10 mins on the phone, I told him time is money, I sort the waste out, reroute the aav (I told him it wasn’t needed but he was adamant the customer wanted it), capped & rerouted another bit, now over 2 hrs. I turned the ballofix back on & all taps as they said it was building up, was it bollux, no blockage whatsoever. I reported back, told him my time & cost.
He then said oh, I thought a maximum of 2 hrs. Err... no, it takes as long as it takes, silence, I hang up.
I turn the ballofix down as much as I can & its fixed the problem, it flushed, stops, & repeats after a while, i wait & watch a few times, all good, check for leaks, tidy up & leave. 3 hrs, just under
He’s not happy
Fuck him
He annoyed me. I gave him my options, pay or I’ll cut the pipework out. I wasn’t joking
He’s from another maintenance company. Seemed nice on the phone.
I did a good job
Didn’t ask for money upfront for materials or labour, I should’ve as I don’t know him
Anyway, he’s paid.
I told him I’m not interested in him anymore. I just like an easy life. I can’t be arguing with people.
Yesterday he said local plumbers were quoting him £120+ first hour!
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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 6, 2018 19:51:45 GMT
Furthermore, I couldn’t see into the urinal cistern but the cold feed to it was just a 15mm pipe releasing water into the cistern.
What’s inside them?
The last one I did had a black valve in the 15mm pipe that i could adjust. I remember ringing Tom about it, maybe 2/3 years ago. Can’t remember what it’s called.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2018 19:56:07 GMT
It has a petcock in it and an auto flush valve rocky and should have a cistermiser on there too. Did you find it was what I said, too much water too quickly ?
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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 6, 2018 20:05:15 GMT
It has a petcock in it and an auto flush valve rocky and should have a cistermiser on there too. Did you find it was what I said, too much water too quickly ? Spot on Petcock valve Yeah, the 15mm pipe was basically just a pipe from the mains, it had a ballofix on it & that just released water into the cistern. When it was on full the water just kept going, I turned it down to a trickle & it worked as it should. There was no petcock valve though & no cisternmiser. So what’s in the cistern then? I couldn’t see in |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2018 20:08:03 GMT
Not just a pretty face me rocky! The cistern has an auto valve in it so when the water reaches a certain level it dumps the water.
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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 6, 2018 20:09:13 GMT
Not just a pretty face me rocky! The cistern has an auto valve in it so when the water reaches a certain level it dumps the water. I’m looking for a pic I like to know what I’m faced with! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2018 20:12:20 GMT
Definitely don't want to wind you up any more esp coz that "customer" sounds like a right banker but it did make me think about paying a plumber to go to screwfix and back. I mean you can't do it for free obviously but maybe somehow hide it in your rates and/or carry more stuff in van (I know its easy for me to say and real life works differently).
I'm not the best "people person" but I would have thought charging more and for the whole job would plz more people - esp those with money (they don't like stress and will pay not to have it). e.g. assuming your final charge today was around 200, then maybe you could have quoted a £249 plus vat (so 300 hundred basically), a smile and the customer doesn't get stressed with how long you are taking could be the way to go. I know then the stress is on you then but surely some jobs you'll get done well in time with a few others taking longer than expected.
Tell me to fuck off if you're not interested in some random dafty's opinion. I definitely agree with you in general about the culture of many of our sub-continental "friends".
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2018 20:13:58 GMT
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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 6, 2018 20:14:51 GMT
Definitely don't want to wind you up any more esp coz that "customer" sounds like a right banker but it did make me think about paying a plumber to go to screwfix and back. I mean you can't do it for free obviously but maybe somehow hide it in your rates and/or carry more stuff in van (I know its easy for me to say and real life works differently). I'm not the best "people person" but I would have thought charging more and for the whole job would plz more people - esp those with money (they don't like stress and will pay not to have it). e.g. assuming your final charge today was around 200, then maybe you could have quoted a £249 plus vat (so 300 hundred basically), a smile and the customer doesn't get stressed with how long you are taking could be the way to go. I know then the stress is on you then but surely some jobs you'll get done well in time with a few others taking longer than expected. Tell me to fuck off if you're not interested in some random dafty's opinion. I definitely agree with you in general about the culture of many of our sub-continental "friends". I gave him a choice, price work or hourly. He chose I carry some stuff in my van but not everything |
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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 6, 2018 20:17:26 GMT
Yeah, I saw them on google I put my hand in the cistern but couldn’t feel anything There must’ve been something in there |
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Post by battle1066 on Dec 6, 2018 21:35:57 GMT
If they want you to fix it in one visit they need to fully document the installation - I find they haven't got the capability to do that.
So to show them what I'm facing I ask for a full set of photos of the job, then I ask them to measure a couple items and tell them to take a few names off a couple of components and by the time we've finished they've got the message!
Shedule of rates or subcontract you make your mind up which seems to focus their minds.
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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 7, 2018 7:13:30 GMT
If they want you to fix it in one visit they need to fully document the installation - I find they haven't got the capability to do that. So to show them what I'm facing I ask for a full set of photos of the job, then I ask them to measure a couple items and tell them to take a few names off a couple of components and by the time we've finished they've got the message! Shedule of rates or subcontract you make your mind up which seems to focus their minds. Yeah good one, make them do some donkey work. That chap I dealt kept calling the aav a duco (pronouncing it dooko). Idiots |
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Post by woodbine66 on Dec 7, 2018 10:40:41 GMT
That chap I dealt kept calling the aav a duco (pronouncing it dooko). Idiots
He's almost there. Another name for an air admittance valve is a Durgo valve.
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Post by rocketmanbkk on Dec 7, 2018 13:00:04 GMT
That chap I dealt kept calling the aav a duco (pronouncing it dooko). Idiots
He's almost there. Another name for an air admittance valve is a Durgo valve.
Yes, I know it’s a durgo He thought he knew & was being clever I thought he was a dick saying it wrong as he’s a bit of a know all |
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Post by woodbine66 on Dec 8, 2018 10:34:18 GMT
He's almost there. Another name for an air admittance valve is a Durgo valve.
Yes, I know it’s a durgo He thought he knew & was being  I thought he was a dick saying it wrong as he’s a bit of a know all He's obviously a complete knob then, who doesn't have a clue about anything. Sounds more aggro than he's worth. |
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