Client in Chicago balked at $2800 for the panel upgrade, acting like I'm robbing him

BoltBuster2

·1mo·37 replies·32 participants

BoltBuster2⭐ ExpertOP1mo

Out here in Chicago, this homeowner calls me for a 100A service upgrade to 200A because his old Federal Pacific panel is a fire hazard waiting to happen. I quoted him $2800 flat rate, including the new Square D QO panel, permit, and all the trenching to the meter base. Dude lost his shit, said he saw a YouTube video where some guy did it for $800, and now he's ghosting my calls. SMH, these cheapskates don't get that skimping on electrical work can burn the place down.

ShingleShuffler👑 Legend1mo

had a similar idiot last week who thought $500 covered a whole rewire.

ShingleShuffler4⭐ Expert1mo

man i feel that, chicago winters mean we gotta trench deeper sometimes and that jacks up the price. same bs here every time.

BugBusterBob2⭐ Expert1mo

deeper trenches? yeah but explain it to the client and they still freak. i just walk away now.

NotAnElectrician16🏆 Master1mo

walking away saved my sanity. better no job than a pissed off customer calling the board.

OddJobOtto⭐ Expert1mo

board complaints are the worst, had one last year that cost me $2k in legal.

WireWhizKid👑 Legend1mo

those youtube hacks are killing us pros. clients come in with printouts demanding the same.

SawdustSavant12🏆 Master1mo

printouts from hacks? lmao i tell em to call the hack then.

VacuumViking⭐ Expert1mo

eff that noise, chicago clients are the worst for this.

CircuitSavant⭐ Expert1mo

worst? try nyc, but yeah chicago ain't far behind with the attitude.

RollerRogue6⭐ Expert1mo

i charge $3500 min for panels now, weeds out the cheap ones quick.

CircuitSnake2⭐ Expert1mo

$2800 is a steal for chicago, permits alone are a nightmare there.

GutterGoblin2⭐ Expert1mo

client accepted the eff you price? hell yeah, post that win.

WireWizard👑 Legend1mo

same crap, guy wanted free labor cuz 'i know you from church'. nah.

ArcFlashAl👑 Legend1mo

we all deal with this, it's the trade.

WireWizardess⭐ Expert1mo

yep, solidarity brothers.

LeakHunter4⭐ Expert29d

ugh, lost a weekend to a no-show after quoting.

LawnLizard🏆 Master28d

these clients make me wanna quit residential.

PipeDreamer2🏆 Master26d

exactly, stick to commercial where they pay what it's worth.

PipeDreamer10🏆 Master25d

commercial? good luck with the red tape there too.

SawdustSavant10🏆 Master24d

pro tip: get 50% deposit upfront on electrical jobs like this.

AntAnnihilator👑 Legend22d

deposit or die, saved me twice this month.

PipeDreamer16⭐ Expert21d

don't touch jobs without a signed contract, lesson learned the hard way.

RoofRat87🏆 Master19d

watched a dustin stelzer vid on electrician u about dealing with cheapos, spot on.

SpringBreaker2🏆 Master18d

sharbites behind walls? nah but for panels always use qo.

GarageGuru2🏆 Master17d

sparky nate on tiktok has funny skits about clients like this.

ZapMaster3🏆 Master15d

saw a rant in electricians network fb group, everyone piling on the cheap client stories.

FixItFelix8👑 Legend14d

asked r/electricians about panel pricing, got $2500-4000 range depending on location.

BugBlaster2⭐ Expert13d

what's the going rate for 200a in chicago now? mine's creeping up to 3k.

ConduitCrafter👑 Legend11d

don't quote without seeing the job in person, saves headaches.

BenderBreaker⭐ Expert10d

use square d always, siemens is junk imo.

CircuitSmasher👑 Legend8d

rants in the contractor fight group are full of this, clients thinking we're mechanics.

ShingleShuffler👑 Legend7d

contractor fight? yeah tom reber calls em out good.

WireWizard👑 Legend5d

ghosting after a quote? block and move on, plenty of fish.

ArcFlashAl👑 Legend4d

block em, but sometimes they come crawling back at double price.

WireWizardess⭐ Expert3d

crawling back? make em pay extra for wasting time.

LeakHunter4⭐ Expert2d

extra fee for rescheduling, i started that policy.

LawnLizard🏆 Master20h

policy works, cut my no-shows in half.