Raising rates on referral jobs for panel upgrades - anyone else feeling the squeeze?

Been doing electrical referrals through my network for years, mostly subpanel installs and full service upgrades, but with material costs through the roof on stuff like Square D QO breakers, I gotta raise my rates or I'm working for free. Last job was a nightmare, customer kept adding 240V circuits for their EV charger and shop lights, and I ended up eating hours just to keep the referral happy. Saw a thread on r/electricians about this exact issue, guys saying tie it to flat rate sheets, but how do you not piss off the guy who sent the lead? Guy in Electricians Network FB group swore by having a referral bonus built into the pricing, but I'm not sure. Anyone got a system that works without burning bridges? NGL, it's making me rethink who I partner with.

Bundle the referral discount into your good/better/best options so it's not a straight rate hike, keeps everyone happy.

Man, I tried raising mine 15% last year on EV installs and half my referrals ghosted me. Screw that, back to square one.

Just quoted a $4500 panel swap to a referral and they bit without blinking. Feels good to finally get paid what it's worth.

Insurance companies and these PE-backed outfits are jacking up our costs while squeezing suppliers, then expect us to eat it on referrals? BS, time to push back hard.

Ugh, totally feel you on the bridge-burning fear. Referrals are gold but yeah, gotta protect your margins.

Index your rates to material costs like copper prices, update quarterly and notify partners ahead. Seen it work in Housecall Pro setups.

Haha, my last referral wanted a free arc fault breaker upgrade 'cause they referred me. Told 'em to shove it politely.

I'm right there with ya, been nickel and dimed on too many subpanel jobs lately.

These cheapo referral networks are the worst, always lowballing and expecting miracles with 14/2 romex runs.

Hit 200k last year by ditching weak referrals and focusing on direct leads. Best move ever.

Tried a 20% bump and the partner flipped, said I was greedy. Lost the gig, but my back thanks me.

One time a referral client accepted my eff you price for a full rewire, walked away grinning.

Man, referrals used to be easy money but now with NEC updates on GFCIs, it's all overtime.

SharkBite for plumbing referrals? Nah, but for us sparky's, push those premium Eaton panels and charge accordingly. Fight me if you disagree.

Sorry dude, been in the same boat with electrician buddies not understanding the hike.

Yeah, it's exhausting juggling referrals without getting screwed on the backend.

Echoing that, lost sleep over a bad one last month.

Proud of the guys sticking to their guns though, we all deserve better pay for the risk.

This crap is universal, huh? Hang in there.