Upselling minor repairs on handyman jobs is turning into a total crap-show

Been doing handyman work for 15 years, mostly fixing leaky faucets and patching drywall in older homes, but lately customers are balking at any upsell like crazy. I'll quote $150 to replace a single cabinet hinge with a Blum soft-close one, and they act like I'm robbing them blind even though it'll last twice as long. Out in rural Ohio, folks seem to think handymen are just hobbyists who should do it for beer money. Saw a post on r/handyman last week about the same issue, guy in Handyman Nation FB group said to bundle services but that just pissed off my last client more. It's frustrating because I'm trying to add value, like suggesting we upgrade to LED recessed lights while I'm up in the attic for a fan install, but they shut it down every time. NGL, thinking of just sticking to the bare minimum jobs to avoid the headaches. Anyone else dealing with this BS?

goddamn customers these days think everything should be free labor on top of the quote, had a lady flip out over $75 for extra caulking around her new window install.

frustrated as hell with the same crap, quoted a shelf install and tried to upsell matching brackets but she said no way, left me eating an hour of time.

screw these cheapskates treating us like dirt, we bust our asses on these patchwork jobs and they nickel and dime every suggestion.

just walk away from the no-upsell jobs, focus on clients who see the value in upgrading their hardware to something sturdy like Kwikset instead of bargain bin stuff.

hit $120k last year by only taking jobs where I could upsell at least 20%, feels good to not chase dead ends.

upselling is key but SharkBite fittings behind walls? hell yeah they're fine, saves time and customers love the quick fixes without demo.

bundle the upsell into the original quote as 'recommended enhancements' with prices, makes it less of a surprise.

man i feel your pain, been there with the hinge jobs turning into arguments over every screw.

same here in the shop, clients ghost after the upsell pitch, it's exhausting.

controversial take but charge a flat fee for consults on upsells, weeds out the tire-kickers real quick.

customer calls at midnight panicking over a wobbly shelf I upsold braces for, turns out her cat knocked it sideways... laughed my ass off but fixed it gratis.

if you're in rural areas, hit up local FB groups for leads who appreciate the full service approach, worked for me on barn repairs.

pissed off after a whole day wasted on a no-upsell client who complained to my Google profile anyway, time to tighten up the contracts.