Finally Raised My Plumbing Rates After Optimizing Google Business

Been running my small plumbing outfit for 8 years now, mostly doing water heater swaps and PEX repipes in older homes. Decided it was time to bump up rates after seeing how my Google Business Profile started pulling in better leads, like folks searching for 'emergency drain cleaning near me'. Tweaked the profile with more photos of Ridgid SeeSnake jobs and got my reviews up to 4.8 stars, which has me busier than ever without the lowballers. No more taking every $80/hr call that barely covers gas. Someone in the Plumbers United Facebook group mentioned how optimizing hours and services there doubled their inquiries, so I ran with it. Watched a Tommy Mello video on using Google for service pros, and damn if it didn't work. Proud to say I'm turning down work now instead of scraping by.

Hell yeah, same here, optimized mine last month and bookings jumped 30% on fixture installs alone.

Took me forever to justify it, but clients who value good work stick around longer.

Frustrated with the cheapos who haggle over every solder joint, good riddance.

How'd you handle telling repeat customers about the increase?

Man, I feel that, been eating the same crap on pipe bending jobs forever.

Just quote flat rates now for common stuff like tankless conversions, easier to justify hikes.

What's your go-to for responding to those low-review complaints on Google?

Customer calls at 2am for a clogged disposal, acts shocked at the rate.

Solid move, brother, we all been there grinding for peanuts on basic repipes.

Yep, the grind pays off when you start filtering the right clients.