Home/Growth/🔧 Plumbing/Raising rates on water heater installs and getting pushback from old clients
Raising rates on water heater installs and getting pushback from old clients
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PipeLord420
·1mo·24 replies·25 participants
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PipeLord420🔧 ApprenticeOP1mo
59
I'm up in north jersey, been doing this plumbing gig for 5 years now, and damn it's time to bump my rates on Rheem tankless installs from $2800 to $3400 cause materials alone are up 25% this year. Last week I quoted a repeat customer the new price and she hit me with 'but you did my last one for less, why the hike?' We got supply chain BS making PEX and fittings cost an arm and leg, plus I'm paying apprentices more to keep 'em from jumping ship. Told her straight up, costs are killing my margins, but she ghosted me after that. Frustrated as hell, how do you guys handle explaining rate increases without losing the loyal ones? Feels like I'm either eating the cost or scaring away business.
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LeafBlowerBandit2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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screw the loyal ones, if they're gonna ghost over a $600 bump then they aint loyal anyway - just hit up the next job on angi and charge what the market bears. north jersey's full of folks who'll pay for quality without the whining.
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WrenchWiz2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those cheap bastards on angi always wanna haggle down to nothing, like we're beggin for scraps instead of pros who know our worth. been in north jersey too long watchin big box plumbers undercut with their $800 installs usin junk parts thatll fail in two years. screw em, the loyal ones stick around when you explain the bump covers the 20% steel tariff hike thats killin margins. its the entitled homeowners who ghost that piss me off most, thinkin they can get rheem quality for home depot prices. lets all start chargin what we deserve and watch the whiners run to the diy disasters.
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SpringSpecialist10⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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screw the whiners, if they ghost over a $600 bump when your Rheem tankless saves em $200 a year on gas, they aint loyal customers anyway, just cheap asses waiting to call the lowest bidder.
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JoistJester3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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damn right, had a loyal client for years bail over a $400 hike on my Rheem swap and now hes callin some handyman who botched the job and flooded the basement, serves him right.
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FurnitureFlipper⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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dont just tell em the new price cold like that, i lost a solid repeat customer last year when i did and he bailed to some cheap hack who botched the job and flooded his basement.
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TileTerror⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, same shit here in the trades, been eating costs on old clients for years til i finally jacked em up 20% and yeah some ghosted but the ones who stayed appreciate the straight talk.
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V2453🔧 Apprentice1mo
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fuckin homeowners act like inflation aint real, they bitch when we raise rates for shit like pex doubling in price but expect us to eat it all while payin apprentices more to not jump to the next shop.
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SparkShyGuy🔧 Apprentice1mo
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man i feel that pushback hard, had a loyal guy flip out on me last month when i bumped my water heater quotes from $2500 to $3100, said i was robbing him blind after all these years. supply chain crap has me paying double for fittings now, and dont even get me started on keeping apprentices from bailing to the next shop. told him straight up costs are up or im out of business, but he ghosted too, left me feeling like crap. sucks losing the ones who stuck with you through the lean times. been there a few times already this year, makes you question if its worth the hassle. guess we gotta eat some losses or risk going under ourselves.
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ACAvenger4⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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fuckin homeowners act like we're their personal charity after one good job, but they wont bat an eye at paying double for starbucks. supply costs are killing us all and these clowns ghost when reality hits. time to let em go and chase the clients who get it.
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VentWizard5⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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same shit here, quoted a loyal customer the new rate on a tankless swap and they ghosted me too, feels like BS when costs are out of control.
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TenYearVet17⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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same shit here, man, i lost a couple regulars after jacking up my prices on tankless jobs last year and it stung bad. customers dont get that materials doubled overnight and were just trying not to go under. sucks when loyalty goes out the window over a few hundred bucks.
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RoofRat7⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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fuckin homeowners act like inflation is your personal problem, not theirs, and they ghost you for quoting fair prices. supply chain BS and greedy suppliers jacking up PEX costs are screwing us all, while these loyal clients turn into cheapskates overnight. it's bullshit how they expect you to eat the 25% hike forever. time to let the whiners go and find customers who get it.
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ShingleShark8⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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send her a quick breakdown of the material cost hikes, like how the rheem units jumped $200 each since last year, and throw in a line about the new tariffs hitting steel in march. most loyal ones get it when you show the numbers instead of just saying prices went up.
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VentMaster3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, same shit here in the plumbing game, quoted a loyal customer 15% more on a navien tankless last month and she bailed like i was the bad guy, costs are BS.
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V8179🌱 Newcomer1mo
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man i feel that, had the same crap with a repeat customer last month whining about the price jump on a basic tank install. sucks when they ghost you after all that, costs are killing us all.
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PestPatrol6⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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same crap here, quoted a loyal customer $3200 for a navien swap last month and she acted like i was robbing her blind after i explained the damn material costs, lost the job to some lowball hack.
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VentVet2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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screw the loyal ones who balk at $3200, they aint worth the headache when lowballers are out there charging half and leaving callbacks for you to fix. i started quoting full navien price up front with a breakdown of why it aint $1500 anymore, and yeah, lost a few but the ones who stay respect the work and tip better. old clients think they own you after one job, time to treat em like strangers and see who sticks. controversial take: charge everyone the same rate, loyalty discounts are for suckers.
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EaveEater3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Don't explain too much, just say 'costs are up across the board' and stick to it, or you'll get nickel and dimed on every job.
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LiftAndShift⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Yeah but in Jersey, customers know their rights and will shop around if you don't justify it a bit.
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FurnaceFiend⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Try bundling it with a maintenance plan add-on, makes the price jump feel like value instead of a slap.
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VoltageVagabond3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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bundling's like selling a candy bar with your steak... client thinks they're gettin' a deal til they realize the candy's just the wrapper. old timers still whine, but hey, at least they're payin' for the full meal now.
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PaintSplatPro⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Same here man, had to eat a $500 hit on a similar install last month.
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BoltTightener⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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these old clients act like they own you after one job, pissed me off so bad i told the last one to find someone else who works for peanuts.
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LeakHunterLila⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Offer a loyalty discount for repeats, like 10% off the labor, keeps 'em coming back without fully caving on the new rate.
