Clean up your act, chump! Plumbing Contractors can Build a Successful Flat Rate Program

Oct. 9, 2013
We are perceived as uneducated, uncouth, handymen because we don't even dress clean; so is it really any surprise folks want to argue price with us? What do you look like when you ring a doorbell? What does your operating room (truck) look like? What does your plumbing kit (not tool box) look like? What do the tools in that kit look like? Do you have the same pride of appearance other professionals do, or do you look like that unshaven monkey?

I hope some of us are beginning to see that our old negative perceptions of Flat Rate just ain't true. In fact, we've seen in my previous articles how Flat Rate is more ethical than T&M; we've seen how simple it is to build your own Flat Rate program; observed how easy it is to learn and teach; and we've emphasized how we can do all this without a huge investment in time or money.

Movin' on. Occasionally — okay, more than occasionally —  you'll still buck up against the perception plumbers earn more than brain surgeons. This is true whether you use T&M or Flat Rate. However, if we expand our notion of Flat Rate from merely a pricing tool to that of a service-business culture, then we automatically have more options to handle pricing problems, starting with how you look! This is hands-down the easiest method of automatically stifling price objections there is in the entire subcontracting industry, yet so few of us do it.

Hey! Just look good!

Observe our profession. Why aren't we treated with dignity and respect? Why are we the butt of jokes? Aside from the medical field and some few government agencies, we are the only profession on this planet that stands guard over the health and safety of our communities! Yet we are not perceived that way, even though our educations are lengthy, our skills exacting, and our industry has all but eliminated any number of infectious communal diseases from our recent past.

So, are you proud or are you a Johnny Buttcrack? Damn, but I get incensed every time I see an unshaven monkey lookin' like he just attended a pig-fight drivin' around in a beat-up ol’ pickup with a hand-written sign on it — and my deepest apologies to monkeys and pigs! These types drag us all down.

We are perceived as uneducated, uncouth, handymen because we don't even dress clean; so is it really any surprise folks want to argue price with us? What do you look like when you ring a doorbell? What does your operating room (truck) look like? What does your plumbing kit (not tool box) look like? What do the tools in that kit look like? Do you have the same pride of appearance other professionals do, or do you look like that unshaven monkey?

Clean up your truck. Wear a clean shirt with a nametag. Get shoe covers. Carry a drop cloth. Have your paperwork in order. Be prepared with a few diagnostic tools and a flashlight when you knock on the door. Greet the customer warmly, with a smile, and a sincere hello.

If you did the above — just these few simple things(!) —  I can almost guarantee your price objections would diminish tenfold because you will be perceived as a professional, and people don't mind paying professional prices for professional services. Period! But you must look the part.

Again, you don't have to spend serious money. Check out Mars Workwear at http://www.marsworkwear.com/, or Shubee at http://www.shubee.com/, or UMI at http://www.umidirect.com/.

Hey, just go to Sears or Target. Buy some dark colored polo shirts for you and your employees ($20 each and no ironing). Wear a clean shirt and pants every day(!), and keep your boots presentable ... hey, cowboys do. You can look professional and still be practical — no need for them fancy white shirts with little logos all over 'em. And get a pair of coveralls for crawlspace jobs while you're at it.

Now you look the part ... professional! Professionals don't get price arguments. Dress clean every day and check out how great you feel! Feelin' good's infectious and the client will experience that feeling with you.

Tune in again to see what's up next in this on-going series designed to make you a well-paid professional instead of a grubby-lookin' chump earning chump change. You can do better than “chump.” Get a little pride.

Retired master plumber Ed O’Connell is a pro-active consultant to the subcontracting industry from Fairfax, Calif. He can be reached at 415/453-2291, or via email at [email protected]

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