That obviously terrible repair is one of many reasons I jumped to the public sector years ago
That job is clearly very labor intensive and the guy probably has to really hustle . . . and hopefully not get hurt . . . just in order to “meet” whatever hours were quoted to do the job
Not to mention, when taking that much stuff apart, there’s the very real possibility of collateral damage, for example, hoses, electrical connectors and what not. And you’ll have to try to account for it ahead of time. And it’s quite likely some of those little things won’t be easy to get. And that can bring everything to a screeching halt
Part of that is padding the bill and some of it is managing expectations, imo
The private industry is ruthless and cut-throat, sometimes feast or famine. I’m much happier getting my steady pay in the public sector
But everybody makes their own decisions
If the oil is full of grit from not changing, extra holes wont help. Change oil sooner.
At least it pays about 34 hours flat rate to do the primary chain… 
Thread title sez chain. Video is belt. What is it?
I can almost guarantee there is an extremely high percentage of the population that would automatically label the shop quoting 34 hours for that repair a den of thieves
And that leads to unpleasant situations, even if the customer does ultimately authorize the repair
But one of many reasons I left the private sector long ago
Timing chain (2), oil pump belt. both.
Yup! I was very embarrassed to be a witness when an old friend told a window replacement guy that he was a thief. A few months later, when his wife insisted that the broken window be replaced, he called the guy back, and the window guy told him to pound salt. He wound up with Andersen, at 3 times the price quoted by the “thief”.
Maybe some of the general population. But having spent several years as shop manager of a decent size (11 stall) indy shop that did a fair share of diesel work, I can tell you that most diesel owners understand the increased cost of ownership and maintenance involved versus a gas engine.
It wasn’t unusual to hear a customer say “well I hope the cab won’t need to be lifted off again anytime soon” and very few complained about a 30-hour head gasket job. Remember, these are the same people that spend thousands on lift kits and wheels. You gotta pay to play.
Remember the Chevy Manza from the 70’s. Mechanics were quoting people some absurd price just to replace the spark-plugs. Reason being - to replace 2 of the rear plugs you had to loosen the engine mounts and raise the engine up so you could access the those plugs.
In addition to the Chevy Monza, that was also the case with the essentially-identical Pontiac Sunbird, Buick Skyhawk, and Olds Starfire–if they had the optional V8 under the hood. The result of the extra-cost maintenance on these cars led a lot of owners to skip necessary spark plug replacements. I can recall that many/most of these little cars had really foul-smelling exhaust after a few years, as a result of inadequate maintenance.
Those cars also had ridiculously under-sized brakes, and many owners were upset that they needed to replace the brake pads at less than 20k miles.
Any rational service business, whether it’s an automotive repair shop, or a home services contractor, should quote a price which accounts for realistic time and materials, plus whatever profit margin the business requires. They should not attempt to underbid based on expectations that the employee(s) doing the work can be tricked into working at an unreasonably fast pace. The quoted price should be a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. I tell customers all the time who don’t like the price to call someone else.
That is something you should not do. I gave all of our truck drivers my card to give to customers who had a problem so they could call me instead of trying to solve the problem and making it worse.
Exactly, although I assume the phrasing may be a little more gentle, like “Perhaps another HVAC company can give you an quote more to your liking.”
One of the hardest things a business owner or manager needs to learn is to say “no”.
Relax. I don’t tell people to “call someone else” in those words. I tell them that I believe that we offer a quality product at a fair price, but if they think the price is too high, please feel free to call other companies and get other bids. Often times, after getting other bids, people call us back to do the work, and if someone else is actually cheaper for the same job, there’s no hard feelings about the customer taking that bid.
But the other bids which are lower often aren’t comparable, because they often omit things, in order to have a lower number
For example, you say x amount of dollars to do a timing belt job. Your repair includes the cam- and crank seals, water pump, timing belt tensioner, plus the accessory drive belt, tensioner and idler
The customer calls around and another shop tells him they’ll do the timing belt for a lower price
The other shop’s quote didn’t include all the other stuff, ONLY the timing belt . . .
And the customer accepts the lower bid from the other shop and is now CONVINCED you’re a thief
I run into this all the time, but all that matters is that I have enough work to remain busy, and so do all the other employees at the company.
I will give you a good example. I had a long-time loyal customer who I have been servicing since 2017. In 2018, my employer was booked several days out, so she called another company, which attempted to high-pressure sell a new unit. She did not go with it, and had me come out, and I found that the return flex duct had come apart in the attic, drawing in 130+ degree attic air, which caused the air conditioner to perform poorly. The other company claimed that the compressor was going out, so the unit should be replaced. I replaced the flex duct, which solved the problem.
I have done several minor repairs for this customer over the years, as well as cleaning and maintenance her unit, which is from 2001.
This July, the unit started freezing up, and I found it low on refrigerant with unrepairable leaks in the evaporator. Due to its age, repair is not an option.
I understood the fact that the return duct is grossly undersized, and that several rooms have inadequate airflow due to undersized ductwork. Also, a modern HVAC unit requires more airflow per ton than an old unit utilizing R22 refrigerant.
Therefore, I spent significant time and effort, including significant time inside that hot attic taking pictures and measurements to provide the necessary ductwork modifications.
As a result, my bid was about $21k for this unit (this was expected to take 3 days of work, a lot of insulated rooftop ductwork, and a lot of flex duct run through the attic to add supply registers in several rooms).
Another company bid about $10k, of course without any ductwork, and she went with that bid. Of course, I think the new unit will give endless problems, and never keep the house comfortable, but it’s not my problem at this point. I do not work on commission, and I do not ever knowingly pad the customer’s bill with unnecessary work. I felt the price was fair and reasonable for the scope of work, and the fact that someone else offered a cheaper price doesn’t change the validity of my bid.
For the sevond time in 30 years i had to call a plumber. When i paid him i commented on how low the orice was. He said there are so many plumbers in town, they had to lower their rates to stay competitive.
So 34 hours is 34 hours but an hourly rate of 50,75, 100, or more makes a big difference. Local dealer reduced oil change price to stay competitive and generate traffic. Just sayin.
That’s very unusual. Most parts of the country are experiencing plumber shortages along with most other trades.