Installed Moen Model 7840 Kitchen faucet and two shut off valves
I just joined Angie's list yesterday. I did so for the purpose of finding a reputable plumber. I called just and quot;Aand quot; rated plumbers w/i a five mile radius because we were going on a trip w/I two days and needed someone to come out right away. Dave the owner came over the next day right on time. He has been in business for quite some time, was very personable, and very professional. He showed me what he said was an excellent kitchen faucet to replace my old one. The price including installation was $425.. I thought that was a little high for a faucet, but he got B ratings for price, so I didn't. question. He is a very nice man who loves talking about the civil war. It took him about 2and 1/2 hrs to complete the work. One time I politely said this is all very interesting, but we need to get along with the work. I don't think he charged me for the whole time. I was a little embarrassed to tell him that about 1/2 hr of the 2and 1/2 hours was dedicated to the civil war. My point is, if I'm paying $90 an hour for labor, its OK to talk, but do so while you're working or after the job is done. I wish I had the nerve to tell him so, but he was so nice. While he went back to his truck to finalize his bill, I asked for the model # and googled it. The highest price model was $185, the lowest $155. His price, excluding labor, is about 67% more than the highest price I could get it for on the internet. I figured I over paid by $150. He was very surprised when I showed him the printout, and told me he paid a much higher price through his resources. I told him he should seriously consider getting a new source for his supplies. No reduction in price was offered and I was too chicken to remind him how much of my time he wasted talking about his favorite pastime. The stories where great, but not worth $90 an hour. Lesson learned here: check out the retail price for big ticket items and if a large difference in price, buy it yourself. When a service man comes into your home and you're being charged by the hour don't get engaged in small talk. You'll pay for it, even if you're on the listening end.
Service Provider Response
His point of view is taken, except the price quoted him was for a complete job, not by the hour. After 47 years of doing plumbing, I can basically look at a job & tell how long it should take to complete, so a job is figured on my experience. We base the installation of a faucet on 1 hours labor, whether it takes a 1/2 hour or 2 hours, he stills pays the same price, so he wasn't being charged for the time we were engaged in conversation. The other job that he asked me to do, which I quoted him before I started, I based on a 1/2 hour. Even though I ran into a problem and it probably me took closer to an hour to complete, I informed him that I still only charged him for the 1/2 hour. As for the price of the faucet, I have since found out that my supplier has been overcharging me, so he has agreed to lower his price, which means I can now lower my price to my customers. He commented that I did not lower my price to him when he found he could buy it cheaper, but if he had found it at a higher price, I sure he would not expect me to charge him higher for it. I did not lower my price, because the price I charged him was based on the price that I paid for the faucet. He seems to not understand, a complete price is a complete price, no matter how long the job takes to complete. He also seems to forget that he was not being charged for the extra time he spent talking to me about his other plumbing problems with his toilet & lavatory stopper drain
