If I do a job in 30 minutes, I spent 20 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. And therefore, you owe me for the years, not for the minutes.

: Michael-Robert.

: Michael-Robert.

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Feb 2, 2013
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A great many people don’t really understand this. I am fortunate to hold skills that fairly few people have. I have had customers seem a bit perved when I deny quoting a lower quality project. It’s simple really. Why compete with a 100 other contractors quoting at the bottom when I can set a fair price for me and another customer who’s not looking for the every day job.
 

My whole life has been a learning experience! Now if find myself at a fairly advanced age with less ability to do a lot of the things I learned over my lifetime. I guess it is good that I am retired!
 

It took me yrs of dedication to learn engraving. You don’t get it cheap!
IMG_0842.jpeg
 

I was asked once to teach the other person.
I replied: Teach you what?
They stated: Teach me, how to buy and sell.

I told him this:
How can I Teach you something that has taken me my whole life to learn?

Each and everything has a different amount of circumstances.

The school of hard knocks can't be taught, you have to live it.
 

Pepper: Some of the best sales advice I ever received:

"The best salesman does not sell, they create within the customer the desire to buy."

If the guy with 20 years experience can do the job in 30 minutes, and the
fellow with 1 year of experience can do the same job in 35 min., then all that experience doesn't amount to much.

Now, if it's an 8 hr. job for the greenhorn, and only an hour for the experienced
fellow, then the experienced worker charging you a sum equal to 4 hrs. of labor for the greenhorn, then you are way ahead of the game, and the senior person has proven their value.

My $.02 worth...
twocents-1.gif
 

DizzyDigger said:
Pepper: Some of the best sales advice I ever received:

"The best salesman does not sell, they create within the customer the desire to buy."

If the guy with 20 years experience can do the job in 30 minutes, and the
fellow with 1 year of experience can do the same job in 35 min., then all that experience doesn't amount to much.

Now, if it's an 8 hr. job for the greenhorn, and only an hour for the experienced
fellow, then the experienced worker charging you a sum equal to 4 hrs. of labor for the greenhorn, then you are way ahead of the game, and the senior person has proven their value.

My $.02 worth...View attachment 2177815
Click to expand...
You forgot the variable of quality of work. That greenhorns work will more often than not have more mistakes/less accuracy.
 

DizzyDigger said:
Pepper: Some of the best sales advice I ever received:

"The best salesman does not sell, they create within the customer the desire to buy."

If the guy with 20 years experience can do the job in 30 minutes, and the
fellow with 1 year of experience can do the same job in 35 min., then all that experience doesn't amount to much.

Now, if it's an 8 hr. job for the greenhorn, and only an hour for the experienced
fellow, then the experienced worker charging you a sum equal to 4 hrs. of labor for the greenhorn, then you are way ahead of the game, and the senior person has proven their value.

My $.02 worth...View attachment 2177815
Click to expand...
It depends on the job and the finished task.
Senior person $75.00 a hour =$300
Greenhorn $25.00 a hour =$200.00

If the end results are the same then it's not hard to figure out.

There was a question about having a large manual task done in a minimum amount of time.
For a set amount of money.

Who would you hire?
The choice of 3 employees are...

1:The smart guy
2:The dumb guy
3:The lazy guy

Most pick #1
Then #2
Last pick is #3

Many reasons can be given for each choice.

#3 is the one that gets the job.

Reason is he'll find the quickest and the easiest way of doing the task.
 

Unfortunately the company I work for strongly disagrees. Yes, I should have left them 15 years ago, but I do have one of the better paying jobs in the area and unfortunately there aren't many other options around here.
 

I asked to quote on taking a small one car garage down for a homeowner.

I quoted $500 dollars.
She readily agreed.

2 of us finished the job in 2 hours.
She was delighted with the job, the removel and clean up.

I asked for payment.
"There's no way I'm going to be paying you $250 a hour!"

So if I took 10 hrs to finish the job you would be happy?

The job quote was $500.00.
It doesn't matter if it took us 2hrs or 10 hrs.

Work smarter not harder.
 

I have an oddly specific example.

It pays 8 hours to replace lower control arms on a Toyota Camry.

Step one is removing the engine. I wish I was joking.

Never have I pulled the engine to replace the control arms. Just one engine mount at a time.

I can replace both arms in about an hour or 2.

We still charge less than 8 hours but more than 2 so we can sell the job and make the money.

Work smarter not harder.
 

If I do a job in 30 minutes, I spent 20 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes.
Click to expand...

Why would it take you 20 years to learn how to do any job in 30 minutes? How long did it take you to do that job the first time you did it? How long would it take someone else to do that job? You must be an auto mechanic! The last time I asked a garage how much they charged for an oil change, they said $125! Guess they were charging for the 20 years it took them to learn how to do it fast!

P.S. I did it myself for 40 bucks.
 

This is why I get three quotes on a job. You may be the best . . . but the next best may be 20% less and just as good.
 

AND there is that I have a 1,800 square foot shop full of tools to handle various jobs thrown at me in the day. I have a step van and a cargo van to move tools and materials. Then there is the insurance (customer, shop, van), licensing, taxes, advertising, bookkeeping. . . .

While I don't use every tool in my shop on your job, they need to be there so I can handle what does come up.

Beside that is, I like toys (oops, that part shouldn't be said out loud, to or in front of the customer.

: Michael-Robert. said:
If I do a job in 30 minutes, I spent 20 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. And therefore, you owe me for the years, not for the minutes.
Click image:
Click to expand...
 

FreeBirdTim said:
Why would it take you 20 years to learn how to do any job in 30 minutes? How long did it take you to do that job the first time you did it? How long would it take someone else to do that job? You must be an auto mechanic! The last time I asked a garage how much they charged for an oil change, they said $125! Guess they were charging for the 20 years it took them to learn how to do it fast!

P.S. I did it myself for 40 bucks.
Click to expand...
SNORT. Now, you'll pay me $80.00 to undo what you did.

That twenty years of learning wasn't all about you. There were thousands of other jobs that required a broad knowledge of tools, equipment, materials and procedures.
 

I've been a bricklayer my entire life. It looks easy when you see someone skilled laying brick. Many times I would quote a price and the people would ask me how long I thought the job would take to complete. A lot if people would be upset at what they thought was a lot if money for a few days work. They never figured in the skill factor. You can't call the local handy man & get a fireplace with a fancy interior mantle & hearth laid. I was always reasonable, but I never was cheap. I'm sure all trades and professional people are the same. A lot of time & energy went into their skills & they deserve to be reasonably compensated for it.
 

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