builders moaning about my prices

[LM Ceramics]

as most of you know i was doing a large commercial job on a carehome in warrington which i have just finished i tried for 20 m2 but they werent havin it ( gotta try) so i agreed at 18 i finished the site on friday and i was havin a talk with the site agent and he gave me some advice to drop my price again he said the plasterers werent even earning as much as me and they were doing supply and fit and he also said there previous tiler who was supposedly a "very good tiler" worked for £12 m2 i just laughed at that i used to get that when i was working for a tiling firm he said to me your a good tiler but you need to drop your price to get all of the work and i said my favourite line "you pay peanuts you get monkeys" obviously the previous tiler either wasnt that good or he was complaining about money

so far i have been paid £18m2 which im happy at im earning alot of money about £3700 in 6 weeks if i dropped any lower i could lose a few hundred quid

he did say your charging alot of money considering your only 20 yr old and also tiling is also a semi skilled job which i took offence to ok maybe not the hardest trade but it isnt as easy as people make out

 

[enduro]

I cant believe you didnt agree a price before you started.

 

[IvegotsTILE]

Good job you have a better temperament than me,I'm the sort of person who would cut his nose off to spite his face.
Drop my price,semi skilled- f*** off and get another tiler.Also age has nothing to do with it,12psqm is taking the p*ss.

 

[DHTiling]

These site agents always try it on..........stick to your guns mate....i think £18 is low enough..........

 

[davy_G]

Iye, 18 is low enough. Dont drop anymore. If he aint happy he can look for another tiler!

 

[enduro]

I used to do a lot of site work had ten guys working for me, not tiling but landscaping, buisness parks, supermarkets car parks etc...What they tend to do is give you lots of work until nearly all your work is for them, then suddenly they will drop your prices and they know you will agree as you haven't got any other work because you have been working for them to long and lost all your other contacts. I would never do site work again, i suggest to any new tiler concentrate on domestic and a few small builders and don't put all your eggs in one basket. I know its easy when you get 20 new houses to tile but when that finishes you will have nothing. Build your buisness on quality work, work locally, get a good reputation with local kitchen companies, tile shops etc...£18sqm forget it!!! Its not enough to run a buisness, vehicles, tools, insurance, tax, re-investing etc.

 

[bearwithme]

LM, screw him, if they didnt think it was a fair price they wouldnt have paid it in the first place. Age has got bugger all to do with it, just because someones been tiling 30 years doesnt mean sh*t! there's good and bad in all trades and all ages. stick to your guns

 

[Droopy]

The only way that your age is relevant here, is that is why he is trying it on.
He's thinking that because you are young, he can take advantage of your lack of experience in dealing with chancers like him.

As for Tiling being "Semi-skilled", tell him that only the £12 per mtr Tilers are semi-skilled. And they only leave a semi decent job.

 

[White Room]

I was earning £15 m2 on site labour only a couple of years ago, That was in the south east

 

[Holohana]

Mate initially you wanted £20 (quite reasonable too) and you only got £18. Now he only wants to pay you £12, does that mean you'll only get £10. Where does it stop. What does that mean for tilers going forward if everyone dropped their rates. Heels in yourn
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Mate initially you wanted £20 (quite reasonable too) and you only got £18. Now he only wants to pay you £12, does that mean you'll only get £10. Where does it stop. What does that mean for tilers going forward if everyone dropped their rates. Heels in youngn.

 

[Tilestiles]

Stick to your guns mate. Just seen a guy on ebay advertising at £12 per sq metre!! Must be either very quick or crap!! - Lol

 

[CBTC]

The agent is trying to take advantage of your age and being rude as well - semi skilled :speechless: . Can judge pretty much at what you are having to fix and areas for that type of job, and the price at least allows you to get stuck in and earn a bit. Time is their killer; if you are consistant, getting the work done on or ahead of sched and it looks good then they do know they are getting their moneys worth. At 20 yo this work is good bread and butter which you have the energy to get through quicky given the chance - its just what the contractor needs - recognise your worth. Make sure if you are held up there is non productive time rate paid per hr and that snagging / remedials of their causing is on a proper dayrate basis, not tagged onto the job as a 'favour'.
Colin

 

[Dan]

If it were me I'd say keep on about dropping the price and I'll forget we had the conversation and stick my bill in for the original £20/m2.

 

[MICK the Tiler]

Here we ****ing go I thought this would happen these guys always try it on but age has nothing to do with it. Even us older experienced guys have this trouble when a builder or company give you alot of work they think they own you.

The best thing you can do is find another contract as soon as possible at your 20 quid If your happy with that and give it priorety then let the previous contractor come to you and chase you up don't sit idle wishing and hopeing just get on with moving on they are trying to give you a big hint and it's up to you to never second guess your own ability and earning capacity they are trying to put doubt in your head to win a mind game with you and the best thing is to ignore the mindgame **** and move on to greener pastures, but don't let on to them of your intentions.

 

[Pawelzik]

...so far i have been paid £18m2...he did say your charging alot of money considering your only 20 yr old and also tiling is also a semi skilled job...

I agree with the others: 18 pounds ist approx 22,79 Euro per today (28.4.08), that is a minimum "normal" payment for tile works in a car shop, also here "on the continent", Martin