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huggytree
11-30-2009, 12:12 PM
One of my highend builders wants me to put together a list of things i can do for a yearly service contract....they do alot of work for single business women with money. these women want to pay a yearly fee to have all their houses service needs handled....

All I can come up with for plumbing is shutting the hose bibs off for the winter and draining a bit from the water heater....it would take 30 minutes and cost my minimum charge....i cant think of anything else i could do for yearly maintenance....

can any of you think of other plumbing needs someone would have as part of a service contract????

I am worried about shutting off hosebibs or draining a water heater...if the water heater starts leaking 1 week later they could blame me for doing something....if the hosebib freezes and cracks i could be responsible for flooding a house....i just see it opening up thousands in liability...all to make $155.....the main purpose of the contract is just to keep my name in front of them and be 'their plumber'...

any thoughts

handprop
11-30-2009, 12:23 PM
Think of it as adding a whole new component to the business. Is that what you really want? I suppose you could come up with all sorts of things to do, but is that where the money is?

What's your favorite and most profitable portion of your business? I would spend the effort working on marketing and perfecting the portion that suits you best.

Mike

thx4yrtym
11-30-2009, 01:25 PM
Huggy,

sink drains and shower drains clog up and are frustrating for the average home owner.

Don't get hung up on the $155.00 , maybe offer several different packages at various prices.

Seems like if this is done at your slowest part of the year, it could be a good thing. If it's a pleasant experience for the homeowner they will talk about it.

Good luck,

Dan Furman
11-30-2009, 02:52 PM
$155 gets them a yearly inspection. Plus, a (whatever percentage you choose) discount on any plumbing that needs to be done.

huggytree
11-30-2009, 04:41 PM
had lunch w/ the builder today..they showed me the contract they used with their last plumber...it was all just an inspection and checking for clogs....ill get $155-205 depending on the size of the house. It will be dont in the late Fall when its slow. They keep a perminant lock box on the house for me...i dont see a downside as long as its inspection only..

1. check for gas leaks
2. check waterheater and pressure relief valve
3. remove and clean faucet aerators
4. check toilets for rebuilds
5. check drains for clogs and clean traps

anything i find means an extra....they charge $800-1,000 per year and get every trade in the house to inspect...its perfect for the type of client i want to work with and keep.

Patrysha
11-30-2009, 04:46 PM
I would go for that sort of deal in a heartbeat if it was available here...for the plumbing and electric at least...not so sure what other things I would need on a regular basis...

Steve B
11-30-2009, 05:01 PM
I actually have another business set up that does exactly this. Check out the website for more details www.ESP-HomeServices .com

I'd be happy to share additional details with you if you're interested.

I haven't done much advertising of this business, but I think it would have a lot of potential in a better economy.

Patrysha
11-30-2009, 05:27 PM
I think if you show it can save money in the long run - it can sell in any economy. Like if something is leaking and say it's a slow hidden leak that can lead to needing to repair a whole lot more (drywall, wood, etc which leads to needing painting and so on...

So it's really a small investment to ensure that your home remains in good condition...and that will help retain it's value without needing costly repairs...because when things are dealt with when they are small the don't grow into bigger problems...

huggytree
11-30-2009, 06:33 PM
Thanks for the Info. Steve....i checked out that website....interesting how you can make a whole company on that concept.

its perfect for the customer who has more money than free time and isnt handy.

I dont see your average person going for this...there has to be alot of disposable income.....$1k = peace of mind......When there is ANY problem in her house all she has to do is call the remodeler...then they hire the sub to correct it....they dont have to spend hours making calls, arranging appointments and trusting a stranger....this way the lockbox is perminantly on the house and it can be handled at any time...immediately if needed.

Patrysha
11-30-2009, 07:04 PM
Depends on what you define as average I suppose...

If people see more value in having it than not having it they'll find the funds to do it...that's true of everything from fast food to preventative measures like this type of service.

Of course $1000 spread out over the course of the year...that would be even more appealing...but that's just me :-)

Steve B
11-30-2009, 07:24 PM
The concept should be an easy sell to a lot of people - even average people. The concept is the same as what many have accepted for their cars ... routine maintenance. Unfortunately, this is a pretty new concept and I don't have the funds to advertise it the way it needs in order to educate people on the value.

I did a job recently where I'm very confident I saved them a million dollars and quite possibly their lives (the home and contents were easily worth $1 million). Their dryer vent was clogged with 3+ years of lint and they didn't have nearly enough smoke detectors and only 1 small fire extinguisher. We also found a leak behind the walls in the basement and found a 100W light bulb in a 60W max enclosed fixture (another fire hazard). They had no CO detector despite several sources of combustion in the house.

Anyway, I think you can beef up your list of services and get a price that would be more worth your time. In your case, you'd have the added benefit of being able to do the higher priced plumbing work if you find any.

Spider
11-30-2009, 09:07 PM
It wouldn't be necessary to advertise the service especially, Steve. I recently bought such a contract when it was offered by a serviceman - it can be sold one person at a time.

Story:
I had a drain blockage from my kitchen sink - needed Mr.RotoRooter. But I had also been cussing the slow flush of one of my WCs for a long time so called a plumber who could install a new toilet and also unblock the drain. (If I lived a few thousand miles further north I would have called Dave, but I guess he would be reluctant to drive to Houston.)

The plumber was smartly dressed (I don't think I would have gone along with his suggestion if he had been dressed like a typical tradesman.) He determined what needed to be done, wrote it up on his worksheet, calculated the price and asked me to sign it. When done, he explained about a maintenance program his company offered.

In essence it was a $500 contract for one year, which if I purchased they would give me a 10% discount on all work I had them do, including the work he had just done. This also included an annual flush of the water heater. He asked to see the water heater and saw that it was over 10 years old. He said he would flush it out now at no additional charge (if I purchased the contract) but would not do it again next year because the heater was too old. I had been considering replacing it for a more efficient unit, anyway.

I bought the contract, arranged for him to come back in a month to change the water heater. What a salesman! Perfect up-sell! My point is, he sold me the contract, which actually cost me virtually nothing because of the discounts on the work he had already performed and would perform doing the waterheater.

He now has me locked in for all future plumbing work during the coming year, even if I do not renew the contract. IOW, if you are going to give discounts for having the contract, it can be sold by the service man by allowing the discount to apply to the work just performed.

For Dave - if you like this as a way of doing business, you can do it yourself in addition to teaming up with your builder-friend. And/or arrange with the builder to pay you a commission for selling the whole builder package to your plumbing clients.

thx4yrtym
11-30-2009, 09:29 PM
You mentioned that this is targeted at single upper income women. I think there is a whole other growing market that shouldn't be ignored.

As the USA population is getting older ( baby boomers ) more and more people are getting to the age where they look at some tasks that 20 years ago they wouldn't think twice about and say the heck with it , let someone else mess with it.

I recently had a rear brake caliper replaced on my car. 20 years ago I would have done it myself and enjoyed it. Not any more. It's the same for some things around the house.

Just saying don't over look the older part of the population.


Good luck with it.

handprop
12-01-2009, 02:43 AM
That's a cool idea Spider!

I'm gonna write that down and put it in my marketing tool box:D

Mike

Steve B
12-01-2009, 07:10 AM
"it can be sold one person at a time." That is true for HT since he's in front of homeowners anyway regarding their house.

In my case, I need to advertise it to generate sales. True, I'm in front of homeowners for their dog fence, but I market the preventive home maint. under a different name and it isn't such a natural transition going from dogs to home maint. I do, however, now sell them on my dog food delivery company at the end of the dog fence discussions. This has been working well (2 out of 3 are signing up). I still advertise this business - but, my dog fence customers will always be a nice supply of new prospects.

Steve B
12-01-2009, 07:19 AM
Gregg,

I agree - I see the market for this as quite large and varied.

Single Females - Traditionally this group may not have the tools, skills, or desire to do these things for themself.

Older Couples - Like you said. Maybe they can't do these things anymore due to health.

Widows - They no longer have their "handyman" around. My mother (who fits in this category) was the inspiration for the business.

Busy professional couples - too busy to do anything for themselves that could be hired out.

Stay at Home Moms or Dads - they are tired of waiting for their spouse to do these things. The working spouse doesn't want to spend their precious time off doing this stuff and the other spouse is too busy with the kids.

Wealthy People - Busy or not, many in this group don't even own a lawn mower - they hire out everything they can to allow them to do things they enjoy.

The market is potentially very large. The difficulty is in educating people to be concerned about the things they are currently ignoring. In HT's case, he can educate them while he's talking to them about their original issue.

cocoy
12-04-2009, 12:58 PM
I am worried about shutting off hosebibs or draining a water heater...if the water heater starts leaking 1 week later they could blame me for doing something....if the hosebib freezes and cracks i could be responsible for flooding a house....i just see it opening up thousands in liability...all to make $155.....the main purpose of the contract is just to keep my name in front of them and be 'their plumber'...

How would you deal with liability issues? Is there anything you can do besides making sure you have enough insurance? Chances are if things are done right nothing bad will happen, but you never know.

cocoy
12-04-2009, 01:05 PM
Seems like a nice service, Steve.

I've seen individual type services, but not one that checks in items in the range that you have.

Maybe this is something you can advertise with local home owner's insurance agents. Maybe they can get a discount on their insurance? Not sure about the logistics involved though.

Steve B
12-04-2009, 06:59 PM
That would be logical. I gave it an attempt with a couple agents, but they are usually not truly independent and have restrictions on what they can promote.

It's a shame, because I actually didn't save my client a million dollars - it was the insurance company's money that I saved. I guess if I was more determined I might be able to break through these barriers - but, it didn't seem very possible.

huggytree
12-05-2009, 08:55 AM
Cocoy,
when your dealing with 110 year old plumbing anything can happen...the valve may not hold and turning it off may have no effect....liability is my main concern...all ill be doing is inspecting...other than aerators i wont be doing removing or touching anything w/o being paid extra