i may be losing my top customer over price

[huggytree]

im lucky that my largest customer is only 15-18 percent of my business

she got a bid on a project today for $12,500 and im at $17,600

no way i can drop my prices 30percent...i probably have $3500 in profit in the job

if everything goes right and i get it done fast i could probably break even or make just a bit @ $12,500....so i assume the other bidder is doing it 'at cost' to buy some work

i could drop my price $1,000-$2,0000 and still make some profit...but then she'd expect it on every bid....i typically never lower my prices in these situations....but typically im $500-$1,000 high....not $5,000 high

any suggestions on what i should do at this point?

she's looking over the bids tomorrow to make sure they are equal...i sent her a list of things to check for...its a complicated project, so im sure he forgot something....

i started working for her because i was the low bidder 1.5 years ago...now someone outbid me...i knew it would happen eventually since i know she has switched plumbers several times over the years (i know a 2 of them)

when she needs service i come same day, call backs are always handled same day, im always on schedule and my prices stay consistant....ive given her everything i could since she was my top customer....she will be painful to loose

if i DO loose the job should i call her in a couple of months to say hi? or ask about how the job went? or should i just sit back and wait and HOPE that my competitor does a poor job and she comes back for the next project.....there is a personal connection w/ this builder, but not as good as i have with other ones

its painful to loose a customer, but the only reason that doesnt bug me too much is when its over price....50percent have come back to me over the years

[greenoak]

i think you are doing the right thing by not coming down....she would always want it if you did it once..... they have to respect your bid......
but if you really lose it i would still call her back later , just to stay in contact.....
hopefully she will find a mistake....

[Spider]

... any suggestions on what i should do at this point? Nothing. You bid for the work, you gave her your best price. Now it's up to her.


... if i DO loose the job should i call her in a couple of months to say hi? or ask about how the job went? or should i just sit back and wait ...No, No and Yes. You are an experienced plumber who has a great reputation. If you are better than your competitor, she will be back. If you are not better than your competitor, you need to do something about that. Just tell her that you hope she will invite you to bid on her next job and put her name back in your list for your usual mailings.

If you expect to win every job you bid for, you will live a life of disappointment.

[huggytree]

the builder called this morning... i lost the job

it was a plumber that has a good reputation, so its not a newbe or hack

i figure they must have made a mistake.....it has to be under actual cost...

i told the builder i didnt blame them and that id appreciate the chance to bid on the next project

my gut says she felt bad about it...with a price that far apart they have no choice but to go with the lower bid

[tylerhutchinson]

I would stay in contact. That way if the other plumber does not do a job as well as you she may go back to you.

[Harold Mansfield]

I've lost jobs over price before and at least half of them have come back to have me fix what the cheaper guy did.
I'll only take a cheap job if I really, desperately need the money but even then, there is only so low I can go. Any lower and it's just them taking advantage of me.

Some people will always go with the cheaper price. That's all they see. They don't take anything else to consideration.
It's nice when you can still get that type, but I wouldn't loose any sleep over it.

[huggytree]

the plumber who gave the low price bid is not a cheap plumber....they are actually a great plumber...i have alot of respect for them....they are typically 10percent + higher priced than me....in this case they were 37 percent lower.....

this builder has 2 project managers....one uses me, one uses this other plumber.......so i know the job will go well for them

my only hope is EXTRA's.....im hoping they didnt realize all that was involved in the project..

assuming parts are the same- their labor was 1/2 of mine....i had 60 hours and they must have 30......cant demo and replumb a whole house in 30 hours.there was also a basement floor bustup and rough in of a new bath/sanitary pump....that sewer project alone is 15+ hours....

either this plumber made a mistake or is going after me.......the price is too low to be anything other than a mistake...they will lose money

ive had this situation before.....the last time i found out the plumber sent apprentices to do the whole job.....that project was a 3 day project that took their apprentices 2 weeks...i didnt lose that builder...

im just glad my eggs arent all in 1 basket...if i lose the builder oh well..its happened to me before and will happen again....i havent lost one in over a year(maybe even 2)

[TomasT]

I wouldn't worry about it. It sounds like that plumber will lose money on that job. Hopefully the builder will invite you to bid on the next project along with the other plumber and they'll see off the other job bid was when the other plumber has a higher bid than you. I'm sure the builder even realizes the winning plumber miscalculated the hours and costs and is simply taking advantage of a bad bid. I don't blame them.

[huggytree]

i discussed future projects with the builder today.....sounds like im still in....i give her such good service and make her life so easy.....i think thats worth more than $$ to her.....she said i have the next 2 projects that are coming up.....

id like to ask her how the other project went w/o me....but i figure its best to forget about it and move on......i havent lost a customer in a couple of years now...im pretty comfortable with my clients

[Blessed]

I definitely wouldn't ask about the job you lost - that will sound petty to the builder. Forget it and move on, it sounds like you are still in good standing with the client and will continue to get the opportunity to bid on their projects and work on them too. You might cut your profit slightly in a future bid - the 5-10% range - if you want to just go a little lower and see if you keep the client, but only do that if you think it's worth it to you and not if it will aggravate you when you send them the bill.

[huggytree]

the next house i may have underbid anyways by mistake....i didnt make too much on the last house and i bid it similarly, but the house is much larger(same # of bathrooms though)....i added $1,000 for extra materials for the longer distances...i probably should have added $500 more for labor too.........sounds like i have the house and im happy!

[bstone81]

There will always be some competitor that will do it for less. My experience has been that most of those do poor work and cut corners to meet their bid price. Be patient and stay in contact. Your customer will come back and be willing to pay the right price for a good job.

[Chris1812]

I agree I do not think you should ask about the project you did not work on. The builder obviously values your work to still be discussing further projects with you. I think you should just move forward, hopefully getting a lot work from them in the future. Good Luck!