Unclogdrains.com

Plumbers and Drain Cleaners are moving toward Flat Rate Pricing strategies to simplify operations, or is it to maximize profits? The simplicity is nice. McDonough's refuses to follow this strategy though. We believe it isn't fair. It's a terrible idea for the customer! Two variations of Flat Rate pricing are usually in play. First, the price most always averages dramatically on the high side of potential costs. This strategy charges a flat rate for all the potential time and product that might go into a project. However, every contingency is considered before settling on the price charged to the customers. It's often a bonanza for the service company. The job goes easier 90 percent of the time and customer pays excessive profits. Sometimes the job will go poorly. This problem creates perverse incentive for the tech. He senses he is working harder on these jobs for a diminishing return. First strategy is to renegotiate the pricing. In reality, it isn't flat rate at all in these cases... Secondly, the tech might determine the plumbing needs replacement. The reality is that companies are rewarded for giving up. The company gains extra revenues by replacing items that would likely be repaired with a little extra time and elbow grease. There is little incentive for these companies to do the right thing when the going gets tough. Yet, plenty of incentive to write up a replacement/repair costing thousands of dollars. It's a bad scenario. Secondly, Flat Rate is used as a loss leader. Companies know they can upsell the customer when the job does not go quickly. In our business, the problem is always out of sight. It’s in a pipe, buried in the ground or under the floor or in a wall, etc. We’re talking about a backup of really soiled water, so most of the time, a camera won’t even show what the problem is. However, once a tech starts working at it and the water drains, it would appear the problem is solved. That is where the flat rate ends. Then the upsell. The customer is now told that it is functioning but, they should come back and do a full cleaning for hundreds of additional dollars, to ensure it doesn’t happen again. But in our eyes, the job is not even close to being complete. We finish what was started right then and there, fully cleaning that drain, not planning or charging for another trip. McDonough's believes in time and material pricing instead. This pricing is inherently fair. Plus, this strategy incents the company to always do the right thing. Customer is only charged for resources spent fixing the problem. If the job is relatively easy the cost is less. If the job is hard and time consuming the price will reflect the extra work. That is fair. We want to always be fair to the customer. When the going gets tough, our techs receive rewards for doing the right thing. The biggest of which is the pride in knowing they overcame that challenge and fixed the customers problem, the first time, in one visit. We never want to give up on a job. Other companies reward for giving up and quitting early only to come back a second or third time for more money on top of that promised flat rate. That's a integrity problem for those companies. Beware Flat Rate Pricing! Steve McDonough Owner and CEO McDonough's Sewer, Drain, Water Jetting and Vac Trucks

Unclogdrains.com offers sewer, drain cleaning, water jetting, vac truck services, and grease trap cleaning. They clean and unclog drains of all sizes and manage preventative maintenance plans.