Was I overcharged? But the parts only cost “XYZ” …
These are questions many of us have when hiring a plumber. So, why is it that every time a plumber comes to your house it seems like you’re spending a fortune?
“The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.” -John W. Gardner
The importance of hiring a licensed professional
One could argue that plumbers save more lives than doctors, how is that you ask? Well, historically, most deaths that occurred in the world were people becoming ill from diseases spread by poor/lacking sanitation and plumbing as well as contaminated water supplies. #blackplague
Professional plumbers, including those in Pembroke Pines FL, are part of the backbone of what runs our great cities. Think, what would you do if you couldn’t shower, let alone take a hot shower, couldn’t wash your hands or your dishes. Not to mention your favorite bathroom buddies, the toilet Aka Water closet, aka the John, aka porcelain throne. These are things we all take for granted today, but when gone tomorrow, would impact us greatly.
Plumbing, as well as other trade professionals, are jobs that are guaranteed to stay in our great cities and employ our youth with an honorable career and provide a great salary. These are jobs that cannot be “shipped overseas.”
Why not hire a handyman?
“Sure I need someone to fix my plumbing issue, but why should I call someone with a business, I don’t want to have to pay for all that overhead, I could get a handyman to do it just as well for half the price”
There is no shortage of disaster stories that have happened to people who hired unlicensed professionals, for even the smallest projects, but you could just youtube that and see for yourself.
Plumbing, though a humble activity, should not be mistaken for a job any handy person can do. Licensed plumbers are required to go through rigorous training and schooling and could take up to 7 years for an apprentice to achieve his License. The reason for this is because of the nuances involved in even the simplest of plumbing projects, for example, installing a simple hose spigot without the proper code requirements can lead to water contamination in your home and severe illness. There are many things a novice, handyman, or unlicensed professional will not know that could cause potential harm to your wallet and more importantly you and your family’s health
Fun Fact
Did you know that before toilets and outhouses people would dump their waste (chamber pots) in the public streets? In NYC 100 people in a building would share 4 outhouses. Can you imagine the smell in NYC? Well, now you know.
“Ok I get it, so plumbers are important, but that doesn’t mean they have to be so expensive” I mean, doctors are important too… (Exactly)
The cost of running a professional and legitimate business alone would make some cringe.
The next time you get a bill from your plumber, remember that much of that is going to pay for; vehicle fees and maintenance, vehicle fuel, stocking inventory, multiple insurances (required by law) workers compensation, employee salaries, accounting fees, utilities, office expenses, licensing fees, legal fees, tool theft. Aside from your plumber’s salary, the company he works for needs to make some income as well. After all, it is a business.
It is also important to note that while your local service professional is serving you and other members of our great cities, it takes time to get from one job to the next, realistically, there are only 5 or so billable hours in a day for a plumber.
With this information coming to light, are plumbers too expensive? The real question is, how can you afford to not hire a service professional.
As many professional plumbers will say “a lot of our business comes from fixing the other guys work”
In conclusion, though hiring a professional plumber may seem costlier, it is in fact not only the better option and will cost you less in the long run. Paying less money upfront might be the seemingly cheaper option but will not only will it cost more, but one will have to deal with the added inconvenience of calling a plumber back and being unable to use whatever it is that needs repairing. When installed and maintained correctly, most plumbing fixtures will last you a lifetime.
Yosef Wassermann
Master plumber
Office:855-398-3656
Cell: 954-997-5797
We do plumbing repair and upgrades for the Hollywood, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Davie, Hallandale Beach, Aventura, Dania Beach, Miami Lakes, and Hialeah, FL area.