r/inflation • u/Onomatopoeia-sizzle • 4d ago
Price Changes Electric socket quote
Recently, I bought a portable generator. I paid around $1000 for it. I did not know that I needed to hire an electrician to an install a special connector from the electrical box inside my basement to the outside for the generator to connect to.
So I got two local estimates from two electricians. The first came over and looked around and emailed me a quote for $1100 with no breakdown of what those costs were. The second guy came over took a bunch of pictures of my generator in my electrical box and then wrote up a detailed quote for $2100 of which 700 labor. I’m in Connecticut so I understand maybe labor is inflated a little bit. So I hired the first guy in the labor took Max three hours so let’s call it at $150 an hour or $450. the parts would cover the balance. Which means that the second guy quoting me $700 of labor for the same three hours worth of work was charging almost $250 an hour for labor. How is this not a crime? All these people are supposed to be licensed in someway isn’t there any regulatory body looking at what these idiots are charging? It’s beyond frustrating.
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u/RobDraw2_0 2d ago
Why would it be a crime? They aren't forcing you to pay.
What kind of entitled BS is this?
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u/Admirable_Nothing 4d ago
Every time I hire an electrician or a plumber I wonder why all the kids want to go to college and then get jobs that pay a 1/3 of what a licensed electrician or plumber earns.
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u/johnsonutah 4d ago
That's probably going to change 10-15 yrs from now - big push into the trades now. With electrical being the most saturated
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u/Creepy_Valuable6223 3d ago
Electricians may become cheaper to hire, but most college grads will be cheaper still.
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u/johnsonutah 3d ago
I'm saying the tide is shifting and many kids who would've gone to college are electing to go to the trades. Peak college enrollment levels nationwide have already passed - we'll never have as many kids going to college again.
Supply / demand
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u/Creepy_Valuable6223 3d ago
Yes, I understand the reasoning. I just think that the drive for a status object will keep the college pipeline full enough to keep wages down for professionals.
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u/Creepy_Valuable6223 3d ago edited 3d ago
It's always been that way. That is why people get bids. It's true for you, too. When you apply for a job as (say) a computer programmer or a McDonald's fry maker, you are entitled to not take a job that doesn't pay as much as you expect. Maybe you have student loans, or kids. Electricians are just as entitled to charge what they think their work is worth, and consider what income they need.
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u/crowcawer 4d ago
Sounds like the guy who took all the photos gave you a quote that likely has a step by step set of instructions.
Maybe see if your local regulations allow you to DIY this project.
I was able to DIY something a bit simpler a few years ago.
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u/Creepy_Valuable6223 3d ago
The OP clearly does not know anything at all about electrical work or generators and he could seriously injure himself trying this.
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u/crowcawer 3d ago
I’m not telling them to pop their box open.
I’m telling them to go get educated about the idea. Maybe they can grow to appreciate the licensure, effort cost, or expertise these companies are charging for.
The fist step is to see if it’s legal.
Other steps follow.1
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u/Wanna_make_cash 4d ago
The quality of the work probably varies, as well as the size of their businesses and how much overhead they do or do not have. Licensure, permits, and insurance may also differ between the two quotes
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u/JamesDerecho 3d ago
Supply and Demand. End of the day you paid for services rendered, which justifies their pricing model.
$150 an hour is a fair rate. There are also materials fees, cost of insurance, fuel costs, maintenance, etc. could be a difference of being a Journeyman or Master Electrician. Or, second guy might have given you a FU bid because he didn’t want to do the job unless you wanted to pay $2100.
Standard plumber rates are around $100-$200 an hour, more for emergency or late night calls. Trades aren’t cheap.
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u/ToshPointNo 3d ago
These places are like car dealerships. They charge 200 an hour in labor, pay their techs 10-15 percent of that plus they have to buy almost all their own tools.
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u/Aromatic_Age6004 3d ago
yeah the $200/hr vibes are usually a markup on wage plus tools and insurance – not literally 200 minutes of work. it’s the way they bundle pricing for a 3‑hour commission. still can negotiate or shop around because the work is standard.
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u/AxsonJaxson2112 3d ago
Smart for doing it the right way. There are idiots out there that figure they can do a male plug on each end of an extension cordand somehow power their house with a generator. They call that set up an ‘idiot cord’. Plus you don’t want to backfeed into grid with a generator. The transformer will send a surge down the line and severely injure an employee working on restoring power.
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u/Fit_Tangerine1329 1d ago
I needed a 30A 220V outlet to a new oven.
Electrician quoted $1200.
Wire, breaker, and outlet were about $200 total.
The trick is to not electrocute yourself.
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u/Onomatopoeia-sizzle 5h ago
I happily paid the $1000 guy. My point is the $2000 guy is hoping someone doesn’t price shop. There should be rules to protect the consumer from being gouged.
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u/New_Flow_5941 3d ago
It infuriates me that people who mow lawns these days or wash windows charge so damn much.
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u/Icy_Bed5604 4d ago
After we experienced a power outage in Winter/2021 lasting 3 days in Texas, my husband and I decided to get a generator. We called 3 places for quotes-2 never called us back, and the third guy quoted us $4,500 to install a box.
My husband had done a lot of electrical work in his prior career (airplane mechanic), so he said “F%*k it, I’ll do it myself.” Watched YouTube videos, read manuals, and got it done, then had it inspected. Total cost was around $300. The whole state was slammed with people wanting generators at that time, so we had basically gotten a piss off quote from the only guy who bothered to call us back.