Why would a customer prefer a flat rate price as opposed to hourly? First of all, almost everything you buy on a daily basis is flat rated these days. When you go out to dinner everything on the menu is a set price. When you buy an item of clothing it is at a flat price on the tag. Even when you get your auto fixed they will give you a flat price so that you know what the final cost is even before they start. We do the same thing with our menu price books that our plumbers use. Once one of our professional licensed plumbers visits your home he will speak to you about your concerns, he will diagnose any and all options for possible repairs and then using our price guide he will give you options to get that work done. The peace of mind comes from knowing exactly what the cost will be before any work begins.

Most people would want to have the peace of mind of knowing what they are getting into. There are still some companies out the that charge by the hour. The biggest negative to hourly pricing is that you don’t know the cost of the job until it’s done. Of course, after the job is done it’s too late to say “NO, that’s too much.” You’re working at a disadvantage. The other negative is that if you think about it, if you happen to get a SLOW working plumber, that job could cost you more. I personally don’t think that the poorest mechanic who happens to also be the slowest mechanic should charge the most money but with time and material that is exactly what you get.