Overheard a homeowner say 'it's just plugging in some cables' yesterday

I was at a service call in Austin last week and the customer was on the phone telling their friend that my job was basically 'plugging in a few cables' like it's as easy as setting up a lamp. Bruh I spent 45 minutes fishing lines through a wall with fireblock and old insulation before I even got to terminate anything. People really don't see the time it takes to run clean drops, deal with attic heat, and make sure signal loss is under control. This is why some folks think we overcharge when they see a $150 service fee. Has anyone else had a customer totally downplay what we actually do on site?

3 comments

3 Comments

kaid5916d ago

That homeowner quote is pure gold, and @margaret_williams5's story about his buddy is basically the universal experience of anyone who does this work. My personal favorite was when a client watched me re-terminate a keystone jack three times because the punch-down tool kept slipping (user error, oops) and then asked if they could borrow my crimpers to "save money next time." At least we can laugh about it while we cash the check for the "easy" job, right?

jenniferw8223d ago

Honestly, have they ever tried standing in an attic in July just to find the right spot to drill down? Tbh, it's not just the cable pulling either, it's the prep work like measuring out where the drop should actually go so it doesn't look like a mess later. People see the finished result and think it's just clicking a connector on, but they don't see the 20 minutes of stripping and crimping just to get a solid termination that won't fail in a month. Ngl, the worst part is when they watch you do it and say "oh that's all it took" like you didn't just sweat through your shirt. It's the whole "you're paying for the knowledge, not the labor" thing but they still act like you're overcharging for a lamp plug-in.

margaret_williams523d ago

A buddy of mine runs a small handyman business and he told me about this one time he ran cable for a new home theater setup. He spent an hour and a half in the crawlspace, spiders and dust everywhere, measuring twice to make sure the drop would come out behind the TV mount. Finally gets it done, cleans up, and the guy hands him the check and says "man, that looked easy, I coulda done that in 20 minutes." My friend just smiled and handed him the business card of a local electrician. Said the guy never called, but the look on his face was worth the sweat.