How We Determine Our Prices: A Transparent Approach to Plumbing Costs

At Plumber of Tucson, transparency is vital to building trust with you.

We understand that when you hire a plumber, the price is at the top of your mind, along with knowing you are paying fair, competitive rates that reflect the value the company provides. 

We want to share our process for ensuring our prices are fair and justified to help you better understand how we determine our pricing.

To be clear, no official regulatory agency determines what plumbers should charge. However, many industry organizations create, participate in, consult, and provide guidelines to help plumbers determine fair pricing.

This page's purpose is to show you that pricing is not based on "what we want to charge" but rather on what's required to provide you with a level of service that takes care of you and your home while keeping the property safe. Our pricing also reflects the federal, state, & industry mandates we must adhere to.  

Do all plumbers use this process? No. It's not a requirement for any company to use these processes, but if they don't, I would certainly question how they determine their pricing. This is especially true when you see prices that look "too good to be true," as some companies have been known to use low prices to get their foot in the door with a plan to upsell more work.  

What Goes Into the Price?

Before we elaborate on how price is determined, we'll give you a quick snapshot of the time it takes to complete a quick(30-60 minute) plumbing repair at your property.  

When you schedule a service visit with us, a bit of time must be spent before we arrive. 

This time includes:

• Gathering necessary materials and/or equipment for your job. 
• (When we arrive with materials & equipment already on our truck, that's because time was spent before we arrived at your home so we can save you from our time on site)
• Drive time getting to your property. 
• Time onsite making the quick plumbing repair (30-60 minutes) 
• And lastly, a bit of back office/admin time (legally required) must be spent after each individual job.  

When we add up all the company time (collective time) it takes to complete a quick plumbing repair, it's about 3 hours of total time. Even when the plumbing repair only requires 30 minutes of our time on site, it's still roughly 3 hours we must spend to complete that job.  

This time it takes to complete a service call is not unique to us. In fact, any qualified licensed plumbing company will spend a similar amount of time.  

The reason we inform you of this is because some people judge us solely on the time we spend on site without realizing what's actually required for us to provide you with an hour of skilled labor.  

If you find it hard to believe that making a quick service call requires so much time, check out this video from the Plumbers Heating Cooling & Contractors Association (PHCC), "The True Cost of an Hour of Labor."  

What Else Goes Into the Price?

Three primary things go into the price.  

1. The time it takes to complete a project. 
2. Material costs associated with a project. 
3. Indirect costs (overheads) that accrue before we provide your service. 

When people come to us looking for a plumber, most want the same thing. 

• They want a plumber they can trust. 
• They want a plumber that works in their best interest.
• They want a plumber who has insurance coverage.
• They want a plumber that is licensed. 
• They want a plumber who uses care in their home during work. 

For a plumber to provide these things, some costs must be accrued. 

What are these costs? 

Qualifications and licensing 

Licensing & certifications not only require money to obtain but also money to maintain. This is an ongoing cost that exists as long as we are state-licensed and certified. 

Insurance

This is a big one. Insurance is expensive, especially when you need multiple layers of insurance to cover employees and customers. We are required by the state to pay for workers compensation insurance to cover technicians. We need general liability insurance to cover you and your property. We need vehicle insurance to cover our trucks. And good technicians need health insurance. It's possible to pay for lower insurance coverage, but imagine if an accident occurred at your home and our insurance coverage was insufficient to cover damages. 

Work techniques that safeguard your property and keep workers safe

Safeguarding your property from collateral damage while we work requires strategic work methods. These methods require a bit more time and effort. Additionally, when we work for you, we must follow safety guidelines enforced by (OSHA) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This also requires further strategic work methods. 

It doesn't serve our customers to hastily make repairs and install plumbing without regard for safety or potential collateral damage.

Operational Expenses

Office rent, internet, phone bills, utility bills, fuel, truck payments, truck maintenance, equipment maintenance, and taxes are all ongoing expenses that must be paid for us to provide you with professional services.  

These operational expenses are not an "investment" used to start the company. They are costs only accrued when operating daily. 

These are unavoidable, bare minimum costs associated with offering professional plumbing services.  

Profit

The ugly word... Profit. No one likes to feel they are paying for someone else's profit. I get it. But there is no way around it. After all expenses, we must have a small amount of money left over, which is used to keep the business going in the future. You want our company to exist now, and you want us to exist in the future in case you need us, right? 

Our job is to provide you with the plumber you want—a licensed, insured professional who will work in your best interest and care for your home while working in it safely. To provide that plumber, this is what it costs. 

When a plumber fails to calculate the right price, the plumber has no choice but to cut corners on your project to save on their costs. This means they may be unable to afford proper insurance coverage to protect you and your home. This means they may neglect safety standards to save themselves job time. This means they may be unable to afford to provide you with certified "lead-free" materials to keep you and your home safe. 

The right price is safe. The right price is essential.