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> this repair took 1.5 hours Yep. You essentially 'ate' the labor costs, which are exorbitant in the US. I recently had a plumber come in to look at my leakin

> this repair took 1.5 hours Yep. You essentially 'ate' the labor costs, which are exorbitant in the US. I recently had a plumber come in to look at my leaking toilet tank flush. Cost for parts = 10$ as I later found out at hardware store. Labor = 236$ (I'm not kidding). It literally took the guy 5 mins to change the flush balloon thingy. I observed him and now do it myself too. It's almost seems like Plumbers in the city (San Francisco) have ganged up together to set price for any kind of repair. I did call 2 other plumbers and they both quote price in between 220 and 240 USD.

ghaff 9y ago
So only software developers are allowed to charge "exorbitant" labor rates? Plumbers (like mechanics) also often have set fees. Sometimes, the repair is really simple, as in your case, and would probably have been very easy to do yourself. Other times, there are going to be complications that can take quite a bit more time.
Retric 9y ago
99% of the labor was showing up at your house. Fixing the thing in 1 second or 30 minutes is irrelevant relative to that.
michaelmrose 9y ago
The cost is whatever the market is willing to pay for things. The market is composed of those who are willing to pay for services. Plumbing parts are cheap in most cases easy to work with and forgiving of screwing up. Turn off the water and start again. This is why poor people fix their own shit. Prices would have to be very cheap to be worth paying for services. Middle class + are time constrained and willing to pay significant sums to avoid digging into their available time. Offering a perceptively reasonable price for easy jobs like your toilet would result in lots of people calling them for such easy jobs when they could be engaged in more lucrative matters. You can see your bill in terms of opportunity cost. Both the value of the middle class persons time saved and the plumbers who could be engaged in more lucrative endeavors. Since the plumbers time and the average middle class persons afternoon is worth $236 its unlikely that you will find the service for a reasonable price.
pravda 9y ago
>I recently had a plumber come in to look at my leaking toilet tank flush. If you go to 'youtube' and search for 'leaking toilet valve' you can find a video documenting how to repair a leaking toilet. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=toilet+keeps+running+repair https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=toilet+keeps+ru... >plumbers and they both quote price in between 220 and 240 USD. Nash equilibrium?
lhorie 9y ago
I'm surprised at comments about the cost of plumber service calls given SF HNers are often programmers commanding 6 figure salaries themselves. Something plumbing and programming have in common is that both are high-demand specializations that most people are not willing/interested in spending their time with. It should be no surprise that these specialists' time isn't cheap.
- greglindahl 9y ago
  ... especially when you call a skilled specialist to do a low-skill-required "handy-man's" job.

ghaff 9y ago

So only software developers are allowed to charge "exorbitant" labor rates? Plumbers (like mechanics) also often have set fees. Sometimes, the repair is really simple, as in your case, and would probably have been very easy to do yourself. Other times, there are going to be complications that can take quite a bit more time.

Retric 9y ago

99% of the labor was showing up at your house. Fixing the thing in 1 second or 30 minutes is irrelevant relative to that.

michaelmrose 9y ago

The cost is whatever the market is willing to pay for things. The market is composed of those who are willing to pay for services. Plumbing parts are cheap in most cases easy to work with and forgiving of screwing up. Turn off the water and start again. This is why poor people fix their own shit. Prices would have to be very cheap to be worth paying for services. Middle class + are time constrained and willing to pay significant sums to avoid digging into their available time. Offering a perceptively reasonable price for easy jobs like your toilet would result in lots of people calling them for such easy jobs when they could be engaged in more lucrative matters. You can see your bill in terms of opportunity cost. Both the value of the middle class persons time saved and the plumbers who could be engaged in more lucrative endeavors. Since the plumbers time and the average middle class persons afternoon is worth $236 its unlikely that you will find the service for a reasonable price.

pravda 9y ago

>I recently had a plumber come in to look at my leaking toilet tank flush. If you go to 'youtube' and search for 'leaking toilet valve' you can find a video documenting how to repair a leaking toilet. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=toilet+keeps+running+repair https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=toilet+keeps+ru... >plumbers and they both quote price in between 220 and 240 USD. Nash equilibrium?

lhorie 9y ago

I'm surprised at comments about the cost of plumber service calls given SF HNers are often programmers commanding 6 figure salaries themselves. Something plumbing and programming have in common is that both are high-demand specializations that most people are not willing/interested in spending their time with. It should be no surprise that these specialists' time isn't cheap.

greglindahl 9y ago
... especially when you call a skilled specialist to do a low-skill-required "handy-man's" job.