Originally Posted by gear junkie

How much longer would it take in a basement? How long does it take to walk to the basement? No idea but that I can legitimately carry that machine with 2 fingers. Now that job was a real legit job....had no idea how it was going to turn out and it was really easy. But the video with the Trident? Yeah my machine failed on that one....but so did 2 other plumbers and one of them had 4018 jetter. I ended up getting the roots out with my cable machine. Couldn't sit on the bucket for that one lol and had to send the cable in 4 different times 115' to try different cutter heads. Took almost 2-1/2 hours but not tired or sore at all, not working on my knees etc. Just gotta think outside the box.



Going back....you asked about the camera....if I didn't use the camera I would've saved about 7k from buying a camera BUT......BUT......I would've missed doing the repairs. Since I don't do sewer replacements, the homeowner called me about that job and said they found someone to do the replacement for 13k. Would you spend 7k to make 13k once? What about making 13k twice? Three times? Point is the cameras cost the most but in the right hands, they are the tools that will bring in the most profit. Just gotta know the right way to use them

Originally Posted by justme

If you're not running a camera before and after a jetting job or sewer cleaning then you don't know whether you cleaned the line properly. Without running a camera you're a clog popper not a drain cleaner. Just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by Tango

What you say is true however the majority of people just want it draining again not to have it cleaned that comes with extra fees.

I'm a clog popper and that's fine with me! I'll clean it at an extra cost but so far only 2 have accepted it.

Originally Posted by V.A Hydro-ooter

I just price the camera into the job. I don't put it as an option, I put it as a benefit if they have me do the job. I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing I did the job right and if they call me again it won't be to complain that it clogged again.

A lot of them have had the line snaked multiple times before and never had a video inspection done. When they see how thorough I am they understand why I'm higher than a "clog popper" . I'm still less than the big guys with the snake and video, sometimes a bit over half their price.

Originally Posted by Tango

If you can do it great great but I don't think it can work in every location. I don't know how I could price it in a way that I could include it. Most companies here charge an extra 250 to use the cam.

Let's say charging an extra 50$(included in the tool fee) That would mean being able to use it 100x if it cost 5K to buy or 200x if it cost 10K. I doubt it would survive that much without repairs or replacing it.

I have a lot of people not wanting to pay regular rate to unclog stuff so adding an extra 150-200$ to cover that tool might dwindle your clientelle to nil or almost nil. What do you think?

Originally Posted by V.A Hydro-ooter

I don't look at it that way. I'd rather go after clientele that understand the value of my work. I'd rather make $500 on 1 job than $500 on 3 jobs. I only add an extra $150 to my jobs to make up for the camera. I used to make the camera optional. Since I stopped that my revenue has gone up and my close rate has remained the same.

If I'm going out just for a video inspection then I usually charge close to 3 times that. I figure if I'm already there and have everything set up for snaking then the camera is only another half hour tops. Plus there's the chance of getting additional work from it.

Unless you get a crap camera, or you don't know how to run a camera, you should be able to get several hundred uses before you need to service or replace it. I have well over 500 uses on my current Ridgid seesnake and it's still in good shape. I don't use it to push objects, push through clogs or run it past suspect looking joints.

That comes out to less than $20 per use. If you take into account the tens of thousands in excavation work it's helped me get then it's a no brainier.