[Plumber]

I own a few Roto-Rooter franchises here in NJ. Here is the true story behind the company. Approximately Half of the country is franchise owned and half the country is corporate owned. The franchise's are NOT commission based and employees are paid salairies. The corporate RR are commission based and yes some employees I'm sure are unethical in their pricing and selling practices. But, I have three plumbing companies just off the top of my head in my area that screw people everyday on prices and shooty workmanship. In fact there is a great thread in the zone about the "$99 drain cleaning special" Thats a true scam. RR is the largest plumbing and drain cleaning company in the country so yes there will always be negatives especially from competitors. But I've owned my franchise for 38 years and my employees are strictly salaried and we work on a fixed price system. In fact I've been know in the area to have the cheaper pricing then most of my competitors.

I was just thinking that RR is very successful at the corporate level. But, I guess franchisees tend to keep their business {as far as I know} and RR isn't going away any time soon.

We do have a franchise RR here, but it's not the rip-off sort. The prices are comparable to mine and it doesn't go crazy with the ads. It never had even a 1/2 page yp ad. It does have the worst employees, but good workers are rare up here.

 

[plumberkc]

I actually refer all my drain cleaning to RR. They charge enough that I don't have to worry about them stealing away other business. They don't practice deceptive advertising and they don't price quote over the phone.

 

[drain surgeon]

I worked for a RR franchise when I first relocated to N.C. At that time the economy sucked and they were the only one hiring. I came to the job with a Masters License from Maine but still had to do the ride along for a few weeks. While riding with the lead plumber we got a call from an elderly guy about a leak in his crawl space. It was a tall crawl with plenty of head room. The leak was from the 3/4" main coming into the crawl An easy 5 min. fix. The lead plumber tells the guy he has to replace a 10 ' section and charges the guy $800.00. When we got back to the shop I quit.

 

[DaddyofTwins]

So far so good with the work a little bit on the high side but the guys are good plumbers and respectable business from the customers that I've talked to I think I'll like working here

 

[Tommy plumber]

I worked for a RR franchise when I first relocated to N.C. At that time the economy sucked and they were the only one hiring. I came to the job with a Masters License from Maine but still had to do the ride along for a few weeks. While riding with the lead plumber we got a call from an elderly guy about a leak in his crawl space. It was a tall crawl with plenty of head room. The leak was from the 3/4" main coming into the crawl An easy 5 min. fix. The lead plumber tells the guy he has to replace a 10 ' section and charges the guy $800.00. When we got back to the shop I quit.

Only $800?

 

[sierra2000]

So far so good with the work a little bit on the high side but the guys are good plumbers and respectable business from the customers that I've talked to I think I'll like working here

Don't worry about what the hourly rate is. That's determined by the owner. Just be an honest plumber and charge what the book says.