You call a plumber for one thing. A clog. A drip. A running toilet. He shows up, takes a look, and five minutes later he’s telling you about everything else in your house that “really should be done.”
And I’m standing there thinking, no. I invited you here to do this. Just this. Why are we talking about my water heater?
I hired you for one job
Here’s how I see it. Do the job I called you for. Do it well. If it goes well, great, then there’s more work down the road, and you’ll be the first person I call. That’s how you get more business from me. Not by turning a clog into a sales pitch.
Because when a guy starts upselling over and over, to me he’s not focused on the job at hand. His head is on the next sale, not on my drain. And that’s how stuff gets missed.
“We’re trusted.” Okay. We get it.
The other one that drives me nuts. “We’re trusted. Everybody around here uses us. We’re the most trusted guys in the area.” And they say it fifteen times.
I know you’re trusted. That’s why I hired you. You don’t have to keep telling me.
It’s like the people who keep asking “Are we having fun?” We’d have more fun if you stopped asking.
When somebody has to keep saying how trustworthy they are, that’s usually a sign to pay a little more attention, not less.
When it’s not an upsell, it’s a heads-up
Now let me be fair. Not every “you should also look at this” is a pitch. If a plumber is under my sink and says, “Hey, this looks like mold, you’ve got a slow leak here,” absolutely, tell me. That’s a good plumber. That’s somebody looking out for me.
The difference is pretty simple:
- A heads-up is something he actually found while doing your job. He shows it to you. He tells you why it matters. And he doesn’t need an answer right now.
- An upsell is something he brought with him. A product, a plan, a “package.” It comes with a brochure and a deadline.
- A heads-up sounds like: “You might want to keep an eye on this.”
- An upsell sounds like: “If we don’t do this today, you’re going to be sorry.”
And to be honest, this isn’t just plumbing. You get upsold at the car dealer, at the phone store, at the dentist. It happens in every business. Plumbing just happens to catch you when you’re stressed and there’s water on the floor.
What to say when the upsell starts
You don’t have to be rude. You just have to be clear. Some things that work:
- “Let’s just do what I called about today. Write the other stuff down for me and I’ll think about it.”
- “Can you show me the problem? Like, physically show me?”
- “Is this an emergency, or can it wait a few weeks?”
- “Put it in writing with a price and I’ll get a second quote.”
A good plumber is fine with every one of those. If he gets pushy or annoyed when you ask him to write it down, there’s your answer.
You might be able to cancel the extras
Here’s something most people don’t know. The FTC has a rule called the Cooling-Off Rule. It gives you three days to cancel certain sales made in your home. The repair you asked for isn’t covered, but according to the FTC, things you buy beyond that repair request are. Emergencies are an exception, and there are other exceptions too, so read the FTC page before you count on it. But if you got talked into an extra you didn’t call about, it’s worth knowing.
The short version
- Do the job you called about first. Judge them on that.
- A real problem gets shown to you, not sold to you.
- Anything extra goes in writing with a price, and you sleep on it.
- If they keep telling you how trusted they are, watch a little closer.
More on getting prices straight in flat rate vs. hourly, and on prices that suddenly change based on where you live in the nice-house tax. And if it’s the middle of the night, read 3 AM prices before you say yes to anything.