We are getting so busy we can't keep up with our pre-wires. We are looking for a company that can work with our project manager to pre-wire our jobs. Does anyone know of any companies that are reasonable and do good work in the Los Angeles area?

Thanks.

Your rough-in needs to cost more.

Prewire is the most profitable part of our business model. in and out, easiest. Why not put the focus on prewire then? So freaking easy.

That would make them less busy?

I don't sense a desire to do less business, just a desire to cover the wire-monkey part of things. Or perhaps a desire not to be involved with the wire-monkey part of things, along the lines of "I'm too old for this shit."

Yes, it would.

This really depends on which business one wants to run. For a programmer, the rough-in is a nuisance. A wire-monkey may not want any long term commitments with a project. Look at the typical GC on a new build. They almost always subcontract the drywall part. While everyone hates the drywall subs, virtually no one wants that job. The sub makes that nasty detail disappear in a few days.

That would make them less busy?


?
I hear from this that their solution, then, is just to do less business. Refuse customers. That pesky prewire problem only exists if you're doing systems.

Isn't that a bit ridiculous?

Years ago Circuit City had a problem with overhead. They cured that by firing their salespeople. That lowered the overhead!

Looking seriously, though, how do you calculate how much to raise your prices so that you earn at least as much money as now, while doing fewer jobs so you have less prewire to cope with?

I'm actually not serious at this point. That was just a bit of trolling. I don't think the solution is to do things to discourage people from wanting their services. The solution is to find someone else to do them, which is where they're heading.

The trouble for us has always been getting others to do the work at the level of quality and common sense that we want. We have worked with quite a few electricians to do the wiring. But it requires a good relationship with the "boss" and whomever is doing the actual work, very detailed plans, a very thorough walk-through and explanation of expectations, and then several trips to the jobsite to make sure things are going well and bust some balls if needed.

There are some electricians that "get it"....and understand that our stuff is not the same as theirs and more care needs to be taken and more attention to detail. Keep track of those guys in case you decide you want to hire another guy. :)

We have 3 or 4 electrical contractors now that we have "trained" well enough that we can send them plans, a quick walk through on site, and let them do their thing. It is sure nice to shuffle those rough-ins off your plate! Especially in winter and summer. :)

Oh, and Ernie is right..... I am getting too old for this. :)

You run the risk of those prewire contractors stealing your customers when it comes time for trim out.

I'd suggest either hiring another guy, raising your prewire prices, or borrowing low-level techs from another integrator that you can share labor with, that you trust.

I've done a couple personal houses for a local GC who is cheap beyond belief. He found a six Mbps Internet tier from Comcast, constantly complains about "slow", but won't step up because of the cost. Now he thinks that he can do it. I don't want to participate in any of his jobs. A few weeks ago I got a call asking if I could swap ends on a buried active HDMI cable. He found out that there is an "In" and "Out" at final setup.

We have found success in practically giving our rough-ins away. We do them all ourselves but don't profit much at all from the rough-ins themselves. Instead, we keep our builders happy, and we always end up right in front of the new homeowners when it comes time for system design & equipment sales.

I sent you a PM.

More $/job=less hassles and less time crunch because some people won't want to pay the higher price. The only way to do more at the current state is to hire more people, work longer or work faster and the contractor's motto applies here ("You can have fast, cheap and good- pick two because you can't have all three"). Assuming the level of quality is to be maintained, more can't happen.

It is totally up to you and I know others do it too; but I would argue that is exactly the WRONG way to do it.

You never want to give anything away or devalue yourself in anyway on anything. That sets you up for heartbreak when things fall thru, which happens a lot with builders - unless you have a really close relationship with the builder but then why the hell would you be giving the rough-ins away?

Plus, unless you have contracts in place about your rough-in, the homeowner's decision on who to use can bite you in the buttocks. Surprised it hasn't already, there is always some idiot willing to throw equipment in on that pretty wire that was installed (whether they know how to or not).