How Skagit Plumbing Boosted Profitability and Customer Satisfaction with The New Flat Rate’s Menu Pricing System

The New Flat Rate provided Skagit Plumbing with ready-to-go pricing menus that simplified the contractor’s business operations

When Mark Sommers first started Skagit Plumbing nearly 10 years ago, he did so with the idea that he would be making money “hand over fist.” What he didn’t expect was how difficult reaching profitability could actually be. After years of using a time and materials system to price services, Sommers decided to invest in a menu pricing system. For Sommers, pricing his services has been easy ever since.

“When you use a purely time and material system, it’s hard to be profitable. You have your time and material jobs where you are ‘making money,’ but you’re not necessarily profitable on those jobs,” said Sommers. “Then you go out and place a bid on a remodel or bigger job, and those are the ones that are actually making money. You are basically balancing out in the end.”

After spending years using the time and materials method, Sommers was exposed to the idea of menu pricing and heard about The New Flat Rate from a company in Oregon that was using them. After vetting other pricing options, Sommers determined that The New Flat Rate was the right choice.

“I tried other pricing softwares, but there was too much work to be done,” Sommers said. “They required you to put in a bunch of information. Being a plumber in the field with nobody in the office, there was just no time for it. That’s not the case with The New Flat Rate. It’s ready to go. You can use it the same day you receive it. Basically, you give them a labor rate, they plug it in and you are ready to use their system.”

Thanks to The New Flat Rate’s “done for you” pricing model, they provided Sommers and Skagit Plumbing with an option that provided positive results.

In addition, they have helped the technicians become great salesmen to customers who may feel vulnerable when relying on a technician to solve their plumbing problem.

“The New Flat Rate puts the power back into the customer’s hands,” said Sommers. “People who hire a plumber feel very vulnerable. They’re in a situation they don’t want to be in, they’re spending money they don’t want to spend, but it’s fixing a problem that they absolutely have to fix. So, instead of being forced to pay a specific price, they have options. Now, the customer finds themselves making a decision on how to solve their problem as opposed to just doing what they are told. That has made selling services easier for our crew.”

While the menu pricing system is a tremendous asset, Sommers said the trainings provided by The New Flat Rate team are a great benefit as well.

“The training courses teach you how to use The New Flat Rate System, but it’s also a really good sales course,” Sommers said. “Matt (Koop) does a really great job of teaching mindset, customer understanding, and being sensitive to needs. If you don’t have the necessary soft skills to relate to the customers, even menu pricing software may not be enough to sell your services to customers in need. They can always call another plumbing company to fix their problem. You have to give them a reason to choose you. These trainings give our technicians the knowledge and confidence to sell our services in a way that helps the customer remember us.”