I still find it hard to believe, but there are some contractors out there who quote lighting projects on a “per fixture cost” basis. There have been lighting manufacturers who promoted this job cost technique to their prospective customers as an easy way to quote a lighting system and “make lots of money as an up-sale to your current business.” Honestly, who doesn’t want to find the easy way to make money today? And to have the quote be so easy to prepare would make the closing quick and painless, right? Not necessarily.
Most quotes using this system I have seen come in anywhere from $150 to $400 per fixture – a pretty wide variance. I’m often asked by home builders to give them a per fixture price. My answer to those builders (and homeowners) posing the price-per-fixture query is, and always will be, NO WAY. Although, in theory, this may seem to be a simple quote plan, the truth is: it’s just not that simple.
How in the world can the smart contractor give a per fixture price for a project without even figuring in things like getting wire under sidewalks, or here in Texas, through rocky terrain? Heck, with some of those builders, we haven’t even seen the property or plans, and they want an accurate cost proposal? A serious business person just can’t operate profitably under those conditions. Advance planning and anticipating the unanticipated problem expense should always be part of a proposal with integrity.
Unfortunately, a domino effect can occur when the contractor starts out with a per-fixture price quote and is then unprepared to handle the unexpected issue of terrain, structure, outlandish expectation or costly mistake. In many cases, trying to cut a corner somewhere else to make up the difference will be attempted. Maybe instead of using waterproof connectors they decide to go with regular wire nuts to save some money. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s probably the most common cutback we see, and it creates the biggest problems in the future. This little mistake causes corrosion in the wiring, causing the infrastructure of the entire system to fail. Another cost cutting method could be reducing the transformer size – and, therefore, overloading it. It could be that contractor trying to recoup profit from an under-quoted job is to use a cheaper mechanical timer over the more reliable (but more expensive) digital timer. A mechanical timer causes a headache for the homeowner and the service provider because it loses time whenever the power goes out. These are just a few of the more common issues we’ve encountered; there are a lot of ways to cut costs to make up for unexpected expenses, none of them good for the homeowner.
There are far too many factors to consider when designing and installing a quality outdoor lighting system for the contractor to simply give a per-fixture price. Those who use the per-fixture price method are generally either over pricing to make up for anything they think they may run into; or underpricing and hoping all goes well. Those who overprice the system are pretty happy because they can make a lot of money off of the uneducated client, and those who underprice are rarely heard from again to repair the problems that will almost always result.
If you do not want a per fixture quote, but instead want a well-designed outdoor lighting system proposed and quoted honestly, please drop us an email here and we’ll be happy to take a look at your property. As always, we welcome any comments you may have below. Thank you.
