Bob D. said:
"You can imagine my amusement when I heard this! I Imagine his whole tool kit could be worth less than one of my drills."
Not making excuses for his overcharging but don't think he's got it easier when it comes to tooling up for his job than you or any other craft does.
You probably think an electrician is overrated too then if you are going to base his skill level on the size and value of his tool pouch. Or a mason because he walks on the job with only a canvas bag with a half dozen trowels, a level, and a couple string lines.
Maybe the tools needed to fix a leaky drain cost less than one drill. But there are plenty of tools that go along with the rest of the trade that cost plenty. How much do you think that camera costs they send down the drain to locate a blockage and inspect the pipe. A cheap rig starts around $3k and can run up to $10k or more. A locator to find the sonde in the underground pipe so you know where to dig will cost you ~$3k. Need a jetter to clear that line blockage? That can set you back anywhere from $2K to $25K. Oh wait, you're still gonna need a couple different style drain machines, and a hundred or more other tools to do your day-to-day work. Torches, welders, pipe threading machine, a dozen or more pipe wrenches in various sizes, multiple pipe cutters, tubing cutters, pipe vises, pex crimpers, there's more but I won't bore you. A good pipe vise costs as much as a MFT/3, maybe more. And he no doubt has a bunch of cordless tools too. Sawzall, porta-band, grinder, drill/drivers, impact drivers, oscillating tool, and more.
That equipment needs maintenance and has consumables just like your $300 sander or dust extractor (he probably has one of those too) filter or need to replace drill bits or sharpen saw blades. Guess what, he needs a truck (maybe two) or van same as you to get his tools to the job. Do you carry every piece of lumber and plywood, or every screw or nail in your truck that you might need? Of course not. Do you go get those materials and transport them to the job for 'free'? If you do you're leaving money on the table or don't know the value your own time. Your job and his job are not the same, they can't always be billed in the same way.
The skill is not in the tools its within you. And that is (or should be) what defines the rate no matter what trade.
If you had two monkeys with the same skill level/training; one with a Festool drill and one with a HF drill; they are both going to accomplish the same amount of work....NONE. And the value of their work would be the same...ZERO.
