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America's new millionaire class: Plumbers and HVAC entrepreneurs

(www.wsj.com)
185 points hhs | 1 comments | 13 Oct 24 15:35 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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antisthenes ◴[13 Oct 24 16:38 UTC] No.41829398[source]▶
I wonder if that's the reason my HVAC guy tried to charge me $700 for running a thermostat cable less than 8 feet (that I later did myself in less than 30 minutes).
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Ekaros ◴[13 Oct 24 17:12 UTC] No.41829673[source]▶
How much would you charge to fix a what someone calls "15 minute bug" in office to new corporate customer on other side of the city? Considering that you would also take care of all paper work involved such as generating invoices and paying taxes.
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antisthenes ◴[13 Oct 24 17:21 UTC] No.41829748[source]▶
Completely irrelevant, considering my private residence is not a corporation and doesn't generate anywhere near the same revenue. Nor does the "bug" involve having several months of context on how an IT system operates.

Nor does it entail the same amount of liability in case something goes wrong. The failure mode for running a cable is...there's no cable connecting the 2 points.

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1. ghaff ◴[13 Oct 24 17:26 UTC] No.41829785{3}[source]▶
The fact that a company has more money is what seems irrelevant. Messing with electrical wiring seems like more liability than messing with code in most situations. By all means do it yourself if hiring someone costs too much.