Plumbing
Where plumbing businesses actually lose margin
Plumbing runs on two very different economics at once — emergency dispatch work and planned/quoted work — and blending them together in your numbers hides which one is actually the problem.
Where Plumbing businesses actually lose ground
Emergency vs. planned work distort each other
An emergency call almost always closes — it isn't a "close rate" problem. Planned work (repipes, water heater replacements, fixture upgrades) behaves like a normal quoted job. Blending the two into one close-rate number makes both look wrong.
Dispatch speed is the real lever on emergency revenue
On emergency work, the business that answers and dispatches fastest wins the job — before any sales conversation happens. This isn't captured by close rate at all; it's a response-time problem.
Repeat-customer behavior is the quiet profit center
A homeowner who calls the same plumber twice is worth more than most single jobs — but most shops have no system that flags a lapsed repeat customer versus a one-time emergency call.
Callback material variability
A callback on a repipe or water heater install carries different material exposure than a service callback. Dollar-based callback cost captures that; a flat callback percentage doesn't.
What's actually worth measuring
Close rate, planned/quoted work only
Exclude emergency dispatch jobs from close rate — they close near-automatically and will artificially inflate the number.
Callback cost, in dollars
Track separately for installation work vs. service/repair work given the different material exposure.
Gross margin per job, by job type
Emergency, planned, and installation work typically carry different margins — track them separately to know which is actually profitable.
Calculate it now
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