I think a lot of this is caused by the popularity of the home improvement shows. People are constantly being pumped up on the idea of "sweat equity" - doing as much of the work themselves as they can. While I can understand the desire to save money, I think most people are misled by the t.v. shows into having an unrealistic expectation of how long it will take to complete a project (after all, it only takes 1/2 to 1 hour on t.v.!), as well as an unrealistic idea of what it is like to coordinate work with contractors. Consequently, people get pretty upset when the job takes longer than they expect - not to mention when you tell them it won't save them any money to drill the holes themselves or provide the receptacles. My approach is to this problem is to ATTEMPT to educate the owner a bit. Example:
HOMEOWNER: Can I save some money by drilling the holes myself?
CONTRACTOR: I can appreciate your wanting to save some money by doing some of the work yourself, but in all honesty it won't save you any money. Actually, it could end up costing you extra. While it certainly doesn't take a rocket scientist to drill a hole, you do have to know what size holes to drill in different areas, where the holes need to be drilled for proper routing, and more. This would require my going a long list of Code rules with you, and then verifying that you are doing it correctly. Considering that I get paid by the hour, you would actually be paying me to teach you how to drill holes. :-) So, you really wouldn't be coming out ahead by doing this. BUT, we could give you a discount if you would be interested in cleaning up the scrap wire and debris and sweeping up the sawdust and stuff behind us. This would allow us to focus our efforts exclusively on the wiring and speed up our work. Would you be interested in doing that?
Having spent a good portion of my life in sales jobs, I can tell you that the best thing you can do is come up with a script of how to answer these type of questions. Always sound sincere, always empathize with the customer, and always try to give them an alternative. Most people are tight on money and just looking to save whereever possible. When they see that you are trying to work with them, it generally wins them over and gains you a long-term customer.
Just my opinion.
Kevin
