‘4 Hours, 2 Trips to Home Depot’: Austin Plumber Calls Out the Wealthy. Then He Meets a Ca

An Austin plumber has some words for wealthy families in the area who think his services are too expensive—those with less offer to pay, even when they don’t have to, he says.

In a video with more than 94,000 views, Colton let his audience know the difference between wealthy customers and a widower with a budget by sharing how each client approached his pricing.

Colton Describes Clients Who “Don’t Want To Pay” For His Services

In his TikTok video, Colton described how different clients can be on a work day. Specifically, he discussed a day where he saw the difference in how clients with varying income levels approach paying for his services.

Colton charges around $400 for faucet fixes. According to him, that’s caused some confusion and disinterest with customers who have a bit more money. Affluent clients will frequently question the price, he says, asking why they’re paying the equivalent of “lawyer fees” for a plumbing job.

“They're complaining about $400. They got a Mercedes, they got a brand new platinum. They got all this [expletive],” Colton said.

On one particular day, Colton took a call with one such customer who doubted his pricing. But immediately afterward, he went down the road to a less affluent part of town to take a last call that showed him how clients from different backgrounds and neighborhoods approach his services.

Colton Meets Customer Who Changes His Perspective

Colton quickly noticed that his last call of the day had a more difficult situation than some of his other clients.

“[I went] to this older gentleman's house [whose] wife died 10 years ago. He's by himself, [and he] drives the same… old ‘90 Chevy… He's dying of cancer [and he] has no money… I throw in a water softener that he provided, and he's sitting there ready with a checkbook and a card saying, ‘How do I pay you?’”

Compared to his other clients, the older gentleman immediately offered to pay, despite having significantly less money. He didn’t question Colton’s services.

Noticing the state of the man’s house, Colton decided to waive the plumbing fee and do the job for free. ”I don't need money that bad,” Colton said. “Like, it's all good… We're not hurting that bad. And [then he broke] down, [started] crying and thanking [me], because that's how much [he] needed it.”

Colton directly compared the two situations, saying that some customers complain about his pricing on platforms like Facebook, despite Colton being transparent about the cost of doing business with him.

“ When I go to a big house, it really makes me [say], ‘ugh.’ Especially if they're a boomer. It's even worse. They don't wanna write that check for the service that I did for them,” Colton said.

‘Extremely Reasonable’

Commenters were quick to agree that Colton wasn’t asking for much from his customers.

“I changed [my] faucet out and [it] took me [four] hours and [two] trips to Home Depot. I should have paid someone $400,” said one commenter.

Another person, presumably a plumber, added, “When they compare my prices to doctors or lawyers, I always recommend they call their doctor or lawyer and ask them for a price to fix their house for them.”

One commenter even explained Colton’s pricing, replying to another person who said that $400 for a faucet was “crazy.” “[If the] faucet is $225, [the] Company Overhead (insured) [is] $75, [and the] labor is $100, he’s not getting $400. He's earning $100 for an hour of his time which is extremely reasonable for an independent plumber in the USA.”

This also reflects prices online, with plumbers charging $200-400 for high-level faucet repairs.

We’ve reached out to Colton via email for more information about his company and pricing. We’ll let you know if he responds.

@codengel