When I was doing my electrical training back in the late 90s, I remember how competitive the industry was. At that time I worked for a residential outfit that was one of the largest in the city of Philadelphia. That gave me opportunity to learn quickly and advance in my expertise. But while I was there, the owner of the company always used to badmouth everyone else in the industry that was local to him. He would lowball other companies estimates just to get the contract so they didn’t get one. I also remember on slower days he would nearly give jobs away so we had something to do. While I realize some of that is strategic and frankly will pay the bills if needed; I remember feeling like there were so many contracts available that his being cutthroat wasn’t necessary. Now with over 25 years experience as an owner operator, I speak to say bad mouthing any other company is never a good practice. Humility is key. It’s better just to remain quiet and let your craftsmanship and business ethics speak for themselves. IF you’re comparing apples with apples, then pricing should be similar. A good electrician can notice another electricians craftsmanship. Most of the time this is an areas that customers don’t see, like bending wire inside of a panel box, the type of connectors that are being used or the application of tape or antioxidant paste. Places it may be seen could be simple as whether a cover plate is straight or crooked, how the visible screws align, if a fixture is mounted level or has nicks on the finish screws. As a smaller company, it’s easier for me to take quality time critiquing craftsmanship on an abundance of scheduled jobs and generally pricing them lower than capable for some of these bigger outfits. They generally need larger daily contracts and can’t afford to price competitively with higher operating overhead. In my business, I value other qualified electricians as comrades in the business; everybody has their own bills and families to feed. Not all customers are able to wait for the best contractor, while others will value the quality that comes in the wait. Others may be anxious to just have the job completed, regardless of the quality of craftsmanship. There’s an old adage that says “good things come to those that wait” I believe there’s value in that. And while some will say nice guys finish last (and I understand that concept), I believe I’ll finish right where I’m supposed to ;-)