I've been married to a plumber for over 30 years. By the time he buys equipment, annual permits for each city/town he works in, annual licenses with the state, plus any equipment rental for exposing buried pipes, etc., the profit is not that great. Then there's always the late nights, crawling under houses and through mud. Not to complain, all service people have their "burdens to bear". My DH always insists that people get a second quote for larger jobs, but he most always gets a call back to do the work.