after hours charge

[Rewire]

We use a straightforward pricing system so all repairs are the same investment for the client regardless of when the call is ran. At this point we do have an after hours service charge that is $85.00 compared to our normal $69.00 charge. For those using flat rate systems do you adjust costs based on after hours and how much ?

 

[GoldDigger]

We use a straightforward pricing system so all repairs are the same investment for the client regardless of when the call is ran. At this point we do have an after hours service charge that is $85.00 compared to our normal $69.00 charge. For those using flat rate systems do you adjust costs based on after hours and how much ?

Is this a one-man shop or do you have to pay extra to the person(s) who service an after hours call? At a minimum I would expect the customer to have to cover that differential.
You have complete control over what you charge (your flat rate prices) but that depends on your costs rather than determining your costs.

 

[petersonra]

A guy I knew used to work at a place where every week one of the service guys got a beeper and a $50 bonus. The lucky guy got to carry the beeper with him after he left work from Monday night through the following Monday morning. Any after hours service work was his problem. He would get beeped and call the answering service to find out where he was going (it was a "while" ago).

He got paid time and a half for any off hours service calls, plus the $50 a week for carrying the beeper even if he got no calls at all.

many weeks there were no calls. Some weeks it was very busy.

they had no shortage of volunteers though. the extra money made it pretty easy to get people to agree to be the beeper man.

 

[Rewire]

We rotate after hours service each week and calls are paid at 1 1/2 times regular pay. Our techs know how to affectively present our price guide but it is designed around straight pay. The dilemma is do I design a price guide for after hours or do I just increase the after hours service fee. I would be interested in those that use flat rate to discuss their approach.

 

[gadfly56]

We rotate after hours service each week and calls are paid at 1 1/2 times regular pay. Our techs know how to affectively present our price guide but it is designed around straight pay. The dilemma is do I design a price guide for after hours or do I just increase the after hours service fee. I would be interested in those that use flat rate to discuss their approach.

You know your market better than I do for sure, but one principle to keep in mind is that you're entitled to a profit on all the work you do. You should make not less than what you make on a straight time call. Whether you bundle it into a call-out fee or bump your off-hours rate is up to you. Your showing up at o'dark thirty isn't the customer's right, it's a premium service. Price accordingly.

 

[LEO2854]

We rotate after hours service each week and calls are paid at 1 1/2 times regular pay. Our techs know how to affectively present our price guide but it is designed around straight pay. The dilemma is do I design a price guide for after hours or do I just increase the after hours service fee. I would be interested in those that use flat rate to discuss their approach.

The system I'm using(ES2) I can just pick the after hours rate from the ipad which is set for time and one half.,That and a 50% increase in the dispatch fee.

 

[Rewire]

The system I'm using(ES2) I can just pick the after hours rate from the ipad which is set for time and one half.,That and a 50% increase in the dispatch fee.

What do you do to account for techs paid at different rates?

 

[John120/240]

What do you do to account for techs paid at different rates?

How much is the difference in your men's wages ? Charge every customer the same after hour rate, pay your help time & 1/2 or whatever you agreed to & pocket any difference in wages.

 

[mjf]

What do you do to account for techs paid at different rates?

How do you account for techs paid at different rates?
How do you account for techs paid at different rates?

How do you account for it at straight time??
Do you charge customers different rates depending on which tech you send on the service call at straight time??

 

[drspec]

What do you do to account for techs paid at different rates?

What do you normally do? "if I send John it will be $346.72 but if I send Ralph it will be $3.12"

 

[Rewire]

How do you account for techs paid at different rates?
How do you account for techs paid at different rates?

How do you account for it at straight time??
Do you charge customers different rates depending on which tech you send on the service call at straight time??

The rate I use for our calculation is based on the highest paid tech on straight time. We have a printed laminated ten level price guide that is shown to the customer as a part of a trained presentation. All our techs are trained using the straight forward price guide. My interest is in owners who use a flat rate pricing system that presents a "total cost" rather than time and material cost as to how the adjust or even if they do adjust for after hour calls. We presently adjust our trip charge which is printed on the price guide in a range of $69-$275 this allows us to adjust for distance also.

 

[Rewire]

What do you normally do? "if I send John it will be $346.72 but if I send Ralph it will be $3.12"

I don't use a computer program so that is why I was asking Harry.

 

[cadpoint]

I had to look up what defines "flat rate pricing" here.

"A flat fee, also referred to as a flat rate or a linear rate, refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. [1] Rarely, it may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of use. Another term used is "flate", a hybrid of "flat" and "rate"."

This is from wiki, I thought that neither answer applied to you question. My other thought is that your pondering something again you already have answers for. You have your rates for a service in place. You seem to charge for after hours work.

 

[Rewire]

I had to look up what defines "flat rate pricing" here.

"A flat fee, also referred to as a flat rate or a linear rate, refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. [1] Rarely, it may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of use. Another term used is "flate", a hybrid of "flat" and "rate"."

This is from wiki, I thought that neither answer applied to you question. My other thought is that your pondering something again you already have answers for. You have your rates for a service in place. You seem to charge for after hours work.

In operating the business I am always on the look out for a better mouse trap.