Average Cost of Service Call??

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brother

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Im just curious, kinda a poll i suppose. What does other contractors charge for an average service call across the country.

For example, you get a call about outlets not working, you ask about the gfci and the home owner swears it doesnt exist. You get there and you simply pressed the reset button. Easy work. I know over here just to call an electricain to the house it cost anywhere from $45 to $75. for something basic.

What do other areas charge for something similiar.
 
I was charging $70 a service call over a year ago when I was contracting. I am not sure what the contractors are charging, but it’s within the range of $65 to $90 an hour. This is SW Florida between Tampa and Naples.
 
We tell them on the phone, a basic diagnostic fee of $125.00 that gets them a qualified tech up to a half hour of time to diagnose and fix. If it is something that needs extensive repair I quote the remediation cost before starting. We get it all day long.
 
Service calls are a small part of my business, but it would be $75.00 - $125.00 to show up, depending on distance from shop. If I can work it in to hit on my way to or from a job at my convenience, I might charge less.
 
We do a lot of service calls. We just went up to $95.00 for up to the first hour. With seniors and others with limited resources we use some common sense if it is just a tripped gfci or c/b. Sometimes the goodwill of giving the customer a break yields big dividends in referals.

Bob
 
just out of curiousity I did some calling around to find out what a basic service call was. Well it looks like i was WRONG. They charge more than what i thought. The chepest was about $89.00 but the average is around $120.00. The highest ive seen is $168.00 . So if i wanted to start a biz then i need to up my rates. lol Thanks for responding.
 
I don't do side work but the guys I work with do. They say $100 minimum and more if it is a long way. They also have said if it's old folks and easy they don't even charge gas money, unless they are rich old folks!
 
$40.00/ hr seems very low. A rule of thumb which I heard about years ago is that you need to charge 2 1/2 - 3 times what you pay an employee for your hourly charge. It seems to work for me. To charge $40.00 for a licensed electrician and apply this "rule", you'd need to be paying your employee $16.00/ hr.
 
$95 includes 1st hour, $75 per hour after that. If more extensive work is required, a price is quoted for that. Yes, sometimes for old folks etc. if it's easy I will cave in. And the Mom and Pop restaraunt, well, you know, bacon cheeseburgers etc.

And just recently I have a new policy for out of town work: One day minimum.
 
Rate is $80 for the first half hour or part thereof. $80 per hour after that. Materials extra. I'm glad to hear that I am not the only guy with a soft spot for the elderly and those of limited means.

Mark
 
We seem to be too cheap in Charleston, SC. Our minimum troubleshooting is $94.50 for 45 minutes and $19 for each 15 minute period thereafter. My cost for gas per Invoice in 2005 was $11.96 per invoice. This did not include other vehicle, office, or labor costs - just gas.
Van
 
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