Drive time and $$$$

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same

same

emahler said:
including downtime? or only for time on the job? 4 hrs travel, 4 hrs billable...$160 billed out...$20/hr billed...how much paid? how much made?
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I charged $75 for myself and 40 my help which made 115 Total but for only the time I was on the job, I need to start to charge for drive time!
 
tufts46argled said:
Just curious how do you flat rate troubleshooting?
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diagnostic fee of $X (we charge $165.00)
usually find the problem in 30 mins or less
once you find the problem, quote the repair fee (if it's large...i.e $1000+, we wave the diagnostic fee...if it's small, we add it to the diagnostic fee)

Typical problem - loose connection on a duplex receptacle...
diagnostic $165
Repair - $65
Total - $230
Material - $1
Total time on job (not including travel) - < 1 hr


if you can't find 75%+/- of the problems in less than 30 mins, go back to installations...
 
In Charge Electric said:
I charged $75 for myself and 40 my help which made 115 Total but for only the time I was on the job, I need to start to charge for drive time!
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Maybe you do... but customers might start heading for the competition if that isn't the norm in your area.

Here is a question: Is your service area geographically spread out? i.e. does your drive time vary a great deal from job to job? If it's not, you might want to consider just rolling it into your hourly rate or your up front flat charge. Check out what the (legitimate) competition is doing by having the wife/girlfriend/POSSLQ call around.
 
Some of the discussion here either pointless or inapplicable. Many people (residential) and smaller business find themselves needing an electrician or a plumber rarely if ever. I don't think they're spending too much time comparison shopping the ads or cold-calling various contractors to get the best price. Competition can't inform them over the phone how much it's going to cost or how long it's going to take either.

I think it's better to say "we'll be there in under an hour" than "we're 12% cheaper than the leading competitor." People comparison shop for paper towels and toothpaste, not so much electrical service contractors or transmission shops. They know going in it's gonna cost and it's gonna hurt.
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Some of the discussion here either pointless or inapplicable. Many people (residential) and smaller business find themselves needing an electrician or a plumber rarely if ever. I don't think they're spending too much time comparison shopping the ads or cold-calling various contractors to get the best price. Competition can't inform them over the phone how much it's going to cost or how long it's going to take either.

I think it's better to say "we'll be there in under an hour" than "we're 12% cheaper than the leading competitor." People comparison shop for paper towels and toothpaste, not so much electrical service contractors or transmission shops. They know going in it's gonna cost and it's gonna hurt.
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don't discount the 'hourly rate' mentality...to the customer, we should all be the same. we should all work at approx. the same pace and have the same knowledge.

so, calling 20 guys in the phone book and getting an hourly rate should mean that the lowest hourly rate will be the cheapest, no?
 
emahler said:
so, calling 20 guys in the phone book and getting an hourly rate should mean that the lowest hourly rate will be the cheapest, no?
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It's really hard for a customer/homeowner not to be taken in by a low sounding rate. I'm doing a remodel at the present and the homeowner wishes that they had went with a different HVAC company but it's a little late in the game for that now.

These are highly educated customers, she is a registered interior designer and her husband is an engineer ( run his own sucessful business for 30 years ) but the lure of a cheap contractor was just to much for them.

If I hadn't done other work for them before they would have put the electrical out for bids and taken the cheapest electrician they could find ( they had problems with that once before, some people never learn).

The idea of a cheap rate has always been able to lure in the suckers. That's why advertisers use it so much.
 
If I have only learned one thing on this web site it would be:

There are a variety of methods (one method for every contractor in the business) of billing, making money, marking up material, drive time, tools and on and on. Just because it works in your area or for you does not necessarly mean it will fly and/or work in another area or with another contractor, or a different end of the business.


In the end you better have more in your pocket than you paid out or you are in deep trouble...

80.00 and hour may make you money and 100.00 an hour would make you happier, but in New York you could be bankrupt with this rate or wealthy beyond your wildest dreams in middle America.
 
i that were really true, there would be no chains or franchises. no national retailers selling at the same price, the same way, all across the country...everything we be priced strictly on local economy...gas...milk...etc.
 
emahler said:
i that were really true, there would be no chains or franchises. no national retailers selling at the same price, the same way, all across the country...everything we be priced strictly on local economy...gas...milk...etc.
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I can't speak to all national chains, but I know that grocery stores, orange & blue stores, and even Wal-Mart -- believe it or not -- all price locally, or at least regionally.
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
Competition can't inform them over the phone how much it's going to cost or how long it's going to take either.
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True... My point was that if the norm in his area is "we charge $xxx service charge and then quote a fixed price if it goes beyond 1 hour" and he has a completely different pricing structure, it might be a problem for customers who care to compare and make an informed choice. On the other hand, they might just like his way better!
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
I think it's better to say "we'll be there in under an hour" than "we're 12% cheaper than the leading competitor."
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Of course that shouldn't be one's basic selling point.
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
People comparison shop for paper towels and toothpaste, not so much electrical service contractors or transmission shops.
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They just pick someone at random from the phone book and don't bother to check price & terms? I don't bother asking with my regular plumber since I already know his rates and I know I can trust him. If he's not available though (which is often, because he's very good and under prices himself -- shhhh! :smile:) I'm surely going to check first.
 
tallguy said:
It's been a while... but yes. I used to read The Economist religiously...
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Should we use the local price of a Big Mac to determine the the cost of a service call? It seems to work on the international level.

Edit: tall guy I'm just useing your link. Not a question for you.
 
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Driving

Driving

tallguy said:
Maybe you do... but customers might start heading for the competition if that isn't the norm in your area.

Here is a question: Is your service area geographically spread out? i.e. does your drive time vary a great deal from job to job? If it's not, you might want to consider just rolling it into your hourly rate or your up front flat charge. Check out what the (legitimate) competition is doing by having the wife/girlfriend/POSSLQ call around.
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Yes Sir it does I'm in cental Florida. It can a take sometime an hour to get to one place or the other but good advice Thank you
 
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