New Rate: $60/Hour

[zappy]

Were slashing our rate 50% and were going to milk it twice as much!

 

[petersonra]

Im not dropping my profit margin, I dont care if I starve to death,besides, Ive got Harley Davidson payments, and my $35,000 truck... they are going to do it MY way, this aint Burger King........:smile:

there is a theory that something is better than nothing. and there is the theory that you get what you can while you can.

I don't know that there is a right answer to the problem of substantially lower demand. simple economics does say that a reduced demand will push prices down, but it also pushes supply down, and at some point there is an equilibrium reached.

 

[SEO]

It doesn't matter how much you charge if you don't get paid you still lose.

 

[Mr.Sparkle]

It doesn't matter how much you charge if you don't get paid you still lose.

Could not have said it better myself.

 

[Fulthrotl]

I don't know that there is a right answer to the problem of substantially lower demand. simple economics does say that a reduced demand will push prices down, but it also pushes supply down, and at some point there is an equilibrium reached.

as many of us here are, in fact, god's gifts to the principals of
electromagnetism, (very large grin inserted here), this fact remains obvious:

many people who purchase electrical services do not know the difference
between qualified, and unqualified people, nor do they care... if they knew
the difference, they would be electricians, and wouldn't need our services.

so, we make our livings helping people who don't know what we do, do what
they want. if the lights go on at the end of the day, most are happy.

and the difference that they do notice, is that one person charges 25%
less than another person, and that's all she wrote. we are the nation that
allowed wal-mart to grow to the size that it is. that, for good or ill, is how
america does most of it's buisness.

does wal-mart have the best products? hardly. do they have the best value?
occasionally. are they the cheapest? mostly. are they the biggest? yes.

for most people, price is everything... and the consumer, by and large, is
indifferent to what we do, other than it works, and we don't make a mess
doing it.

and right now, anyone spending money has a lot of choices who to spend it
with... it's been almost 4 months since october's financial meltdown, and
everyone's getting a good look at what their income situation looks like. it
took a month for shock and the full import of what had happened to set in,
and another month for a response to that..... layoffs, some out of fear, some
out of lack of income.

and there's a rule i learned 25 years ago.... if you shut off someone's money
for 90 days, they are approaching destitution. this applies to over 95% of us.
from millionaires to part time retail clerks.

the best sparky in north america, after six months of unemployment, will do
just about anything to bring in a buck. any buck.

we are at month two. it's gonna be interesting. the next four months are
going to be something akin to a drunk getting sober, and going thru detox.
it isn't going to be pretty. anyone who's ever experienced that, or watched
someone they know go thru it will recognize the parallels immediately.

collectively, as a nation, we have been on a huge financial bender since
1982 or so... complete with denials of the problem, attempts at intervention,
financial bailouts, increasingly severe binges, and a surly disregard for any
point of view other than our own.

and now, while drunk at the wheel, we have had a wreck, and quickly
checked into the betty ford center of drunken econmics, in the hope of
avoiding the consequences of our 25 year binge.

it's gonna take a while to fix.


randy

 

[daleuger]

as many of us here are, in fact, god's gifts to the principals of
electromagnetism, (very large grin inserted here), this fact remains obvious:

many people who purchase electrical services do not know the difference
between qualified, and unqualified people, nor do they care... if they knew
the difference, they would be electricians, and wouldn't need our services.

so, we make our livings helping people who don't know what we do, do what
they want. if the lights go on at the end of the day, most are happy.

and the difference that they do notice, is that one person charges 25%
less than another person, and that's all she wrote. we are the nation that
allowed wal-mart to grow to the size that it is. that, for good or ill, is how
america does most of it's buisness.

does wal-mart have the best products? hardly. do they have the best value?
occasionally. are they the cheapest? mostly. are they the biggest? yes.

for most people, price is everything... and the consumer, by and large, is
indifferent to what we do, other than it works, and we don't make a mess
doing it.

and right now, anyone spending money has a lot of choices who to spend it
with... it's been almost 4 months since october's financial meltdown, and
everyone's getting a good look at what their income situation looks like. it
took a month for shock and the full import of what had happened to set in,
and another month for a response to that..... layoffs, some out of fear, some
out of lack of income.

and there's a rule i learned 25 years ago.... if you shut off someone's money
for 90 days, they are approaching destitution. this applies to over 95% of us.
from millionaires to part time retail clerks.

the best sparky in north america, after six months of unemployment, will do
just about anything to bring in a buck. any buck.

we are at month two. it's gonna be interesting. the next four months are
going to be something akin to a drunk getting sober, and going thru detox.
it isn't going to be pretty. anyone who's ever experienced that, or watched
someone they know go thru it will recognize the parallels immediately.

collectively, as a nation, we have been on a huge financial bender since
1982 or so... complete with denials of the problem, attempts at intervention,
financial bailouts, increasingly severe binges, and a surly disregard for any
point of view other than our own.

and now, while drunk at the wheel, we have had a wreck, and quickly
checked into the betty ford center of drunken econmics, in the hope of
avoiding the consequences of our 25 year binge.

it's gonna take a while to fix.


randy

Says the "man of few words and many w-2's"
Just got a kick out of that.

Very good point though.

 

[growler]

collectively, as a nation, we have been on a huge financial bender since
1982 or so... complete with denials of the problem, attempts at intervention,
financial bailouts, increasingly severe binges, and a surly disregard for any
point of view other than our own.

and now, while drunk at the wheel, we have had a wreck, and quickly
checked into the betty ford center of drunken econmics, in the hope of
avoiding the consequences of our 25 year binge.

it's gonna take a while to fix.

I do like your analogy of the situation but I think we are a long way from checking into the Betty Ford Center ( that's at least asking for help and admitting there is a fundamental problem). I see us more as driving our banged up and dented auto with tree limbs hanging out of the grill to the bar where it all started and asking for a double shot of the hair of the dog that bit us.

'Cause I've got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases
My blues away and I'll be Ok.

This could end up as an anthem to our economic system. :grin::grin:

 

[Rewire]

we will look at adjusting our rates as we head into spring.We are dropping to $30.00hr we will get all the work starve out the compitition hire them at $15.00 hr with 20 guys thats $300.00 a day in my pocket.

 

[Fulthrotl]

we will look at adjusting our rates as we head into spring.We are dropping to $30.00hr we will get all the work starve out the compitition hire them at $15.00 hr with 20 guys thats $300.00 a day in my pocket.

oh, man..... good luck on that one.... i salute you if it works for you.
they will most certainly clang when you walk if you can pull it off.

sounds like a fun filled day at the races. fifteen bucks an hour around
here adds up to a buck twenty a day.... and a buck a day gets your
choice of whatever home depot parking lot consultant you wish. maybe it
works different in your neighborhood, but taking 20 guys from the home
depot parking lot, and putting them on three or four different jobs, and trying
to keep them all pointed in the same direction......

hm. let's see... herd 20 cats around my living room, for 8 hours, $300

work by myself with the tools, for 8 hours, @ $30 an hour, $240.

which would i rather do.... hmmmm.... ? shoot.... if you're willing
to work that hard for 8 hours for $60, come on out here.... we'll find
something for ya to do.....

 

[peter d]

which would i rather do.... hmmmm.... ? shoot.... if you're willing
to work that hard for 8 hours for $60, come on out here.... we'll find
something for ya to do.....

OK, I'm game. I have my flip flops and my sunblock.

And if I work under the table, at least I don't have to worry about the state of California keeping my tax refund.

 

[billdozier]

shoot Ill take the raise our top guy is making 14-15 an hour in our small resi company and thats doing large custom homes pay around here stinks and as we hire these laid off guys back I expect wages to only go down which stinks

 

[Rewire]

shoot Ill take the raise our top guy is making 14-15 an hour in our small resi company and thats doing large custom homes pay around here stinks and as we hire these laid off guys back I expect wages to only go down which stinks

five years ago top pay was $11.00 now it is closer to $17.00

 

[cschmid]

I'm dropping prices on my continuing ed classes from $145 for 8 hours to $109. But at $109 I don't include a lunch ($20) or Mike Holt book. And then I sell the Mike Holt book at list, $43. I am pretty sure I will make it up on volume. But it seems "cheaper".
I'll know soon.

ok you have not done anything except raise your rates...my math is different then yours..price of class with meals and books=145

new price 109+43+20=172

looks like a raise to me..

 

[Kdog76]

they cannot be kept in the dark forever.......

No, but at least until you show them the bill.

 

[Mule]

Some customers are pretty smart....Had a lady call today, as she recieved a recomendation to call me from a GC client of mine. She said she had another guy that would fix her wiring, but would have to do it at night. With that, she said, she was leary of this guy and went looking for someone else....So my point is some folks will bite the hook on those cheap advertisements, but alot of the public wants their wiring fixed right and will call reputable people....not that I am..........

 

[Fulthrotl]

OK, I'm game. I have my flip flops and my sunblock.

And if I work under the table, at least I don't have to worry about the state of California keeping my tax refund.

you were worried about that? why? i only worry about things that may go
one way or the other..... i *knew* i was never gonna see a californicate
refund....

i wouldn't worry much about the sunblock... it rained 2" here today.
if the flip flops float, you should be ok. dude, it's serious. I"M even
wearing socks today....

totally off topic, but there is a block wall in santa monica, that the
governator built with his own hands, when he first got to america.... sort of
a side job, till his acting career took off.... it's really badly done... and i
figure i can expect a refund check right after he comes back to santa monica
to fix that wall.....

any day now..... remember... here it comes..... you were warned....
he said..... "i'll be back"......


randy