Resi service calls

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growler said:
Well you do have to admit an add like that is a pretty decent attempt at making the customer think they will get a service call for under $100.00.

There are very few problems that will be solved in that first 1/2 hour and for the occasional tripped breaker it will at least get their foot in the door.

People tend to hear only what they wish to hear and that is $99.00.
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I completely agree. I've even fallen for it a time or two. Take the truck in for the $30 oil/lube/filter special and no matter when they were last done, I always seem to need brakes.:)
 
cowboyjwc said:
You can bet that $99 service call does not include all the upselling and the new service that everyone always seems to need.:roll:
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Yeah - a guy I work with got a new service, power factor correction, and surge suppression after being told that he should have the non-CTL tandoms in his CTL load center fixed.
 
cowboyjwc said:
I completely agree. I've even fallen for it a time or two. Take the truck in for the $30 oil/lube/filter special and no matter when they were last done, I always seem to need brakes.:)
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I took the truck for the $29 oil and lube, and they said it was 29 for cars, and i had a truck with commercial plates $59 The is no free lunch
 
RichB said:
Just curious folks--What are you charging for a Resi service call?--Just heard an add on the radio-- $99 gets you a Lic/Bonded/Insured electrician in your home for the first half hour--In my world of "Old Math" that comes out to $198 per hour!!
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Sounds about right to me. BTW, my "new world" math thinks that $99 for a 30 minute service call comes to about $66 an hour. Unless, you have a teleporter, a marry poppins bag of material, and your a$$ dispenses invoices.
 
Ohmy said:
Sounds about right to me. BTW, my "new world" math thinks that $99 for a 30 minute service call comes to about $66 an hour. Unless, you have a teleporter, a marry poppins bag of material, and your a$$ dispenses invoices.
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Any good math should show the facts on what you will keep out of the $99 and if you have all the basic expenses needed to operate a service business you should earn a big 3 to 7% Profit from that call or $3 to $7 Many people that are not in business, have this idea that anyone in business is making a killing, and they assume any money billed is all profit.
 
480sparky said:
48 clams from 1978 is $159.56 today.
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In 1978, I paid about 75 cents for a gallon of gasoline, about $2.50 for a cheeseburger combo, 49 cents for a hot dog, $2.00 for a movie ticket, etc. etc. A pair of side cutters was about $14, a set of Klein nutdrivers was $14, good screwdrivers ran $2.00 to $5.00 or so. Record albums (remember these?) were $5.00 or so. Cigarettes from a machine were about 65 cents. It was a different world back then.
 
xformer said:
Can anyone give me an estimation on the cost of a service change out for a 2000 sq ft house? Going from 150 amps to 200 amp service?
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Service change only? Reconnecting existing circuits "as is"? About $1,600 if no hurdles to jump. Swapping out meter base and panel, installing riser, reconnecting ckts. About $1,400 if your AHJ lets you get by without AFI's. Includes 2 ground rods and CW ground. About $2,000 if long crawls and multiple drilling of brick walls, etc. I assume fairly straight forward project. About $2,200 if having to use a main disconnect outside. Rough estimates, shooting from the hip.
 
jmellc said:
In 1978, I paid about 75 cents for a gallon of gasoline, about $2.50 for a cheeseburger combo, 49 cents for a hot dog, $2.00 for a movie ticket, etc. etc. A pair of side cutters was about $14, a set of Klein nutdrivers was $14, good screwdrivers ran $2.00 to $5.00 or so. Record albums (remember these?) were $5.00 or so. Cigarettes from a machine were about 65 cents. It was a different world back then.
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And...was making enough dough to afford to buy 3 new 8-track tapes per week @ $6 or so...

Just figure out your total overhead,from your socks to shocks, divide by avg. billable hours per year...you'll see.
 
i charge $75 minimum for one hour. doesnt go far. and then if it's a quick fix, they think of other stuff to have me look at.

$85 min then $75/hr after that if they are more than a 10 minute drive. ps, i am going broke, check that. i am broke.

there are many around here that charge the same and even less.

i have a phone book ad that says 'no charge for travel' my phone has been dead for weeks and weeks. biz around here has tanked hard
 
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