Trip charges don't make sense to me unless it's a customer that you wouldn't otherwise work for because they live too far away or if they live in some remote inaccessible place they kills time getting to and from no matter what your day's routing is. My fee covers some expected travel time and cost and it is based on an average. I don't discount if the guy around the corner calls me and I don't charge more if they live 20 miles away. Charging more because they live farther away seems to me to give them an incentive to find someone closer. I do group appointments geographically so I don't drive unnecessarily and I will reschedule an appointment if it turns out to be the only one that day in some out of the way place. I raise my rates periodically and without hesitation if I feel my costs are rising or if the boss feels I'm entitled to a raise--which is most of the time anyway. David Love davidlovepianos at comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Phil Bondi Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 2:49 AM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: Fuel surcharge? Mike, since May 1, I've added a 'trip charge' to my bill. I've had a few questions, and no one has complained. My charge is based on zip code..how far a particular client's zip code is from mine(one way), and I figured .xx X those miles(based on google maps) to reach my figures. If I'm servicing more than 1 client in that zip code on that day, both get charged the same amount. Someone in the same zip code as me still gets charged a minimal amount. If I turn the key of my truck to get to you, you're being charged. Mike, I feel like I've been a 'good guy' long enough..I did alot of research and some soul-searching to come to this conclusion: -When I last raised my rates(May '04), I was by far the 2nd most expensive tech in my area. -When I raised my rates, the price of a gallon of regular was 1.759. -I can't continue to hemorrhage cash into the truck..someone's gotta pay. So far this works for me. -Phil Bondi(Fl)
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