charge for time?

[Farrell]

I think I'm with you Jim - don't have a super-computer to check you math ;-). When I agree to travel outside my normal area or to make a special trip within my area (other side of the county when I don't have any other tunings there on that day, etc.), I don't bother with miles, I charge my hourly fee for my travel time. Period.

Keeps things simple.

Terry Farrell
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: JIMRPT at aol.com 
  To: cy at shusterpiano.com ; pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:44 PM
  Subject: Re: charge for time?


  In a message dated 5/8/2007 9:34:40 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, cy at shusterpiano.com writes:
    I just find that mileage is an easy (and fair) concept for customers 
    to accept, and since I'm still growing my business, I'm not at the point of 
    charging for my time when I travel.

  I have been watching this thread and find that I can't keep from commenting.

  All that we have to sell to our customers is 'time'. We don't sell only tuning, we sell other services as well such as regulation and repair, etc. What we charge for our 'time' is what determines how well we do financially. If we don't do well financially we will not be in business very long..........

   We should set a standard rate for tuning/service and stick to it...along with the standard rate we should have a standard service area that is charged the standard rate without regard to mileage/'time' considerations which should have been taken into account when we set our rate to begin with.

   Charging just mileage is a losing proposition when traveling outside your defined service area...for example you decide that a 20 mile circle from your home base is your service area.  You get a call from someone who lives 35 miles away......... Figure that you are going to charge .45 cents a mile for mileage that is outside your defined service area..or an extra 30 miles that would be an additional $13.50.  Now lets say that you charge 50 dollars as a regular rate for tuning/service...this out of service area would than be billed at $63.50.

   Since a lot of us work in urban environments we don't travel from place to place without a lot of travel time and it would not be unusual for this extra 30 miles to add 45 minutes to an hour of time for that appointment to your total 
  travel time.
    Using 45 minutes extra time and assuming you allow 1.5 hours for a normal service call and you charge only your normal $50 plus mileage of $13.50 for a total of $63.50.........which works out to be $63.50 (2.25 hrs) or $28.22 per hour.

  Charging your normal rate it would be $50.00+ (.75 hour X $50.00)
  or $50+$37.50 ..which is $87.50 and is in line with your regular rates..........and comes out to....$87.50 (2.25 hrs) or $38.89 hr.

   Your regular rate works out to be (at $50 per 1.5 hr call) $33.33 per hr.
  So if you want to establish absolute equality on this out of area call you would charge $33.33 X 2.25 hrs = $74.99

   So you can justify your charges of:
  $28.22 per hr.
  or
  $33.33 per hr.
  or
  $38.89 per hr.
   Which is the fairest for you, your business, all your customers and your family?????

   Remember the $50.00 figure is just for illustration, plug in your own numbers and you will see what the status of 'your' rates would be.

   I am not saying that this is the only way to think about this situation but if you don't charge for your 'time' you are not being fair with yourself' or to your regular rate. If you don't charge for your time you are in effect giving this customer who lives furthest from your regular service area a discount and shorting yourself in the bargain...........

  Just some thoughts on the subject.
  Jim B (FL)





------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See what's free at AOL.com. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070508/9e56b06f/attachment.html