To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

[neilsukwg]

You go to a call where the reported fault is say for instance -water leaking.

You spend 30 minutes inspecting, testing, No fault found.

Do you Charge? How much?
Do you vary your charges according to the customer?
Do you leave a disclaimer? (In case of further leaking)

[Martin]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

neilsukwg wrote:Do you Charge? How much?

Yes, your normal rate.

neilsukwg wrote:Do you vary your charges according to the customer?

Means testing is frowned on. 🙁

neilsukwg wrote:Do you leave a disclaimer? (In case of further leaking)

Certainly not! If you are recalled simply charge for any additional time and parts (if required). You were contracted to solve the problem and obliged to rectify the situation as quickly and effectively as possible to the benefit of both parties. 😉

[bazza500]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

I charge half fee and give them 10 days for the fault to re-occurr. If it does I only charge the other half and parts if required.

Whatever you decide, definately charge something.

[VillageIdiot2]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

neilsukwg wrote:You spend 30 minutes inspecting, testing, No fault found.
Do you Charge? How much?

IMO, that scenario shouldn’t ever happen… Every customer should be aware of all charges (inc callout, diagnostic fees, estimate fees, no fault found fees) call them what you will, before you call out. That way, after 30mins of testing, you determin that there is no fault present… you just happily write out your bill and the customer won’t be shocked when you produce it!
We charge a diagnostic fee, that is one rate regardless of appliance, location, time spent to diagnose the fault and the customer is aware of this fee before we book the call. In the (rare) case of a NFF, we will NOT charge the customer again if that same fault re-occurs within the next 30 Days. 🙂

[eastlmark]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

oh god, not another Arsenal fan!

IMO no fault founds should be charged a higher rate as it takes longer to establish there is no fault and in all probability you will get a recall from it. In reality, it justifies having a standard flat rate that everyone knows they have to pay from the outset whether the repair is done or not. Even better, get it in advance, offer your normal warranty and if the same fault shows again, sort it out for cost of parts only.

[silverbroom]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

My system is the same as washdoctor, however if it is a regular customer
which I have built up a relationship with over the years I will reduce my charge to a small token keeping in mind that they have more than one appliance that they will call you out to sort.

What about the no power fault, when you get to the house you find that the on/off switch above the worktop is in the off position, in and out in minutes, or the oven clock, by mistake the clock has been set to auto cook.

In my case I do not charge, the customer is usually over the moon at the flick of a switch re appliance working again and I know they do call me back should any other appliance require attention.

Keep in mind long term repeat custom is the key to success.

silverbroom

[Martin]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

silverbroom wrote:In my case I do not charge, the customer is usually over the moon

Silverbroom?…..or Magic Wand?….You mean to tell me you will drive 20 miles to some scummy flat only to find the tenants turned the switch off….AND NOT CHARGE FOR THAT?

silverbroom wrote:Keep in mind long term repeat custom is the key to success.

Your faith in human nature is applaudable but not necessarily financially sound. 😉

[silverbroom]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

Hi Martin,

Keep in mind that the no charge is for my regular customers only and it is when I am in the area and not a special trip in which case the customer would pay.

No need to dramatise the topic with scummy flats, we all know the areas we work and can suss out before hand what our approach will be.

In general I am talking about the odd occassion where such things as I mentioned above happen and I take much more than I give.

silverbroom

[pup]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

silverbroom wrote:Hi Martin,

Keep in mind that the no charge is for my regular customers only and it is when I am in the area and not a special trip in which case the customer would pay.

No need to dramatise the topic with scummy flats, we all know the areas we work and can suss out before hand what our approach will be.

In general I am talking about the odd occassion where such things as I mentioned above happen and I take much more than I give.

silverbroom still cost money to get there i aways charge my regular customer and they happy to pay

[VillageIdiot2]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

Here’s one to ponder on!

My house sale is due to complete tomorrow and I’ve spent the last couple of days emptying it and putting anything I didn’t want to take with me into the garage.
I contacted a local waste removal firm to call today and collect all the rubbish from the garage. Now, there were 2 bbq’s and a few boxes of general things…. curtains etc, a few old curtain poles and an unwanted bedside cabinet. The guy pulled up at 3PM as agreed, with a transit tipper (that was already almost fully loaded), put my stuff on (10Mins) and wrote out the bill……. ready….

£80 😯

Now, he was at my property for a maximum of 15 mins, and I had a bill of £80. Makes me wonder,,,,,,, how do we end up debating whether or not to charge a customer after 30Mins of time, tech knowledge, years of experience and leaving the customer with the reassurance that all is ok with their appliance?
The answer to this post should be a no brainer (IMO)
We are sooo undervaluing ourselves as a trade by doing free or cheap calls!

I understand that in different areas, lives maybe different etc, but no-one in this trade that’s reputable and worth the sign they carry on their van should do that for free! If anyone is, I think their selling themselves short!

As far as customer retention is concerned, if you have to do a freebe in the hope they come back, do you want that customer anyway 😕

🙂

[richardable]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

we are all good engineers but are we good busines people… how often do WE get something for nothing? we should expect payment for our skills and we require payment so we can make a living…does anyone know how much it costs to attend a call? never mind the time element.. van costs( fuel, maintainence, insurance etc..) all other overheads, office, staff, etc….. something for nothing? i don’t think so.
richard

[pup]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

richardable wrote:we are all good engineers but are we good busines people… how often do WE get something for nothing? we should expect payment for our skills and we require payment so we can make a living…does anyone know how much it costs to attend a call? never mind the time element.. van costs( fuel, maintainence, insurance etc..) all other overheads, office, staff, etc….. something for nothing? i don’t think so.
richard

ok some main dealers garage charge 90 to 120 for 1 hr work

[VillageIdiot2]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

pup wrote:ok some main dealers garage charge 90 to 120 for 1 hr work

That’s a good point pup…. could you take your car which is mis-firing intermitently to a main dealer, get them to plug it into the machine, have a fitter check it over and give it a clean bill of health and walk away with a Zero bill…… I think not! They would charge you for the diagnostic and say if it keeps happening…. bring it back!!

What’s the difference between us and them? We are tradesmen with a skill and knowledge and so are they, we just work on a different type of product!

[bazza500]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

No, the difference is that you have taken your car to them and been charged.

We, on the other hand, drive to our customers. And don`t charge???? Not me.

[kwatt]

Re: To Charge or not to charge – that is the question

Here’s my take, for what it’s worth…

I take a view based on the circumstance. I weigh up the pros and cons, the prospect of getting paid or not or whether the customer is a PITA or not and liable to cause more grief or more business.

Then I decide.

K.

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