Copier Tech Rate Per Hr.

[Ianizer]

Remarkable.

It's interesting how many people feel it their duty to give their services away, or regard a labor rate at some sort of punishment levied on the customer for having the audacity to call for service. Maybe they resent their companies for making profit, or secretly harbor insecurities about their own abilities... but I wax freudian.

A great deal of time, effort and capital goes into training -- and as importantly -- deploying a field tech. All things considered, it costs a company maybe a third, to half (or more) of what they charge in labor to outfit, dispatch and support a tech. Market standard dictates approximately double (or more) retail what is paid for an item -- So goes labor. $150 is certainly not outlandish. You get a lot.

Further, most companies afford field techs broad latitude (maybe more than they realize) in adjusting their labor charges. Of course it's sometimes best to offer a discount in the best interest of customer service, but a flat labor rate needs to be respected by in large. I've been known to pop in with a simple fix and pop out with a "No charge, ma'am, here's my card," in the interest of fostering customer loyaly. I've certainly no objection to doing a good turn, but my services are for hire. Is that so evil?

-I

[Hemlock]

An honest rate would be 90 a call plus parts. 15 calls a week you're good for 65k before parts.

Until you take out taxes, vehicle costs, set aside something for retirement, pay for health insurance, pay for business insurance, pay for cell & internet, a landline for faxes, ad space in the yellow pages, ad space on the web, shop space, et cetera.

And then, with the little leftover, try to eke out a living. Homeless & living on ramen comes to mind.

[prntrfxr]

Why on earth would you slap a customers face with "150 flat rate, take it or leave it!" or "hey get what you pay for pal!"


You have no idea what the G-D problem is!

Reset a fuser error? (10 seconds) replace a feed wheel ? (45 seconds)

I am simply imploring people to charge a fair rate. Your bazillion hours of training mean squat when the problem is simple.

Well, well, well, there are a lot of id...you know what, I'm not going to go down to your level, sir. I'm better than that. To coin an old saying, "TIME IS MONEY." If I have to block off a section of my day to drive out to your site to fix your machine, spend my gas, etc... I am going to charge my standard rate. If I spend 30 min driving out to your site, it doesn't matter if I spent 30 min replacing a maintenance kit on a printer or 5 min plugging the thing back in. The 30 min I could have spent getting to a paying job is being used that I can't get back. (I only charge mileage for travel out of area.) I ask clients to check if the machine is plugged in. If it isn't when I get there that is their fault not mine.

Anything up to an hour is a certain amount, anything between 1 hour and 2 gets rated for 2 hours, and etc... I charge extra for stuff like removing rodents, longer than usual travel, or client issues (watering plant over machine, shipping machine with toner installed, or insulting a tech, for example). However, I have been known to cut time off a long job, such as charging a client less time when a part is really expensive or more for time and less for a part. I always clean the machine inside and out (even if it was for a "plug the machine in call"), and take extra time to train and explain things to the client, if it is required. A "cheap tech" won't do that, because they have to run to the next call in order for their company to make money. Rushing your work means more errors. There is so much extra cost associated with machine repair, that believe me, it evens out. It is a fair rate. Most of the companies I knew that charged 90/hr are no longer in business. There are people who have jobs that require less training that make more than I do. (My sister-in-law is paid $18/hr and she's an administrative assistant.)

If you go to a doctor, you are paying for his training whether or not he does surgery on you. If you call a mechanic and ask what his rate is he will tell you his rate, but when you go and he sees the problem he may decide to charge you less or not at all. The difference is that I come out to you, you go to them there is more than per hour work going on.

[michaelc]

Well written/put prntrfxr (yes I copy and pasted your name so I didn't spell it wrong)

[Ianizer]

Well written/put prntrfxr (yes I copy and pasted your name so I didn't spell it wrong)

+1!
My hero...

...Aaaand another thing...

If it's so "easy", why not just fix it yourself?
Why because a qualified tech has the knowlege and the knowhow and the hours and hours of training and years and years of seat time to know precicely which screw to turn or cover to close.

It's got to be a real bummer to pay a buck-fifty to reset a code in 12 seconds, but let's place the ire where it's due, shall we?

Look on the brightside. I'm not without ethics. if you're paying for an hour I'll give you your hour.

-I

[charm5496]

We charge all of our customers $150 for the first 30 minutes when diong a repair in there office regardless of what the issue is. If it is "2 second fix" then the other 29 minutes and 58 seconds is spent cleaning and checking the equipment for other issues and then filling out paperwork and talking to the customer about future repairs and machine needs. Any time spent past that 30 minutes is billed out in 15 minute intervals at $50 each.

If I am spending time that I do not feel the customer should be charged for because it was my error then I note that on my service ticket as a zero charge. I'm not there to screw the customer over, but I am not going to give my time away either. They called me and requested the service and were given the rates over the phone and agreed to those rates ahead of time.

[prntrfxr]

We used to give free estimates. We stopped doing that because we'd spend 30-60 min diagnosing a problem we would never get paid for.

[mervyn]

As previously stated by other techs , $150 is the average price for service . The customer pays for what we know as well as what we do , companies pay good money to train us so why shouldnt they charge what we are worth ?

[Ianizer]

Agreed.



-I

[JR2ALTA]

I started the controversy, mainly because I am in instigator,who had some liquid courage.

But I am no socialist, far from it. And, obviously, I am no businessman.


Truly though, I thought I was responding to an independent (read: man and a truck). Like you would check Craigslist for a handyman.

I understand, running a business no cost should go un-recouped. Including gas, time, personnel, benefits etc.

I also understand the bedrock logic of flat-rates.

I also understand I may have an ounce of insecurity as Ianzier astutely put it.

I'm just an average Joe with Christian intentions who hates getting stuck with outrageous bills from mechanics, plumbers, accountants, IT people, banks, meter-maids, etc etc.

I wish everyone a good living and apologize for saying people were jackasses.