# Service Charge



## William James (Mar 5, 2010)

beenthere said:


> Never seen all gas stations charge the same price for anything.


In the same area, it's close.

One word, Festool


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## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

they are a rip off...look how much they charge...


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## DuMass (Feb 6, 2008)

I say charge what you want and need. I know what my costs are and what I need to make, not what someone wants to pay.
Some of the larger companies HVACR have over 100 plus employees during the peak season, so you can be sure their overhead is monstrous. That’s why they have to charge $150.00 to $200.00 just to show up.
That doesn’t mean they are ripping you off, it means they have huge overhead wrapped up in those 100 service vehicles, payroll, taxes, insurance, gasoline, GPS, cell phones, tools, warehouses, new equipment, replacement parts and on and on.
A company that sends out an employee that makes $30.00 an hour driving a $35,000 conversion van stocked with $10,000 worth of tools and materials that gets 12MPG, isn’t going to show up for $65.00 an hour anytime, let alone on a Sunday afternoon at 2:30 PM when your walk-in goes down.
The rates are always told in advance, because they don’t want to waste time with people that don’t want to pay the emergency after-hours rate.

These big guys can’t work for less that that and stay in business, that’s what makes room for small contractors and service shops like the rest of us. You can call them and pay their price, or you can call me and pay my price. If you don’t like my price, there are plenty of other guys in the phone book. We all do the same when ever we need service for anything.


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## flashheatingand (May 3, 2008)

The original post was about weekend surcharges and our takes. I think most of us agree, not all companies are the same, some charge more than others, but we all have our expenses. My take wasn't, this is How FLASH does it, simply, that there are many outfits who will gladly take on the work without surcharge. Big and small.

As for business strategy, I recommend a rotating schedule to include weekends and afterhours. Most customers really appreciate someone coming on a weekend. Not so appreciative when they were told it would cost X more than usual. I know, I know already, some think thats crazy-talk, but that's what makes the world turn.


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