If I do a job in 30 minutes, I spent 20 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. And therefore, you owe me for the years, not for the minutes.

[Tpmetal]

A good example in my field of hvac is paying a guy who throws parts at it until it works vs paying the guy who can use a multimeter/diagnostic tools and the proper knowledge to diagnose the problem. Parts throwers can sometimes fix the problem, but often even if they do they only replaced the part that wore out or broke because of another problem. Which means it will break again very soon and someone will be back out for another service call. Some of those parts throwers also charge you for each part they replaced even though the problem didn't get solved until say the third part they replaced. The guy who knows the ins and outs and why things work they way they do will have that problem fixed the first time 99 percent of the time.

 

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[brph2002]

The discussion here is similar to the flat rate technician. You pay them for what they know, not what they do...if they can do the flat rate job that is booked for 10 hours in 3 hours it is because of what they know and their experience.

 

[Dejure]

Sadly, we, to often, tend to value our money and time more than other people's. I've found myself being guilty of that kind of stupidity too.

I, many times, went the extra mile for customers. It got me a lot of jobs and kept me on jobs when others got let go. Other times, there were those who expected more because of it. They cut their own throats. Sadly, they are, often willfully and knowingly, too stupid to know it.

On the other hand, I bought a well known knife sharpener a few years back. Paid the full $200.00, right after I found knock-offs of it for $25.00.

It hurt to spend the money, but the device would not have existed if the inventor hadn't built it in the first place. As it turns out, the guy was the type who will talk to and help you.

Nice to know spending more rewarded him for helping me do what, before I could not, and might help him improve what he has done.

I've been a bricklayer my entire life. It looks easy when you see someone skilled laying brick. Many times I would quote a price and the people would ask me how long I thought the job would take to complete. A lot if people would be upset at what they thought was a lot if money for a few days work. They never figured in the skill factor. You can't call the local handy man & get a fireplace with a fancy interior mantle & hearth laid. I was always reasonable, but I never was cheap. I'm sure all trades and professional people are the same. A lot of time & energy went into their skills & they deserve to be reasonably compensated for it.

 

[djackson7348]

Why would it take you 20 years to learn how to do any job in 30 minutes? How long did it take you to do that job the first time you did it? How long would it take someone else to do that job? You must be an auto mechanic! The last time I asked a garage how much they charged for an oil change, they said $125! Guess they were charging for the 20 years it took them to learn how to do it fast!

P.S. I did it myself for 40 bucks.

Do you happen to work for a company that sells a service? If you do, compare what you get paid per hour and what the company charges for an hour of your time. Business overhead can be mighty expensive.

If you don't like the quote, you can always price shop to see if it is fair. I always shop for good service at a fair price. I don't expect anyone to lose money doing something for me because I wouldn't want to lose money doing something for someone else.

 

[metalman2024]

It depends on the job and the finished task.
Senior person $75.00 a hour =$300
Greenhorn $25.00 a hour =$200.00

If the end results are the same then it's not hard to figure out.

There was a question about having a large manual task done in a minimum amount of time.
For a set amount of money.

Who would you hire?
The choice of 3 employees are...

1:The smart guy
2:The dumb guy
3:The lazy guy

Most pick #1
Then #2
Last pick is #3

Many reasons can be given for each choice.

#3 is the one that gets the job.

Reason is he'll find the quickest and the easiest way of doing the task.

very true

 

[Dejure]

Except I have had to go to jobs those greenhorns worked and repair was their work ruined or caused to be ruined.

One time I repaired a Street of Dreams home after the roof and coffered ceiling had been replaced twice, for thousands and thousands of dollars. My solution, in addition to replacing the damaged exterior wall, was to add a single, 99 cent piece of flashing.

A few days later, Olympia, Washington, experienced the worst rain in decades. In spite of that, the lady called to tell me not a drop of water came through the ceiling, even though I had not yet put the siding back up (it was damaged too).

Simply put, I wouldn't want the greenhorn building my freeway bridge.

very true

 

[FreeBirdTim]

If you don't like the quote, you can always price shop to see if it is fair. I always shop for good service at a fair price. I don't expect anyone to lose money doing something for me because I wouldn't want to lose money doing something for someone else.

Hard to lose money on an oil change when you're charging $125 for a 20 minute job (max). They probably get a volume discount on the oil and filter, so figure $25 for materials. Even if they're paying the grease monkey $60 an hour (very doubtful), figure $20 paid to the worker. That's a maximum $45, which gives them an $80 profit for a 30 minute job. Sorry, but no one is making 80 bucks on me for a simple oil change.

 

[djackson7348]

Hard to lose money on an oil change when you're charging $125 for a 20 minute job (max). They probably get a volume discount on the oil and filter, so figure $25 for materials. Even if they're paying the grease monkey $60 an hour (very doubtful), figure $20 paid to the worker. That's a maximum $45, which gives them an $80 profit for a 30 minute job. Sorry, but no one is making 80 bucks on me for a simple oil change.

That is what I said, shop for a good service at a fair price. If they are trying to rip you off, go elsewhere. They decide what they will charge, you decide if you are going to use them.