How much for fixing comps?

Conor_3

mdbarber wrote: »

i know that quote is not easy to read due to the other post but yes it is very different, a hairdresser has a fixed rate and you are not paying for the time, same with a spray job.
I wasn't talking about work flow management as you appear to be which is all well and good, but if you read the OP, then that guys response and then my response it will be clearer.

Of course you're paying for the time. The time taken to do the job is factored into the pricing. If you aren't allowed to go off and do something else in "idle time" then the price for the job goes up as you're limiting the earning potential of that worker. If idle time forms 50% of the time of the job, you're effectively limiting the earning potential of that worker by 50% by not allowing them to go off and do other things. Every business where a large part of the charge is for labour, rather than physical items, has a figure they need to earn per hour/day/week to meet the bills, commonly known as "fixed costs" and that's taken into account in their charges. Scupper their ability to do more than one job at a time when it's possible to and the only way to meet that fixed costing is to up the prices.

OK, lets have a look at your way of doing it. We'll take those 20 computers I mentioned I did earlier as it's a perfect example as they were charged on a fixed fee per machine basis.

Each computer took 2 hours. My hourly rate at that time was £20 an hour so a fixed price for each computer for that job would be £40 using your way. So if I were to do it your way and do one computer at a time and not starting the next until the current one was completed even though most of it was sat there waiting for things to finish, it would take me 40 hours - a full week - and each would be £40 for a total charge of £800. A pretty poor weekly figure for a business don't you think?
But due to the fact that thankfully I and plenty of others who have businesses don't listen to you, because I was able to do more by running them concurrently I was able to charge £20 per computer instead of £40, saving my customer 50% of the cost. As well as that it meant I was able to do it out of business hours and therefore have zero impact on them which saved them more money. It also freed up 36 hours for me to go do other jobs which meant that I could earn more over that total 40hr period thus allowing me to have a lower hourly rate for ALL my customers.

...but I guess you're too short sighted to see that. Either that or you're happy paying double the amount or more for things. Stick to being on PAYE and leave those with nous to run businesses.

nomoneytoday

I used to charge £45 local call out, then £25 an hour after the first hour, plus VAT. That was with an agency, I got 50% and the parts at trade price

(whenever I was free, would call up and be assigned as many or few jobs as I required to earn some money)

savemoney

LOL fixing consumer pcs are a nightmare, and certainly are fixing it at someone home.

isofa wrote: »

Are you serious?!

I've been an IT director for many years - primarily as consultant - and if you think there is more money in consumer PCs, then, with all due respect, I don't think you know much about the industry, nor rates and salaries. Let alone the respect and career prospects in the industry.

Agree with Conor re the MCSE too, total waste of time.

motorguy

ormus wrote: »

i charge 40 quid for the first hour. (domestic users).

(cisco qualified).

Do you get many domestic users with cisco kit?

[Deleted User]

I've seen all sorts of unsavoury sights in peoples homes when I worked for a very large ISP, ones that have put me off ever doing anything involving people's homes again.

Conor_3

It's when you open up that 5 year old tower and find a carpet of fluff in the bottom that puts me off. You know exactly what all the fluff and dust is made up from - the customers sheddings. <shudder>

[Deleted User]

Said ISP were very keen for everyone to at least experience each others jobs, therefore one day a month I had to go out with a variety of engineers to sample the delights that are the working public. The three instances that stick in my mind..

1). Customer cannot set up broadband. Pretty simple, go in house, check things over, plug them in yadda. Customer's wallpaper on pc was gay pornography. You'd think you'd change it if you were expecting company.

2). Installation. Customer answers door in dressing gown, shows us where things are to go. Asks if it's if we're ok to get going and him to get back to what he was doing, minutes later hear people having sex upstairs.

3). Installation. Customer wearing nothing but boxer shorts sporting an erection. Does not feel shamed into putting clothes on.

Oh, and never under any circumstances accept the offer of a cup of a drink..

isofa

^^^^ Shudders! Great examples anewhope!

[Deleted User]

Although in fairness, a lot of people were very nice.

The difference between home and business though all comes down to price, someone at home wants things done cheaply, businesses will want things done reasonably. Reasonable to a company is obviously a lot more lucrative than home.

DCFC79

Fixing peoples computers in theyre home is ok but its when it backfires and you get people asking you questions to which you dont know the answer to, ive only fixed family members computers.