Where Good Neighbors and Good Servicemen Meet

Good Repairman — Bad Repairman

The Good Repairman

I'm here to serve you, and p.s. I have to charge.

The Bad Repairman

I'm here to make money, and p.s. I have to work.

Flat Rate Pricing (for repairs)

As a contractor, I'm privileged to see things that never make it to the desk of the consumer. Let me quote from a card I received in the mail.

TIRED OF LOSING PROFITS—with standard, time & material pricing? Find out how you can earn $30,000 more per year, per technician.

Their Flat Rate Pricing Software will enable a contractor to sell repairs for higher prices.

Where the primary focus is money, the repair job will usually be of lower quality. You pay more, and get less.

How to Spot Flat Rate Pricing—Look for code sentences like the following:

• Pay by the job, not by the hour.
• Know the price, before the job is done.
• Never an overtime charge.

Remember Flat Rate Pricing is for repairs, not for major installations, remodeling, or rebuild jobs.

Usually, there's an up front diagnostic fee. Then they present a list of repairs that need to be done, and the cost of each repair. In theory, it makes perfect sense, but in practice the prices will be up to twice as much as standard, time & material pricing.

Kool repairs, or kool cash,
It depends on the focus.

Dr. Kool

Reference: Contractor Pricing