Contractor hourly rate

[ians]

I have a customer indicating that my hourly rates are tooo high compared to other provinces

I have been charge R 525.00 including callout fee for breakdowns and no travelling. (KZN)

Industrial factories i charge a call out fee R 750.00 including the first half hour because i have to normally spend 2 hrs cleaning my equipment after working in some of these filthy factories.

I take my car for a service and they charge me R 600.00 for an unskilled person to drain the oil out my car. Then they have a standard fee of 7 hours to replace a cam belt looking thing taking my bill to over R 15000.00 including spares for a 150 000 service

Customer complaining to pay me R 525.00 as qualified electrician with over 30 year hands on experience. Time to employ unskilled staff and dump them on site and let them take 5 hours to do a job which would take me 1 hour because of my experience and send a bill for 5 hours at R 300.00 at a total of R 1500.00 rather than 1 hour at R 525.00.

Do you know why we have this problem because of all you electrical contractors out there screwing up the industry.

[Brett Nortje]

I have a customer indicating that my hourly rates are tooo high compared to other provinces

I have been charge R 525.00 including callout fee for breakdowns and no travelling. (KZN)

Industrial factories i charge a call out fee R 750.00 including the first half hour because i have to normally spend 2 hrs cleaning my equipment after working in some of these filthy factories.

I take my car for a service and they charge me R 600.00 for an unskilled person to drain the oil out my car. Then they have a standard fee of 7 hours to replace a cam belt looking thing taking my bill to over R 15000.00 including spares for a 150 000 service

Customer complaining to pay me R 525.00 as qualified electrician with over 30 year hands on experience. Time to employ unskilled staff and dump them on site and let them take 5 hours to do a job which would take me 1 hour because of my experience and send a bill for 5 hours at R 300.00 at a total of R 1500.00 rather than 1 hour at R 525.00.

Do you know why we have this problem because of all you electrical contractors out there screwing up the industry.

No offense, but you could employ some 'technikon' students to do it for much cheaper and they get a reference. if you really want to get it done better, you need to look at what you have that other's don't. a little more of an offense would be to point out that in South Africa people are very lazy. it comes from our racial diversity, where we do not trust each other for some reason.

So, you need to price yourself better. if you were to make it 'quicker' - your service that is - then you could try to do it in less time, and, those are manufacturing hours. the problem is it doesn't mater how long it takes as the demand for productivity in south africa is so low due to the recession and lack of funding for customers. this mes they are doing nothing, fixing the thing doing nothing, then complaining about lost hours, yes?

Now, if you were to clean your equipment faster, for a start, you could try to use one barrel of acid or some sort of fast cleaning agent. then you could use it multiple times, scraping the dirt off the top, if that is where the dirt goes, or pouring it into the other barrel if the dirt is at the bottom, yes?

Then, you could do the electrical stuff yourself! just wire the same color wires together, or switch the machine on or off. that is what is called for, not some flipping nuclear power plant maintenance.

[ians]

No offense, but you could employ some 'technikon' students to do it for much cheaper and they get a reference. if you really want to get it done better, you need to look at what you have that other's don't. a little more of an offense would be to point out that in South Africa people are very lazy. it comes from our racial diversity, where we do not trust each other for some reason.

So, you need to price yourself better. if you were to make it 'quicker' - your service that is - then you could try to do it in less time, and, those are manufacturing hours. the problem is it doesn't mater how long it takes as the demand for productivity in south africa is so low due to the recession and lack of funding for customers. this mes they are doing nothing, fixing the thing doing nothing, then complaining about lost hours, yes?

Now, if you were to clean your equipment faster, for a start, you could try to use one barrel of acid or some sort of fast cleaning agent. then you could use it multiple times, scraping the dirt off the top, if that is where the dirt goes, or pouring it into the other barrel if the dirt is at the bottom, yes?

Then, you could do the electrical stuff yourself! just wire the same color wires together, or switch the machine on or off. that is what is called for, not some flipping nuclear power plant maintenance.

Like most things in SA. I am just going to smile at this response

[AndyD]

Very appropriate thread Ian, I'm muling over our six-monthly pricing adjustments as we speak. If I get any clients who complain about my pricing structure, I'll recommend they call you cause you're considerably cheaper.

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

Maybe point out the R1500 an hour for the lawyer to sort out the R300 an hour mess.

[adrianh]

Like most things in SA. I am just going to smile at this response

Like I said in another thread.... Déjà vu

Anyway, my geyser blew up and I was quoted R600 per hour. My camera developed a fault and I was quoted as follows: R299 up front, another R300 if I don't accept the quote.

The insurance company paid the plumber and his bill was the exact amount that the insurance company pays. R6500 for 2 hours work isn't bad going.

I figured out that the lens mount got banged and bent so I stripped the lens and repaired it myself. Was it cost effective, difficult to say, it took about 5 hours to do because I had to figure out how to strip, clean, repair and reassemble the lens. I suppose the satisfaction of having done it myself was worth the effort but it came with the risk of totally trashing the lens.

The answer is simple, if your rates are within average boundanies then the customer is free to pay the same somewhere else. The determining factor, for me at least, is the experience and quality of the artisan. The problem with the man inthe street is that they only look at price and seem to think that low is good....strange how that doesn't apply to their own salaries, but that is a debate for another time.

[ians]

IT is that time of year again and it is time to increase rates again. I dont feel that R550 an hour is unreasonable to charge for electrical services. Maybe it is time to go back a little again, charge R400 but if i go over the hour by a minute or 2 charge for 2 hours that way the rate is lower but i make more turnover at the end of the day. Smart phone clock card now we talking as i get the call clock in and the customer can clock me out when i am finished with the invoice and pay me via the smart phone with a card.

[wynn]

Charge them R300 per hour and make sure that you spend 65 minutes on the job?

[Richard S]

A few customers will always think your rates are high, a few will think they are low, 80% will not think about it at all as long as they are happy with the service levels. I try to ignore the cheapskates but sometimes do make compromises to long term customers, although I usually end up calling myself names(bad ones) afterwards. I guess this is a problem all of us have at some stage. I will often do little extras for clients, but if they squeeze the last cent out of a job they cant expect any favors.

[Dave A]

I dont feel that R550 an hour is unreasonable to charge for electrical services.

It isn't unreasonable - not for a wireman anyway. And you're an MIE

The insurance company paid the plumber and his bill was the exact amount that the insurance company pays. R6500 for 2 hours work isn't bad going.

I assume that wasn't just for labour, but included the geyser, pipes and other materials.
Have you checked the electrical side is up to muster?

[ians]

In comparison to other provinces is it a fair rate? Not taking into account I am an MIE, just as a normal sparky.

[mosescapetown]

In comparison to other provinces is it a fair rate? Not taking into account I am an MIE, just as a normal sparky.

hi ians

I find your dilemma quite interesting. I had the same challenges in my construction company. I was/is only an IE. Though i had different rates for different kinds of jobs the one rate that was always under fire was the electrical rates. In my opinion charging 550 an hour is more than fair for an MIE. In Joburg you wont get complains but in CT and KZN people don't want to pay proper rates.

I was "forced" to adjust my rates per hour and got away with about 350 per hour. I later realized (as some comments mentioned) that i had to charge smart rates and not expensive rates. I started quoting 2 hours for jobs where i normally would have done them in one hour. Initially i was spending one hour on site and then i rush back to office to cleanup there, not mentioning the prep work i did before. thought i did not want the customer to incur more than necessary costs. Silly me . Later I quoted 2 hours and this included my prep, travel, cleanup. I was still giving a very good service but i covered more of my lost time and was indeed able to ask lower rates.

I will agree on one thing.. the "Fly by night" or "backyard" electricians is killing the market for the good guys out there.

I guess my advice, tip would be to find the balance between fair to you and fair to customer. And also try working more for companies than private guys. less hassle with companies.

[Lourens.dL]

As a IE and in the business since '85 I've stopped quoting hourly rates long ago. Of cause I use it to determine the quotation but don't specify it. For instance, installing a plug will cost x amount, that would include material, consumables and labour. The price can vary depending on what is involved i.e. length of cabeling etc. I hardly ever have issues with customers complaining. Don't neglect to include travelling / preparation etc. costs.

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[HR Solutions]

No offense, but you could employ some 'technikon' students to do it for much cheaper and they get a reference. if you really want to get it done better, you need to look at what you have that other's don't. a little more of an offense would be to point out that in South Africa people are very lazy. it comes from our racial diversity, where we do not trust each other for some reason.

So, you need to price yourself better. if you were to make it 'quicker' - your service that is - then you could try to do it in less time, and, those are manufacturing hours. the problem is it doesn't mater how long it takes as the demand for productivity in south africa is so low due to the recession and lack of funding for customers. this mes they are doing nothing, fixing the thing doing nothing, then complaining about lost hours, yes?

Now, if you were to clean your equipment faster, for a start, you could try to use one barrel of acid or some sort of fast cleaning agent. then you could use it multiple times, scraping the dirt off the top, if that is where the dirt goes, or pouring it into the other barrel if the dirt is at the bottom, yes?

Then, you could do the electrical stuff yourself! just wire the same color wires together, or switch the machine on or off. that is what is called for, not some flipping nuclear power plant maintenance

.


I see others have "smiled" at this ............... I'm having an absolute roll on the floor moment at the ignorance of this post !!

[Handyman]

At the end of the day, it is you that make up the price.
Some jobs are straightforward and for some jobs you should allow contingency [explained to your client before you start with the job]
You will learn from experience that for some clients you are too expensive and other will give you extra if you take care of them and not just focus on making money. It is true that prices charged differ from province to province with the key on being flexible. I for one will give discount if i don't have another job to go to, while lifting my price if my calls increase. In Economics its known as : The Price Elasticity of Demand.