Receiving calls from customers.

Admiral Huddy

Admiral Huddy

Admiral Huddy

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Feb 2003
Posts
29,640
Location
Chelmsford
When people call me regarding PC repairs, they naturally ask me what my rate is. Some are quite surprised in a good way but some immediately panic and say "oh oh I'll call you back!!".. and can't wait to end the call. What? Do they expect me to do it for nothing?? :rolleyes:

I've had three people do this today alone! I think my pricing is more than competitive.

People are weird at times.

What do you think what’s going on in their heads?
 
"That's more than I was hoping to spend, but I'm British so this is an awkward situation as saying that it's more than I wanted to spend is not the done thing."
 
Well they probably expect it to cost less I would hazard a guess? Everyone wants something for nothing these days, can get bloomin frustrating. i had it recently trying to sell a vehicle on ebay. People asking me if I'd take X, when X was about half the asking price Okaaay.
 
Some people get a shock though especially if they have never used a pc repair man before. I guess a lot of people will think it's only going to be £10 per hour.

How much is "reasonable" btw?
 
Cost is always relative to the person who is footing the bill, you will always get a mixture of reactions no matter what your prices are.
 
Admiral Huddy said:
£35ph for workshop repairs plus any parts. It's pretty much what everyone else charges in the area.
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I can see where they are coming from. Not saying you are not reasonable but more than they would be expecting.

After all you can get a electrician or plumber cheaper than that and people feel, wrongly, that pc repair men are less skilled than that and should be cheaper.

Because of the nature our engineering business is involved in, the market rate for our hourly charge is £31.75 per hour. That is with a £2m building, £500,000 of equipment so our rate stinks tbh.

However we still make money (18% net profit) so I can see where people might feel £35 per hour is steep.

I certainly would. The 2 man computer repair compnay I use (when I can't be bothered to fix the work computers myself) charges £20 plus VAT per hour which I feel is reasonable.
 
I charge £40ph and £50 for a straight re-install back to how it was when they bought it but with all their docs and stuff back on. usually saves the customer a few quid in the long run.

They never bat an eyelid when I tell them the price. Usually i end up kicking myself as they always say "oh, that cheap?"
Dammit!!
 
CrimsonAvenger said:
Stick to your guns.

You know what your worth is and how much value you provide.
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This I do, there is no price negotiation. They are welcome to try the big warehouse boys but they charge double than what I do. I'm happy for them to do that.


Jeff Lynne said:
Ouch.

Do you work from home or do you actually have a workshop and the associated overheads?
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Yes and Yes, not that that makes any difference.
 
Sure it makes a difference if you're using the spare room as a workshop compared to paying all the overheads associated with a buisness premises. I could imagine a bulk of the £35 going towards paying your costs then but as it stands most of that fee is labour costs.

I don't know you personally but if, as I imagine you're maybe 17-20ish and basically doing this as a hobby from home then you shouldn't be surprised that people are baulking at your charges.

Do you run this as a proper buisness and pay taxes or is it on the hush hush?
 
Admiral Huddy said:
£35ph for workshop repairs plus any parts. It's pretty much what everyone else charges in the area.
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That seems quite cheapcompared to what people in my area charge as i am looking at £55 an hour however they have no competition so think they can charge like this
 
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