crashoverride
join:2009-09-05
2 edits |  How much to charge a customer?
She is a client from DC so I remoted in to help her out. She had AOL 9.0 but AOL upgraded her to 9.1 automatically. Since AOL made a new data file she though the lost all the email stored on her computer! I was able to find the AOL data file which was backed up on her desktop.
I encrypted and sent it via megaupload. I used ePreserver to put all her emails, favorites, etc. into a new outlook PST file which I then uploaded. Installed office 2007 w\Outlook on her computer and downloaded the .pst file to use on her computer along with putting in the new AOL server setting.
Lastly I used TuneUp utilities and CrapCleaner to do a little spring cleaning along with installing Avast!. I would estimate the actual time spent to be between 2-3 hours. She is a business customer and because I had to wait on the computer(s) it really left me tied for 4-6 hours.
Thanks
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Angelo_
The Network Guy
Premium
join:2002-06-18
1 edit | count waiting as working hrs as thats something that you had to do to get the job done... it's not your fault you had to wait |
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lorennerol
Premium
join:2003-10-29
Seattle, WA
| said by Angelo_  :count waiting as working hrs as thats something that you had to do to get the job done... it's not your fault you had to wait Agreed. There is a business cost to hanging onto clunky old PCs: staff inefficiency and frustration, and higher maintenance costs, including tech labor. I always make sure to point this out (nicely) in the invoice detail. |
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crashoverride
join:2009-09-05
| reply to Angelo_
said by Angelo_ :count waiting as working hrs as thats something that you had to do to get the job done... it's not your fault you had to wait Yeah I know so would anybody lik to throw some figure out, on what they would charge. I was thinking 150-200? |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
 ·North State Commun..
| said by crashoverride :said by Angelo_ :count waiting as working hrs as thats something that you had to do to get the job done... it's not your fault you had to wait Yeah I know so would anybody lik to throw some figure out, on what they would charge. I was thinking 150-200? You need to decide how much your time is worth and what you think your customer will assume is reasonable to pay. We can't really do that for you.
For example, I wouldn't have touched that job for less than $1000, but again, I don't do work like that so I price it at what it would really take for it to be worth my time and hassle. |
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i2Fuzzy
join:2009-02-25
Keller, TX
·AT&T DSL Service
| reply to crashoverride
We used to bill at $95-105 an hour here in Atlanta. I'd use that as a starting point and then talk between the two of you to find what is reasonable. I wouldn't go below $75/hour, but it depends on your relationship with this customer. If you didn't set up an hourly rate ahead of time, then I would say you should give a little when it comes to discussing it with her out of fairness to her.
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Ali Fazel
i2Telecom Representative |
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techjoe
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Schererville, IN
clubs:
1 edit | reply to crashoverride
Charge your standard support rate for every hour you worked. If it's a good or new customer cut a discount or whatever to look good, but bill for what you did...?
I assume that your charge excludes the cost of the MS Office license too.. 
If she only called for the AOL mail issue and you get away with 6 hours of billed labor, good for you. If you did the "spring cleaning" without that being what you were actually asked for you might as well eat it.
It all depends on your business arrangements. If she called for hourly support to "clean it up and fix AOL" persay then that's what you should bill.
Don't get me started on 4-6 hours for a temp file cleanup, Office install, and an Outlook import though. No offense, but I'm on a rampage about our support crew at the day job lately too. I kind of miss being able to pull that off some days none the less. 
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Baka wa shinanakya naoranai |
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Loco
Premium
join:2002-11-09
So Cal | reply to crashoverride
I wouldn't waste my time on working on a pc with aol. |
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Angelo_
The Network Guy
Premium
join:2002-06-18
·TekSavvy Solutions..
1 edit | a example i can give you if i had a client who i agreed if they paid next day i would not only give them a flat rate... but more then a 500% discount compared to hourly which i found was reasonable considering me and one of the owners were friends.
What happens? One of the other owners goes to me i charged them way to much and i should be "grateful" they are employing me in this economy and other IT guys will kill to work on this for "free"
What did i do? You guessed it told them after this stage is complete she can go shopping for a new IT guy as unlike their morals. I refuse to leave any job left unfinished.
BTW 150-250 /hr seems reasonable for friends i'd usually do flat rate or lower prices.
TBH the work you did wasn't much i'd say its equiv to a lvl1 help desk job but since it was remoted perhaps 60-80 /hr is reasonable in this senario but then again.... What do you usually charge. |
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jester121
Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
 ·surpasshosting
 ·ViaTalk
| reply to Loco
said by Loco :I wouldn't waste my time on working on a pc with aol. If someone is paying you for the time, it isn't "wasting your time" is it? |
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Gonzo1970
join:2009-08-03
Belleville, IL
| reply to crashoverride
Friend: Case of Beer
Neighbor: Dinner out and a Case of Beer
Relative you like: Case of Beer
Relative you dont like: 2 Cases of Beer
Person you dont know: $75/hr.
Person you dont know, but really would like to get to know: $50/hr.
Gal ya wanna bang (After said banging): $0
Wife/Spouse: Sexual favors
Boss: $50/Hr.
Ex-Boss (and I had this one happen!): $175/Hr.
Your Car/Motorcycle Mechanic: IOU = to number of hours worked to trade for his time when your car breaks.
Cow-Irkers from work: $50/Hr.
Annoying Cow-Irkers from work: $100/Hr.
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OmenQ
Spazz
Premium
join:2003-03-21
Continuum
clubs:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| I'm going to save that as my new rate structure, with one small change...
Cow-Irkers from work: $75/Hr
Annoying Cow-Irkers: $125/Hr
People I work with that are good to me: $50/Hr
Of course, that just made me realize that I get paid half of what I'm worth. 
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Cogito Ergo Nom |
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SSX4life
Premium
join:2004-02-13
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to crashoverride
I try to keep it around $100.00 per pc (not including travel). I tend to get friends of friends contact me after I do a job for someone (word of mouth is always nice). The $100.00 price point seems to be a good fit, especially for those people that have been burnt by big box stores (being charged $250.00 or more for the same work).
If I have to travel to a job I charge for the time there and back as well.
Everyone has their price point, I just use that as a good medium... and it pays for my gas money. |
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angussf
Premium
join:2002-01-11
Tucson, AZ
| reply to crashoverride
In situations like this when I see an old slow clunker on-site, right up front I tell them "I can work on this here for $x/hr and bill all my time, including time spent waiting for things to happen, or I can take this back to my office and work on it there for the same rate and not bill you for the time spent waiting as I can work on other stuff there. It's your choice." Usually they'll go for the second option.
After the fact, if you didn't make this clear up front, it's a bit sticky. Also, if the time you spent waiting was waiting for CCleaner and Avast! (you did put the paid version on, since she's a business customer, right?) to scan, that's a little different than time lost during the actual troubleshooting of the 'lost email' problem or waiting for uploads to happen -- you didn't have to spend that time to get things working, that was 'tweaking' the computer to make it run faster, not the problem you were called in to fix.
If I wanted to keep this customer, I would be tempted to write off some of the waiting time. Just write it on your bill along with the description of something like "Waiting for scans to complete -- No Charge (at MyCompany Option)". I would also explain to her that in the future you want to work on this computer at your shop so you don't have to eat the time waiting.
HTH, YMMV
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Angus S-F
GeoApps, Tucson, Arizona, USA
»geoapps.com/
»www.linkedin.com/in/angussf |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| said by angussf :In situations like this when I see an old slow clunker on-site, right up front I tell them "I can work on this here for $x/hr and bill all my time, including time spent waiting for things to happen, or I can take this back to my office and work on it there for the same rate and not bill you for the time spent waiting as I can work on other stuff there. It's your choice." Usually they'll go for the second option. I also found this approach works best so you're not sitting around twiddling your thumbs for 3 hours while various scans complete.
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"What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?" - Abraham Lincoln |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Comcast
·AT&T Midwest
·Site5.com
| reply to Gonzo1970
said by Gonzo1970 :Friend: Case of Beer Neighbor: Dinner out and a Case of Beer Relative you like: Case of Beer Relative you dont like: 2 Cases of Beer Person you dont know: $75/hr. Person you dont know, but really would like to get to know: $50/hr. Gal ya wanna bang (After said banging): $0 Wife/Spouse: Sexual favors Boss: $50/Hr. Ex-Boss (and I had this one happen!): $175/Hr. Your Car/Motorcycle Mechanic: IOU = to number of hours worked to trade for his time when your car breaks. Cow-Irkers from work: $50/Hr. Annoying Cow-Irkers from work: $100/Hr. This is the greatest rate structure ever. I am using it.
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My domain - Nightfall.net |
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crashoverride
join:2009-09-05
| said by Nightfall :said by Gonzo1970 :Friend: Case of Beer Neighbor: Dinner out and a Case of Beer Relative you like: Case of Beer Relative you dont like: 2 Cases of Beer Person you dont know: $75/hr. Person you dont know, but really would like to get to know: $50/hr. Gal ya wanna bang (After said banging): $0 Wife/Spouse: Sexual favors Boss: $50/Hr. Ex-Boss (and I had this one happen!): $175/Hr. Your Car/Motorcycle Mechanic: IOU = to number of hours worked to trade for his time when your car breaks. Cow-Irkers from work: $50/Hr. Annoying Cow-Irkers from work: $100/Hr. This is the greatest rate structure ever. I am using it. I charged her 250.00 |
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angussf
Premium
join:2002-01-11
Tucson, AZ
| reply to Gonzo1970
said by Gonzo1970 :Friend: Case of Beer Neighbor: Dinner out and a Case of Beer Relative you like: Case of Beer Relative you dont like: 2 Cases of Beer Person you dont know: $75/hr. Person you dont know, but really would like to get to know: $50/hr. Gal ya wanna bang (After said banging): $0 Wife/Spouse: Sexual favors Boss: $50/Hr. Ex-Boss (and I had this one happen!): $175/Hr. Your Car/Motorcycle Mechanic: IOU = to number of hours worked to trade for his time when your car breaks. Cow-Irkers from work: $50/Hr. Annoying Cow-Irkers from work: $100/Hr. I would put a pair of numbered asterisks by all the monetary ones with the following proviso:
*1 Surcharge if you watch: 50%
*2 Surcharge if you help: 100% --
Angus S-F
GeoApps, Tucson, Arizona, USA
»geoapps.com/
»www.linkedin.com/in/angussf |
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KoolMoe
Aw Man
Premium
join:2001-02-14
Annapolis, MD
clubs:
·Verizon FIOS
·Speakeasy
| I have a problem with charging for 'waiting time'. There's no reason you can't do something else... And if you DO do something else, then you could be double-billing, which is definitely unethical.
For example, if I'm converting video from one format to another for a customer, that's maybe a half-hour of setup then 'go'. The conversion may take 4 hours but it's not right (IMO) to bill that hourly. That's just 'machine time'. At best, perhaps bill a percentage for machine time to cover overhead...
When I deliver a project for a customer, I upload it to my or their website. Large media projects can take up to an hour to upload, even with my FIOS (10/5) connection. I don't bill them an hour for that. After I hit 'transfer queue', the billable time is over.
KM
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Don't Lie - Be Kind - Realize your Potential |
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drew
Reformation
Premium
join:2002-07-10
Port Orchard, WA
clubs:
·wavebroadband
1 edit | Charging 'waiting time' when on-site is perfectly acceptable in my eyes.
I'll do my best to find other things to take care of during the period to make it valuable to the client, but that's not always practical...
I brought back a virus ridden PC from a clients a month ago. It would (randomly) popup the RPC shutdown message with a 60 second timer. Do you know how hard it is to try to get anything accomplished when you have to look at something else at least once every 50 seconds? |
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