Industry Forums > Wireless Service Providers > [Bus. Ops] Gas Prices and Your Bottom Line

[Bus. Ops] Gas Prices and Your Bottom Line

I don't think customers would appreciate a fuel surcharge for a product that doesn't require any fuel in order to be delivered:(
Maybe you could increase your service calls' charge, why should customers that never call be penalized for the ones that do call. We have customers we haven't seen in years! I think people are very leery of any fees in general and I wouldn't want to create any animosity if possible.

reply to Book
Well what you can do is go Dual fuel conversion setup like CNG/GAS setup that is the plan I am going with or flex pure E85/GAS or Pure Bio Diesel from Used Fry Oil from Fast Food Joints.

reply to Book
I'm with Chele.... Make sure the ones who use your fuel are the ones who pay for it.

For service calls, just factor it into your rate, or charge a travel fee.

For installs, make sure your install fee is high enough to cover the fuel you use. We also tell people we won't come out unless we can install if there is enough signal. If they just want us to test but don't want us to setup that day, we charge them a $25 fee to do it.

reply to Book
Buy a Chevy Volt and strap a ladder to it

Our service truck is a 2006 Dodge caravan, with a ladder rack for extra wind load.

We are just looking to replace it with something more efficient but no plans to raise any rates over it.
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OptionsDSL Wireless Internet
»www.optionsdsl.ca

I hear everything you guys are saying and it all stands to reason. On the flip side, many costs are spread over the entire customer base and so that's a bonafide option as well. It sounds like you guys are eating the increased costs as of right now - but for how long? At what fuel price point will you 'have' to address it and what are your plans? I think everyone has that point where it becomes unbearable. Our towers are scattered over a 1000 Square Miles area and based on our current pricing structure, we need to do something now. Thanks for your thoughts as I believe it in the cards for everyone.

Have you determined what percentage of SG&A would account for the cost of gas? Your subs may see an across-the-board increase as disproportionate. I guess it may come down to what the market can bear.

It would probably be more palatable if the cost increases went directly to those subs that call for a truck roll.
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Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and formal education positively fortifies it. -- Stephen Vizinczey

reply to Book
Book

How often do you visit your PoPs that it's affecting your monthly operating costs? Could you make your PoPs more self sufficient, not only so that it lowers your labor/fuel expenses but also so that it gives you a bit more time to take it easy:) We do visit our PoPs but not enough to affect our monthly operating costs.

Chele,

It's not so much the Pops we visit, but the customer associated with them.

What is the purpose of making so many trips to the customers? I'd focus on reducing whatever is causing you to have to have to make those trips in the first place before raising prices.

reply to Book
It's mostly installs for me. I like to schedule all my stuff for the weekends. That way i can get it all done in one day, spend some time at the POP and away we go.

reply to Book

reply to Book
The clock starts when the van does. Either from our home base or the job before for actual service calls. Make it a very firm line between what is yours to fix for free and what is the customer's responsibility.

Problem solved, and fuel doesn't really matter at that point in regards to "service calls"
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»www.wirelessdatanet.net

reply to Inssomniak

reply to Book
I would agree with the above - it seems you might be making too many visits.

I do free installs, within a 50km radius. Over 2 years, the monthly service fees for the minimum service tier covers two truck rolls - an install and a revisit.

Over 50km from my office, its at customer cost, 80c per extra km.

I have many customers that i setup 3 years ago, and havent been back since.

If its not an urgent callout, i say ill call in next time i am in the area, if i expect it to be within 7 days.

reply to Book
We increased our rates by $2 across the board.

reply to Book
The only realistic solution is to increase prices. Fuel is a "material" in any line of service work. When the price of materials go up and stay up, you have to raise your prices accordingly. It's a fact of life.
I foolishly used to do a "fuel surcharge", because I wanted customers to "share" in my anger at over-priced fuel. The simple fact is, they already do - and pointing it out doesn't help.
All that matters is the bottom line. I nixed that policy and did what every other business does - raise prices.

I cannot single-handedly control inflation. It's happening with or without me.

Changing vehicles is a ridiculous notion for the most part. I learned long ago that working out of a small, under-equipped, vehicle is worse than driving a large overloaded vehicle. If you don't have what you need when you get to a site, you'll have to drive to go get it. That's where you lose money.

The price of converting a vehicle to use alternate fuels far outweighs any savings. To switch to CNG would cost $9,000.00 on my E350. That does not include the expensive pump I would need to refuel. I would also have to upgrade my gas service. There are no CNG filling stations locally.
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...because I care.

reply to Book

reply to Book
Really thought, (and this is on topic but off) what are you charging for service calls that you need worry about this in the first place? $25 an hour? All I can really say is if we roll a truck it's always been in our favor. If it's our network or issue that's fine, and free. But a "service call" isn't cheap.
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»www.wirelessdatanet.net