service labor rate pricing question

[pops21]

What do folks that do service on saws, at your house on the side charge for your labor. I'm having a hard time coming up with what to charge people. I would like to charge by a job and not by the hour. Let me put it this way what would you charge for a carb clean, install now fuel hose, clean saw, dress the bar, and sharpen the chain? I just did that to a ms180 and charged $35. That includes $8.00 for the fuel hose.

 

[tlandrum]

for what you did here in my shop I would have charged 30min labor plus parts. I charge 2 bucks a ft for fuel line and charge 5 bucks to sharpen a chain on grinder.

 

[watsonr]

I charge $30 an hour plus parts, that's a 1 hour job and if I go over an hour, you get a $30 bill added.

 

[pops21]

It sure would be nice to have a labor rate book like motorcycle, atv's, cars and trucks have.

 

[shootingarts]

It sure would be nice to have a labor rate book like motorcycle, atv's, cars and trucks have.

I had labor books, mechanic, and the paint and body that came out monthly seems like. Some things they are fairly accurate, a good tech can beat the book usually 10-20%, some things are miles off and if you quote the book price you can't keep a good tech, they'll take a huge bath every time.

Best advice is to find out what the dealers are charging and recognize you are offering a bit different service. While you certainly have overhead, they have a lot more. They are also likely to be more expert on the mainline saws that they work on. When you work on one line you get very good at knowing what the likely issues are. That isn't saying that independent mechanics can't be good, I was always independent, but it is tough to beat a line mechanic. I listened to a line mechanic friend ordering parts. He ordered parts for a Chevy, a Buick, another car I don't remember, and a Cadillac. I asked, "Damn Earl, how many are you working on at once?" "Just a Caddy, the parts are exactly the same and cheaper in other brands." I did the same thing on my nephew's Infinity a few years back, Nissan motor in the engine compartment, even said so on the valve cover. Infinity distributer, over five hundred, Nissan distributer that was exactly the same, under two hundred!

By the job I'd try to set my prices 15-20% below dealers. Try to work too cheap and first thing you know you are working for free or worse and people will not respect your work. Another story, A man wanted a quote on a network installed in a new building, requiring us to design the network of course. We knew he wanted us to design it then he would lowball the job to someone else. Told him the first visit was free, after that we charged. He volunteered that he would pay fifteen an hour for the first visit, the same thing he paid his college student nephew to work on computers. This was an electrical contractor and we had two system engineers coming in on this free visit including a MasterCNE. I told him he had his options, free or $150 a manhour. He wasn't going to dictate what our work was worth and we damned sure didn't step in a door for fifteen an hour.

Run your business as a business or expect it to fail.

Hu

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Stihl OEM molded fuel line can get up there like you noticed. I started offering my rednecked stihl fuel line replacement with tygon, as a cost saving and ease down the road for owners. Depends on who I am working for. Friends beer , dont know ya $20 flat a hour. Chain $5

 

[o8f150]

i was charging 20 an hour but I went up to 30,,,,, I have a lot of my prices set like carb rebuilds,, replacing fuel line,, ect,ect

 

[Saw Dr.]

It sure would be nice to have a labor rate book like motorcycle, atv's, cars and trucks have.

You mean like this?

I was charging $45/hr at the house, but now I pretty much send all $ through the shop. I still do work out of the house, but it is pretty much all freebies for neighbors and friends.

 

[pops21]

What about cleaning saws? Do you guys take each part and clean it? That is one thing that I like to do for the wow factor, when the person gets there saw back and its clean and white again. I take each part and clean in a tub that I have. Getting 90% of the saw dust and crap off.

So what are the average jobs consist of compaired to what you get paid?

Saw doctor what are some of the times they show in your book? It would be nice to put a time with a job.

 

[Saw Dr.]

I only clean saws to the degree needed for the job. At $65/hr at the shop, nobody wants to pay for that. Someday I'l get a Cuda.

The flat rate guide has the times listed by model. Obviously it will be more time to take the carb off a top-handle machine than an 029. That book is a little out-dated, but there are plenty of 1 generation old saws in there. We have a guide for all Stihl models at the shop. I need to try and source a Husky guide.

 

[AKDoug]

I wouldn't do it for less than $45 an hour at the house. $10 to sharpen a chain. I use Stihl's warranty work times that they publish for dealers for warranty work on Stihl equipment.

Before everyone gets in a tizzy about those dollar amounts, you have to consider a few things if you are a one man shop. Lets say you receive 8 saws in one day, all for 1/2 hour jobs. That's pretty much a full day of work when you consider the customer interaction time to talk about their problem (don't BS too much), looking up and ordering parts, actually doing the labor, clean up, admin work to run the business, etc.

All that for $180 a day. That works out to $22.50 an hour if you are getting 8 saws a day through your shop. Much less money if you are not.

At some point you have to decide whether you are doing this for fun or a business.

I cannot stand sending out a dirty saw, but I'd go broke if I cleaned every saw to perfection if the job didn't require it. To clean some of the saws I get into the shop, I could spend 45 minute to an hour cleaning them up. Right now I make it clear to the customer that they are not getting a super clean saw back unless they want to pay for it. If you are in for clutch work I am going to clean the clutch cover and clutch area. If you are in for a new fuel line I will clean around the cap, blow off the area around the carb and most likely spray off the area with break clean. I still struggle over giving back a saw or trimmer that looks good when I'm done with it, and not costing myself a bunch of money.

 

[w8ye]

Pops,
I sent you a PM with something in it.

 

[twitch]

I wouldn't do it for less than $45 an hour at the house. $10 to sharpen a chain. I use Stihl's warranty work times that they publish for dealers for warranty work on Stihl equipment.

Before everyone gets in a tizzy about those dollar amounts, you have to consider a few things if you are a one man shop. Lets say you receive 8 saws in one day, all for 1/2 hour jobs. That's pretty much a full day of work when you consider the customer interaction time to talk about their problem (don't BS too much), looking up and ordering parts, actually doing the labor, clean up, admin work to run the business, etc.

All that for $180 a day. That works out to $22.50 an hour if you are getting 8 saws a day through your shop. Much less money if you are not.

At some point you have to decide whether you are doing this for fun or a business.

I cannot stand sending out a dirty saw, but I'd go broke if I cleaned every saw to perfection if the job didn't require it. To clean some of the saws I get into the shop, I could spend 45 minute to an hour cleaning them up. Right now I make it clear to the customer that they are not getting a super clean saw back unless they want to pay for it. If you are in for clutch work I am going to clean the clutch cover and clutch area. If you are in for a new fuel line I will clean around the cap, blow off the area around the carb and most likely spray off the area with break clean. I still struggle over giving back a saw or trimmer that looks good when I'm done with it, and not costing myself a bunch of money.

You're absolutely right you cannot clean all of them and plan on making any profit I do the same way you do,if it's a friends ya maybe, right

 

[twitch]

I wouldn't do it for less than $45 an hour at the house. $10 to sharpen a chain. I use Stihl's warranty work times that they publish for dealers for warranty work on Stihl equipment.

Before everyone gets in a tizzy about those dollar amounts, you have to consider a few things if you are a one man shop. Lets say you receive 8 saws in one day, all for 1/2 hour jobs. That's pretty much a full day of work when you consider the customer interaction time to talk about their problem (don't BS too much), looking up and ordering parts, actually doing the labor, clean up, admin work to run the business, etc.

All that for $180 a day. That works out to $22.50 an hour if you are getting 8 saws a day through your shop. Much less money if you are not.

At some point you have to decide whether you are doing this for fun or a business.

I cannot stand sending out a dirty saw, but I'd go broke if I cleaned every saw to perfection if the job didn't require it. To clean some of the saws I get into the shop, I could spend 45 minute to an hour cleaning them up. Right now I make it clear to the customer that they are not getting a super clean saw back unless they want to pay for it. If you are in for clutch work I am going to clean the clutch cover and clutch area. If you are in for a new fuel line I will clean around the cap, blow off the area around the carb and most likely spray off the area with break clean. I still struggle over giving back a saw or trimmer that looks good when I'm done with it, and not costing myself a bunch of money.

You are absolutely right you cannot clean up every chainsaw you get in your shop if you were at your house and it's for a friend that's a different story you'll never make a profit if you clean every single saw that comes through your shop too much time, i change 65hr,plus parts in my neck of the woods

 

[OM617YOTA]

I went whoa at some of the hourly rates, then saw that this was from nearly a decade ago.

Don't work for free, don't sell yourself short.