In Southern California, from my experience,
the rate is a good indication of how legit
any technical service is...
Perhaps. I agree that, given the cost of living
in SoCal, it would be difficult for a company
to offer service at $20 per hour. How about a
lone wolf, just getting started? He might be
as honest and legitimate as the day is long
but with limited overhead he might also be
willing to work for sub-par wages.
When I was first getting started I did the
same thing. I charged what the hardware
cost plus $xx per hour. As I landed more
sales and revenues became better I slowly
raised my rates until I was charging about
the same per hour as many of my
competitors.
If we have somebody charging $20 an hour for ANY technical service, I can guarantee
you they don't have a license, nor a bond,
nor a liability policy.
I charged $25 an hour for several years with
a license and liability insurance. Bonding
isn't required in CT. Of course, that was
a long time ago.
However, we're concentrating on $20 an
hour as though that was the only option
below whatever the industry average is in
your area. Suppose that average is $70
(just picking a number at random) per hour.
Would someone charging $85 an hour be
more legitimate than someone charging
$70? Would someone charging $65 be
less legitimate than the guy charging the
average rate of $70?
How "legit" is somebody charging $20
an hour in Southern California? I mean, even if we take away all those things,
how are they making a living at that rate?
I think $20 an hour is too low to be a valid
barometer. How about someone charging
$55 an hour?
I don't want to take what you said out
of context. In my mind, being "legit" means you have all your ducks in a row
when it comes to taxes, licenses, and insurance policies to protect your home,
assets, and business...
That's a valid definition. Another might be
that the dealer does good work and stands
behind it. If he has the required license
but doesn't have a bond is he illegitimate?
What if a bond isn't required? If he has
$2M in liability coverage, is he more
legitimate than a smaller operator who
only has $500K of coverage?
Do you see what I mean? I'm not saying
that fees are not and indicator of how
stable a company is. Only that there
isn't necesarily a direct correlation between
fee and legitimacy.
That, to me, is an indication that you're
serious about your business, that you're
not a flake, and that I have recourse if
the job goes bad...
I was serious about my business when I
got started. I did the best I could and
installed the most reliable hardware I
could find. I made it my business to learn
everything I could about the systems and
technologies in the trade. However, in
the early years I had little money for
insurance. I got a license but I had to
hire a licensed tech until I had enough
hours to take the test. I never needed
bonding because I didn't do banks. Yet
I spent 24 years building a fine, small,
independent alarm company. Some
salesmen from a few of the bigger firms
used to poke fun at my little alarm
company. But I killed them on sales
fairly consistently and they knew it.
All in all, that's going to be reflected
in the rate.
No doubt about that. Where we differ is
in the degree to which the rate reflects
legitimacy.
--
Regards,
Robert L Bass
=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
941-925-8650
4883 Fallcrest Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34233
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
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