We want people to understand how we determine labor costs. We rarely have a problem with this, but we want to avoid misunderstandings...
Cleaning
When Dianna takes on a new house, she determines price by the hours it takes to do the chores requested of the customer. If it takes 5 hours to complete what needs to be done, that is the price of each cleaning in the future. She will eventually get into a routine and reduce the time that it takes her to get done. She will still be doing the same amount of work and the cost of the cleaning will still be for 5 hours. Sometimes she may have a little less to do and other times she may have extra to do, but the price will remain the same for each cleaning unless there is a major difference in the amount of work done.
Basically she is getting paid for the amount of work she is doing, not how long it takes. She could slow down and take the full amount of time, but it would serve no purpose other than to tie her up from doing other things that she has to do. We have had a few people who could not grasp the thought process behind this and Dianna moved on to work for other customers.
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Larry...
My charges vary due to the many skills I have and the different tasks I perform. Pond and waterfall creations are almost always a set price. Whenever I am able, I would rather give a set price on any project so that we both know what to expect.
Sometimes I have to give an estimate and try to get as close as I can. Bathroom remodels are a great example of the type of jobs that produce surprises. Rotted floors and walls are normal. It is common to find water and sewer lines needing replaced. You don't always know what you will find on a project until you start tearing away layers. Many things are totally unpredictable. I just have to go at it with a good attitude and be as efficient as possible.
Another misconception that people have gotten (very rarely) is that they should only pay for the time I am physically on the job. There is a lot of time that goes into planning, equipment preparation and material pickup. I have run into that rare individual that doesn't think I should be paid for that time.
To put this in perspective it would be like paying a teacher only for the time they are actually teaching the class, but not for the time spent preparing the lesson or grading tests.
Here is a breakdown of where my time goes;
Going to Lowes for materials takes on the average, an hour out of my day. That includes my time in the store and driving time both ways. Depending on what I am doing there may be more than one trip because not all jobs are cut and dry on how to do them or what will be needed. Of course fuel use is a consideration as well.
Tools... I have to figure out which tools I need and then load the truck before I can leave the house. When I get home I have to unload the tools and any scraps or tear out material.
The scraps go into a trailer that when full has to be hauled to the landfill which is more time. I also have to pay per pound to leave it there. Depending on what I haul from your house, I determine a fair price (usually $5 - $15) to help recoup these costs and my time.
I also have the continual replacement of tools and maintenance on vehicles. I may be a small business but I need much of the same equipment as a large one to operate.
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| These were the tools needed to do a recent job. I also needed a tablesaw which I used at the house to keep from hauling. |
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| This is the job. I only had to replace a board and a piece of molding. Small job but a lot of tools. |
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| Another normal tool load day. This one was for putting up crown mold and painting. |
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Most of our customers are very understanding of the amount of time that goes into even a small project and they know that we always try to be fair. To be honest it seems that the more money a customer has the more petty they are to deal with. We want happy customers and have dropped several persons who just didn't seem happy, even though they asked us to stay on. It is important to us that we feel that the customer is happy. Our reason for working is to make money, but we can only feel good about getting the check if the customer is happy with the job and the price.
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Also of importance... we are an American company, locally owned and operated. Your patronage supports a family. The people we use to supplement our work are also local small businesses. It is our intention to give you a more personal service than larger companies who have a continual changing staff of employees who have no interest in the company they work for. We own our business and we do the work. We are directly responsibe to you for everything.
We thank you for your support.
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