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Thread ID: 124692	2012-05-13 16:54:00	How much?	tut (12033)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1275098	2012-05-13 16:54:00	What makes you computer repairers think you are worth $70+ plus an hour for your work? I see so many of you with no work history trying to turn your hobby into a full price business with no experience of being in business or a record of customer satisfaction. Most sparkies like myself are very lucky to be able to charge $60 an hour these days and for that we need thousands of dollars of tools and test equipment, we have to crawl around in dirty insulation filled ceiling spaces or lie on our backs under a damp dirty house, work on stoves that havent had the grease wiped off them in years or spend hours in cold drafty cowsheds up to the ankles in cow excrement. List for me the tools you need. I have seen a Phillips head screw river in use and once a soldering iron. You sit at a bench in a warm work space playing at your hobby sometimes runnning two or three jobs at the same time (If not you should be) and you think you are worth $70+ an hour. I dont think so. How many times have I driven along a road and seen a sign on the fence. 'Computer repairs here'. A few months said sign is gone. Have you wondered why? I can tell you why. You are completely unrealistic in your assessment of your skills and qualifications. Get realistic and there is work out there, lots of work but not at $70+ an hour for what you do. I am sure there are very few computer fiddler in this forum that are making a good living out of their hobby.	tut (12033)
1275099	2012-05-13 20:22:00	What makes you computer repairers think you are worth $70+ plus an hour for your work? I see so many of you with no work history trying to turn your hobby into a full price business with no experience of being in business or a record of customer satisfaction . . This is true, the industry is full of cowboys and the kid next door who thinks cause he's good at facebook or whatever and fixed mummies PC, he can be a tech . These come and go and last as long as toilet paper . Then there are the real techs like Wainui . Who know what they are doing and have run a business for a long time . When I started work as a PC tech it sure wasn't the first business I had ever run . Not even my own first business . You might think $70 sounds like a hell of an income but it's TURNOVER, not wages . If you're charging $60 as an electrician you need to put your rate up . Competing on price never works . As for customer satisfaction, it was what I concentrated on, and none of this crap 1 yr, 2 yr warranty stuff either .	pctek (84)
1275100	2012-05-13 20:27:00	It could be mostly supply and demand. If you can charge $70 per hour, and people will pay then why not? If people don't pay, then reduce you price. Simple Form 3 economics. How often will you do a "cashy" for your mates? What rate do you charge then? A lot of PC places will do their mates for free, or there's a friend you can all who can do it. BTW I'm not in the repair business, but I'm probably in the category of one of those mates that gets called.	psycik (12851)
1275101	2012-05-13 20:52:00	I'd consider $70 as too low to be viable, and many people are charging less, right down to a pittance. As for no experience in being in business or a record of customer satisfaction, No one is born with it, Though in many cases people have walked in a few pairs of shoes before their path leads them down this one, or they may have even been down this or a similar path before. Silly assumption. $60 an hour?...meh Last electrician I had out cost me $135 to screw in a light fitting. took him about 15 minutes.	Metla (12)
1275102	2012-05-13 23:03:00	What people get paid is nothing to do with the pleasantness of the Job, climbing under a house or sitting at a desk has no real bearing on hourly rate. It's difficult to argue what type of trade has the most value or desrves what rate, ultimately right or wrong the industry sets the rates based on their costs and what the market will stand. A big factor is how much a company has to pay to attract the right type of person, some skill sets are less common than others. People who work for themselves generally charge similar to companies with employees because that's the market rate, if you charge too little you get perceived as a cowboy automatically by some people. If you're any good you might do well, if you're deluding yourself and have no real skill you don't last long. Also $70 an hour sounds like a lot, but if you only get a few hours of chargeable work a week it's not much of an income. I can't discuss the charge out rates in my work but there was a time when working in the telecommunications industry earnt more than most trades by a little and now it's probably one of the lowest paid of them all. Electricians, Plumbers, builders, Airconditioning servicing etc, all charge more than our industry can. Why? because that's what the customers will pay. If society paid people based on how necessary and unpleasant their jobs were we would have no millionaire actors and the poor bastard climbing around in the sewer looking for a blockage would earn mega bucks. Not saying the system is right, but that's how it is.	dugimodo (138)
1275103	2012-05-13 23:13:00	when I was an apprentice carpenter in England, the company I worked for sent the plumber to unblock a toilet. When the woman a teacher started going on to him about how poorly teachers were paid he looked her in eye and said "lady here I am unblocking your toilet for have the pay you get, do you think you're sh*t doesn't stink?"	gary67 (56)
1275104	2012-05-13 23:24:00	What people get paid is nothing to do with the pleasantness of the Job, climbing under a house or sitting at a desk has no real bearing on hourly rate . It's difficult to argue what type of trade has the most value or desrves what rate, ultimately right or wrong the industry sets the rates based on their costs and what the market will stand . A big factor is how much a company has to pay to attract the right type of person, some skill sets are less common than others . People who work for themselves generally charge similar to companies with employees because that's the market rate, if you charge too little you get perceived as a cowboy automatically by some people . If you're any good you might do well, if you're deluding yourself and have no real skill you don't last long . Also $70 an hour sounds like a lot, but if you only get a few hours of chargeable work a week it's not much of an income . I can't discuss the charge out rates in my work but there was a time when working in the telecommunications industry earnt more than most trades by a little and now it's probably one of the lowest paid of them all . Electricians, Plumbers, builders, Airconditioning servicing etc, all charge more than our industry can . Why? because that's what the customers will pay . If society paid people based on how necessary and unpleasant their jobs were we would have no millionaire actors and the poor bastard climbing around in the sewer looking for a blockage would earn mega bucks . Not saying the system is right, but that's how it is . A +1 button required for this post - especially the last paragraph!! I count myself as a 'hobbyist' computer fixer - but then it's always for my friends and family so I don't charge (although I occasionally get a bottle or two of wine or a six-pack for my trouble - which is always appreciated) . $70 an hour sounds a lot, but you need to realise that just because someone can charge this does not mean they are getting 40 hours a week at this rate . When you're self-employed, there is always downtime - and things like power,, rates and insurance don't have downtime, so you have to be able to cover those types of costs in the rate charged when there is chargeable work . The ability to provide services at this (allegedly exorbitant) rate is another matter entirely - and as has been pointed out above, the ones who have enthusiasm but little ability don't last long . . . .	johcar (6283)
1275105	2012-05-13 23:58:00	$70 - GST - TAX = a shade over $40 for some, depending on what rate they're taxed at.	Renegade (16270)
1275106	2012-05-14 00:10:00	why are you only charging $60 per hour? a plumber is about $90, mechanic about $75 +, etc. I suggest you put your rates up. Average Hourly Rates for Electricians in NZ Electricians in Auckland charge an average of $75 per hour Electricians in Wellington charge an average of $75 per hour Electricians in Christchurch charge an average of $71 per hour Electricians in Dunedin charge an average of $61 per hour Charges for Repairing Appliances In Auckland repairing appliances is charged out at an average rate of $72 per hour In Wellington repairing appliances is charged out at an average rate of $75 per hour In Christchurch repairing appliances is charged out at an average rate of $75per hour In Dunedin repairing appliances is charged out at an average rate of $65 per hour Tools: lets see, I have hundreds of dollars of tools, power supply/circut testers, numerous screwdrivers, cabling tools (crimpers, punch down, etc), air compressor, data transfer tools, etc, work dedicated computers running data recovery software, repair software, password recovery, key recovery, IP scanners, god knows what else. Oh yeah, and a solering iron (still in its packet and never been used). I have been under floors and in ceilings installing networking cable - although leave that to younger people now. Sorry, seems to me you're a bit out of touch there in Mangakino.	Iantech (16386)
1275107	2012-05-14 00:54:00	It seems there's little in the original argument here to distinguish between those hobbyists who think they can make some quick bucks by charging for their vague knowledge, and those who actually do have the skills and experience to do the job properly. When everything's gone to crap and your company is losing thousands of dollars an hour in revenue and productivity, paying someone $120 or so an hour to resolve it as fast as possible is very minor.	inphinity (7274)
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