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remote for start ups

9K views 59 replies 20 participants last post by  richgauci 
#1 ·
I was wondering if you guys have invested in remotes for start ups and service calls and is it worth the investment?
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#27 ·
Serviceman savings would come from allotted time not being used, but full minimum time being billed just the same.
You can be required to remain on site for the duration of the billable time. A service call is just what it implies, you're there to service.

You can figure that if mrs. XYZ is home and sees you come and go in ten minutes and you bill for sixty you're going to get a call from mr. XYZ. There's gonna be an argument and you'll prolly be 60 days out on the check.
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#31 ·
less time on job = more time for more jobs.
Figure more per manhour when using a remote...on our large properties, the checks are included in the monthly agreement hence, less time spent on fixed cost.

On repairs, it helps us be a better value than the next company snd also allows for one guy to work on properties instead of two. Typically, clients won't tolerate a two man crew billed at 190 per manhour when the second dude is kinda standing around....its tough to be effecient in that scenario on a property where you regularly bill out Several K worth of repair, improvements and maintenance on a monthly basis consistently year after year.
Many of these large hoa properties and commercial are moving toward menu pricing of repairs or worse... a fixed cost per month for repairs....neither is a trend I like.
 
#32 ·
You can be required to remain on site for the duration of the billable time. A service call is just what it implies, you're there to service.
Many service types have a minimum just to show up, regardless of how much time is spent on site. In this case, a remote could make you more money and save the client money if it keeps you from going over the minimum.

Doesn't really matter how long you are there, what matters is you know what to do and how to do it efficiently and effectively.

A little story .... a service tech shows up on a site. After discussing the problem with the client, the tech goes and pushes a reset button with a special tool, problem fixed in 5 minutes. Hands the client a $150 bill and the client flips out, asks the tech why the bill is so high. The tech responds, well the service labor is $5 dollars, knowing what to do and having the right tool to do it is $145.

All that said, I will use my remote when I get tired of walking back and forth to the controller .... which usually means any site at or over 1/4 acre ... or complex systems where a remote will save major time and hassles.
 
#33 ·
You can be required to remain on site for the duration of the billable time. A service call is just what it implies, you're there to service.

You can figure that if mrs. XYZ is home and sees you come and go in ten minutes and you bill for sixty you're going to get a call from mr. XYZ. There's gonna be an argument and you'll prolly be 60 days out on the check.
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A service call is not tied into any minimum time period. Rather, it has a maximum time, beyond which an hourly rate applies.

I thought it made sense to construct it that way after one happy homeowner thought it would be a swell idea for the sprinkler service guy to stack firewood for the remainder of the hour of service time she was paying for.
 
#34 ·
I thought it made sense to construct it that way after one happy homeowner thought it would be a swell idea for the sprinkler service guy to stack firewood for the remainder of the hour of service time she was paying for.
Hahahaha . I would be like... Yeahhhhhh that's not happening. But the situation is so rare I don't mind spending our first hour charge to its full extent, it's just going to have to be sprinkler related. I can always find something to do on a sprinkler system
 
#35 ·
Jim- Maybe you can explain how the customer saves money while you are making more money using a LOCATOR
Sure Tom Tom.

Clients have three choices,
1) Hire one of my competitors that charge them a service call plus locator rental fees plus locating fees without any guarantee of success.
2) Hire me at a flat rate with a guarantee that I am successful or they don't pay for my services.
3) Grab a shovel and start digging.

Since my rate is fixed there are no surprises, the client knows exactly what the cost is.

Since I'm the one that's gambling my fee on performing a timely successful locate it behooves me to become more effecient and competent with my skills. If I can find a valve in fifteen or thirty minutes I've made more money than if I spend two or three hours finding the same valve. By giving the client a guarantee that I find the valve or don't accept payment I'm putting my money where my mouth is.
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#36 ·
Many service types have a minimum just to show up, regardless of how much time is spent on site. In this case, a remote could make you more money and save the client money if it keeps you from going over the minimum.

Doesn't really matter how long you are there, what matters is you know what to do and how to do it efficiently and effectively.

A little story .... a service tech shows up on a site. After discussing the problem with the client, the tech goes and pushes a reset button with a special tool, problem fixed in 5 minutes. Hands the client a $150 bill and the client flips out, asks the tech why the bill is so high. The tech responds, well the service labor is $5 dollars, knowing what to do and having the right tool to do it is $145.

All that said, I will use my remote when I get tired of walking back and forth to the controller .... which usually means any site at or over 1/4 acre ... or complex systems where a remote will save major time and hassles.
That was good chief, it just seems that when a person charges an hourly fee that there is no way you can be more effecient (which saves the client money) while making the user more money by saving him time.

Time is money but how much time can you save on a job site? Will you save enough time to complete another job in an 8 hour day. I say that because an 8 hour day and 40 hour work week is what most companies set their base prices at. That's just my opinion.
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#37 ·
A service call is not tied into any minimum time period. Rather, it has a maximum time, beyond which an hourly rate applies.

I thought it made sense to construct it that way after one happy homeowner thought it would be a swell idea for the sprinkler service guy to stack firewood for the remainder of the hour of service time she was paying for.
Been there done that. Want the refrigerator picked moved into the kitchen, sure, anything from the seat of the hoe.

Funny how quickly minds change.
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#38 ·
That was good chief, it just seems that when a person charges an hourly fee that there is no way you can be more effecient (which saves the client money) while making the user more money by saving him time.
If I have a 1 hour minimum, and bill in 30 minute increments afterwards, if a job that would take 0.75 hours with a remote, takes 1.25 hours without a remote saves the client money and allows me to move onto the next 1 hour minimum job 0.5 hours earlier. May not seem like much for a single day, but over a year could be significant.

Another example would be flat rate jobs, while not saving the client any money, will save me money if I can complete the job in less time.

All that said, I rarely ever pull out the remote unless I find myself saying ..... damn I wish I had a remote. :laugh:
 
#39 ·
Sure Tom Tom.

Clients have three choices,
1) Hire one of my competitors that charge them a service call plus locator rental fees plus locating fees without any guarantee of success.
2) Hire me at a flat rate with a guarantee that I am successful or they don't pay for my services.
3) Grab a shovel and start digging.

Since my rate is fixed there are no surprises, the client knows exactly what the cost is.

Since I'm the one that's gambling my fee on performing a timely successful locate it behooves me to become more effecient and competent with my skills. If I can find a valve in fifteen or thirty minutes I've made more money than if I spend two or three hours finding the same valve. By giving the client a guarantee that I find the valve or don't accept payment I'm putting my money where my mouth is.
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When guys get to your level of experience I can see gambling per se, there isn't many things you haven't seen. As an employer, motivating the employees by paying flat fees for items, concerns me that they might cut corners.
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#44 ·
Prolly so. I'm doing a walk-thru on Monday with the new guy, the remote is invaluable for systems over 15 zones, this one is 90 zones with double clocks.Unless you've got a golf cart to go back and forth, remotes are the way to go. :clapping:
Is this the old guy taking the new guy, or the old old guy taking the new new guy or is this the old old old guy, taking the new new new guy for the stroll? I think the only common denominator is the old guy. Or is it the old old old guy? Whatever it is, it's a lot in dog years. :)
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#48 ·
Prolly so. I'm doing a walk-thru on Monday with the new guy, the remote is invaluable for systems over 15 zones, this one is 90 zones with double clocks.Unless you've got a golf cart to go back and forth, remotes are the way to go. :clapping:
Hope you got it ready. It could be fun if you have remote or other electrical problems. I would want a man, radios and a golf cart.
 
#51 ·
That's scary, I hope you do not need to locate a hidden valve.
That's what you have young pups for! I know where the v.b. are and have had the grounds crew trim them since the system was built. The moles are our problem, filling up the pits, very seldom do they chew the wire, though a clean-out every season has always been specified in order to service the valves and check the color codes. In 90 zones, I've lost just one, and that was due to an incorrect as-built and lack of (my) supervision. :dizzy:
 
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