So, an interesting read on New Year's Day 2018; the 'analytics' have given me a 'welcome' diversion from other more pressing but more 'unpleasant' tasks! Please excuse me poking a little 'fun' at some of your responses?
29 posts from 18 respondents ... one sits on the 'fence' and enjoys the 'view' and one makes ' ... it up as ... ' he goes along and one asks clarifying questions! Of those who responded: most, just, 6 charge by the hour; 5 by the quarter and 4 by the half. 2 apply an 'increased' hourly rate for the first hour, one by as much as a 1/2; 3 apply a 'discounted' hourly rate for subsequent hours, one by as much as 2/3. 4 respondents operate a 'generous' 'buffer' where they will work for up to 5 or 10 minutes per job without pay!
I would like to challenge each respondent who has contributed so far to think hard this year about their 'value proposition' to their customer and the legacy that they leave the next 'electrician', DIY enthusiast or those 'cockroaches' of the world of electricity and the cause of so much poor installation practice and so many apocryphal electrical accidents and incidents ... the Electrical Trainee!
I find some of these responses to a degree 'unprofessional'. What is the exchange of 'value' between a professional tradesman and their customer? What will a 'canny' customer be thinking about our 'offer' which may or may not get us the first job; or so much more importantly the recommendation from the customer to all their friends for work to follow? One of the respondents here offers a 30 min minimum 'fee' while all others 'demand' 60! As a customer with little else to differentiate between possible contractors who are you going to choose ... particularly if finances are 'tight'? Indeed, would you employ the person who charges for 55 minutes of their time from which you have not benefited? If you were charged for 120 g of cheese from a supermarket and only received 65 g you would be standing at 'customer' services, tapping your foot, and complaining bitterly at being 'short changed'. Same as if you got a half-full box of screws from the wholesalers, or an electrical component that only half 'worked'! That said, we all have 'overheads', the costs of doing business and these should be covered adequately by our charging structure. If they are not, then we will not be in business for very long however successful we are in winning and keeping 'custom'!
Has anyone 'out there' come across 'lean' techniques ... what do people think? I am interested in thoughts on the following YouTube videos. Watch the first with the sound off ...
... how could this example, from a different trade and in a country with a totally different culture, impact domestic electrical installation in the UK? How might it improve the value to your customer? How might it improve your businesses profitability? What might you need in order to improve the 'economy' of your own effort?
... then listen to the narrative!
The narrator knows his business and what constitutes the 'break-even' point of at least one of his business processes ... I suspect he knows far more!
... improving just one of the business' processes ...
His staff are also extremely knowledgeable about their products, the business process and he chooses to invest in their wider general education as well.
What tools, test equipment and devices would make our lives easier or electrical installations safer? What electrical installation 'innovations' have really 'improved' our 'service' to our customers?
Wishing you a Prosperous New Year,
Yours Aye
GB
