Charge for travel?

[jojo]

I just tacked an extra $100 on a boat cover quote because the lake where the boat is is an hour away. Does this sound ok? I've never been asked to travel that far before, and it's gonna take 2 trips, of course, one for the fitting and one for the install. Am I ripping this person off? Or am I being too generous?  :-\

[Saddleman]

Seems pretty generous by my math. 

More like how much is it worth to the customer to not spend 4 hours and 240 miles (60 miles each way x 4 trips) hualing the boat to you and back to the lake twice. 

Loren

[Mojo]

I charge trip fees according to the following:

1.) Hourly charge

2.) Mileage traveled ( fuel and vehicle costs )

I just did a delivery the other day and charged $ 20 bucks because it wasn't far away.

I typically wrap these costs into the final bill ( under labor ) and do not itemize them.
Less explaining to do to the customer that way and it gives them one more line item to haggle over.

I have better things to do with my time then get into a pissing match over the amount of miles or time it took to drive there and back. Some customers love to nit pick bills to death which is why I give one price.
If they ask for a break down I give it to them ( labor and materials ), otherwise I present them a final bill which is all inclusive.

Chris

[bobbin]

I see nothing wrong with charging for travel.  Fuel is expensive, so is wear and tear on your vehicle.  And the time you're on the road is time you're not in your shop to meet customers or actually do the work you've contracted. 

My father was a tradesman and he always charged for travel time. 

[sofadoc]

The Temperpedic company occasionally hires me to change the lift motors in adjustable beds. They call me with an address, usually in another town 50-75 miles away. I quote them a price based on the mileage. More than half the time though, the customer's bed is NOT where their mailing address is. It's 20 or 30 miles farther away. So I've already quoted a price based on 100 mile round trip that ends up being 140 miles.

[gene]

My Heating and Air Conditioning company charges $65.00 just to pull into my driveway.

If you are a business person, in business to make money, what would you do that you would not charge money to do?

Tacking on an extra $100.00 to a boat cover because the lake where the boat is, is an hour away, does not sound OK. Adding your cost, as others said, gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and your time, plus your profit margin, to a boat cover sounds OK.

I will pick up and deliver furniture. My SCORE business adviser reminds me that I am in the trucking business, just like any other trucking company. There aren't too many trucking companies out there that do not make a profit on their trucking. "Keep them wheels a'rollin' good buddie."

gene

[Stephen]

More than half the time though, the customer's bed is NOT where their mailing address is. It's 20 or 30 miles farther away. So I've already quoted a price based on 100 mile round trip that ends up being 140 miles.

If this is happening over half the time, I'd recommend that you change your business practices in this area. Perhaps call and verify the bed location BEFORE quoting a price OR change your work order to say (or make a notation) that ...

"the  quoted price is based upon the bed being located at the given address. If the bed is at a different location, then any mileage over the quoted will be billed at our standard mileage rate."

 This extra time and mileage is due to their error (in giving you the wrong address), not yours. You shouldn't have to foot the bill for that extra mileage.

Do you think that any trucking company would go another 40 to 60 miles (round trip) without charging you for that extra mileage?

Best Wishes,
Stephen

[kodydog]

I do a lot of business in Gainesville, about an hour away. I try to schedule all my P/U's and deliveries on the same day. Sometimes this calls for 10 stops. I split the cost between the customers. Like Mojo just add it to the labor. If a customer or decorator has a rush job and can't wait for my next trip they bear the brunt of the trip fee.

Jojo you have to decide how bad you want this job. If you need the work you can be a little more generous, if your busy and don't care if you get the job, then your price seems fair to me.

[jojo]

You guys are right. Kody, I'm just starting out and business is not as brisk as I'd like it to be. It seems that only very recently, though, people are balking at my quotes for boat covers. And trust me, I don't really charge much, being the new kid in town. Maybe this is just a weird week, as I'm not doing anything differently than I was doing before. Must be the economy?

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

I typically wrap these costs into the final bill ( under labor ) and do not itemize them.
Less explaining to do to the customer that way and it gives them one more line item to haggle over.

I have better things to do with my time then get into a pissing match over the amount of miles or time it took to drive there and back. Some customers love to nit pick bills to death which is why I give one price.
If they ask for a break down I give it to them ( labor and materials ), otherwise I present them a final bill which is all inclusive.

Chris

Smart experienced thinking.  I find most customers prefer not to sweat the details but I'm more than happy to explain a repair bill down to the nuts and bolts if necessary.  Most just want their stuff to function correctly and to be able to get back to work.

[kodydog]

You guys are right. Kody, I'm just starting out and business is not as brisk as I'd like it to be. It seems that only very recently, though, people are balking at my quotes for boat covers. And trust me, I don't really charge much, being the new kid in town. Maybe this is just a weird week, as I'm not doing anything differently than I was doing before. Must be the economy?

As a business owner, one of the hardest things to do is not to panic when times get slow. Bad decisions are made when you worry about what can go wrong.

It took me a long time to figure this out. The first thing I wanted to do when I saw a lull in my work load was to drop my prices, hoping I'd pick up 2 or 3 jobs to get me through. I'd give out many estimates with only 1 or 2 bites. When business picked back up again, and my prices were back to normal here comes all those low priced estimates. Now I'm passing on all the good jobs because I have to honor the estimates I gave when I was slow. And the whole thing turns into one big circle. One might say when you drop your prices, make the estimates for a limited time. Only problem is the customer forgets that last part, making it confusing and losing their confidence.

I'd rather look at slow times as an opportunity to do things like upgrade my web site, go out and meet designers, or get some things done in the shop to make my work more productive.

This is just the way I run my business.

Be assured Jojo you will get busy again.

[jojo]

Thanks Kody, this is exactly what I needed to hear. I need to give it a chance. One of the guys who I had written off actually called back after 2 weeks and I'm doing his project tomorrow. Hope this trend continues. Thanks again; it really means a lot to hear that coming from someone who's been there.

[vinyldoctorlv]

I charge trip fees according to the following:

1.) Hourly charge

2.) Mileage traveled ( fuel and vehicle costs )

I just did a delivery the other day and charged $ 20 bucks because it wasn't far away.

I typically wrap these costs into the final bill ( under labor ) and do not itemize them.
Less explaining to do to the customer that way and it gives them one more line item to haggle over.

I have better things to do with my time then get into a pissing match over the amount of miles or time it took to drive there and back. Some customers love to nit pick bills to death which is why I give one price.
If they ask for a break down I give it to them ( labor and materials ), otherwise I present them a final bill which is all inclusive.

Chris

but they do it all the time.
I fix some "patch" jobs for a furniture show room.
last techs job looked like black bubble gum on a card, or a walmart home patch kit. you couldn't see my fix. I charged 75.00 for 45 mins work. owner said, why so much, I said, can you see my work? I saved a expencive sectional piece that other wise would have been sold as parts prolly. it was from moving or shipping damage.

[baileyuph]

Mileage is a business tax deduction that the Fed allows approximately fifty cents a mile. 

Therefore using a vehicle in business, the business deduction can be set up based on mileage or you can itemize every penny you spend on the vehicle. 

Which is best deduction plan?  Depends on magnitude of your vehicle use.

My business uses the mileage plan, it works best for us but it requires detailed records.  If you use the vehicle both for business and personal, you can understand that. 

Then, the time of driving is a cost.  If you or someone wasn't driving the vehicle would they be in the shop producing? 

Good subject but just another thing that a business manager has to crank into the management equation.

Good records will keep you out of trouble but they are very informative, some times those miles amount to more than realized.

Doyle

[Rich]

It took me a long time to figure this out. The first thing I wanted to do when I saw a lull in my work load was to drop my prices, hoping I'd pick up 2 or 3 jobs to get me through. I'd give out many estimates with only 1 or 2 bites. When business picked back up again, and my prices were back to normal here comes all those low priced estimates. Now I'm passing on all the good jobs because I have to honor the estimates I gave when I was slow. And the whole thing turns into one big circle. One might say when you drop your prices, make the estimates for a limited time. Only problem is the customer forgets that last part, making it confusing and losing their confidence.

I give discounts to customers based on volume when I travel to their locations. For example, I know about how much time I will spend getting there and back and how much time I need to spend setting up and cleaning up, so I add the travel charge figure to EACH item in the quote. Then, I offer a discount which equals all the travel expenses except one. (If five items were quoted for, the discount equals four travel charges). At the bottom of the quotation there is a line that states that the discount applies ONLY if the entire quotation is accepted as written.  Then, if the customer ends up ordering only two or three items, I have the opportunity to change the final price based on what he actually asks for. If he orders only one item, there is no discount and he pays the itemized price for that item which already includes the travel charge. I find that customers are happier knowing that they were given an opportunity to lower their final price from a higher price than to be told that their final price will rise from what they were counting on all along. They will fight for something they think you are fully able to do but most understand they don't qualify for the full discount when they cut down on the order. As far as customers who come in after the business climate has improved, a time limit helps considerably, and may also help them to make a quicker decision.
I think this was covered in "The Art of Pricing".
Rich