Facts About Service Costs

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Don’t judge service solely by the time the technician spends in your home. 

    The time it takes a physician to make a diagnosis and prescribe a remedy would not be possible without his many years of training, his continuing studies to keep abreast of latest medical discoveries, and his expense of maintaining an adequately equipped and staffed place of business.  You pay for his knowledge and skill plus a share of his cost of doing business—not for the few minutes he spends with you. 

    Similarly, the charge in for providing competent service in your home cannot be determined solely by the time it takes the technician to make the repairs. 

    A qualified service organization’s costs begin with the salary of the professional technician who provides the service.  This amount is the same whether the technician is actually making repairs in customers’ homes, traveling to keep appointments, or participating in training to sharpen his skills.  What’s more, since a technician typically spends less than half his time in customers’ homes, his company’s cost for each hour in your home is considerably greater then the technician’s hourly wage.

    All things considered, the cost to a service organization—except for the technician’s time on the job—could be about the same for a simple job of replacing a fuse as it is for a difficult job.

    When you are satisfied with the service but still question the fairness of the bill—even after taking into account these somewhat less visible, but very real, elements of cost—protest it.  Tell the company that provided the service.  Usually that’s all that’s needed to get a satisfactory explanation or an adjustment if one is justified.