Let them fire themselves politely with you giving them a price that would YOU are very happy to get to do that work and if they balk just say,
"Call me when want the work done; right now I have another customer who is waiting for their new system to be installed as they are tired of their old system breaking down".
"I would be glad to serve you at a future date".
I’m on call this weekend and my company doesn’t do after hours pricing. Everything is the same price as it is during the week. Even holidays are the same price as as a regular week day. Shit’s terrible.
Yeah, your company is ripping you off, it's all OT! I do commercial, anything after 4 PM (M-F) is all OT, doesn't matter if you hit 40 hours BS. And Saturday and Sunday 100% all OT pay.
Fuck that. Our on call is double time from the moment we leave our house to the second we get home and you make $2 an hour extra on the week you’re on call and $5 an hour extra if it’s a ran call after hours.
I bet your company doesn't replace the trucks every 5 years either for this very reason, not enough charged to do so.
The owner, as many tradesman owned companies are very poor businessmen not knowing the cost of operating a business and do not have the skills to look at financial statements every month to know if they're making money.
It is easy enough to learn. That is why some companies make a very good profit and some other company owners it's just a job.
We charge a $100 "service charge" for going to any repair calls after hours in addition to overtime labor rates or doubletime labor rates on holidays. So, Mr. Customer, I can put you on my list for Monday morning & it will be $140 per hour with a 1 hour minimum, or I can show up after hours & it will cost you $310 for me to look at your system. I may or may not be able to fix it, depending on if I have the correct parts on my truck. If I don't have the part that it needs, then I'll have to come back on Monday anyway, and yes, that will cost you the normal $140 per hour rate to complete the repair.
Digging into their bank account will often change their definition of an "emergency"
I'm in a non-union shop. It really is impressive when people realize how much more they would have to pay outside normal business hours.
I get it for true emergencies but some just call for nuisance calls. Where they have heat/ac but it's just being louder than normal or 1 vent isn't blowing exact temperature out or some other thing that can wait.
I worked at a shop once that was $250/hr with an hour minimum, and a $250 travel charge. I was instructed not to give that information until after I was done. I did it once or twice and felt really shitty about it so I started telling them when they called. That was one of the worst shops I ever worked at.
$100 for after hours?? Holy crap, people must bug the living fuck out of you after hours. After hours, it's $255 plus tax just for me to show up, then all parts and repairs are time and a half.
Had a dude with a system from 94 call in because his system wasn't cooling much anymore. Found the thing was MASSIVELY low on refrigerant. Didn't even get past explaining how we don't really work with r22 before he cut me off and swore that his unit wasn't even that old, it was brand new in 06. I went over and showed him the tag, and he insisted the unit was mistagged. I ensured him that wasn't the case, the tag was correct and that even the body style of the unit was correct for that age (high end trane with the boxy body and angular fan top hood). He refused to even talk about further measures with me and insisted he was going to call another company for a second opinion, even though I had pictures of my guages on the unit, he saw the guages, and obviously his unit wasn't cooling.
The best part was, after we get through the paperwork, signatures, and payment for the call, he asked me if, in his words "the unit was mistagged, is it possible it used 410a?". Dude still refused to believe that his shitbox was 30 years old and it was just time. There have been a lot of these people recently, where they had always insisted they would baby it for "one more year", finding out that eventually things do break, and their refusing to just replace their shitbox has meant that now they have to deal with no ac during a heatwave, and even better, now prices have gone even higher then when they were originally quoted.
These types of people I have no sympathy for. They insisted on putting their heads in the sand, and even when they have to deal with the consequences of their actions, they refuse to actually deal with the problem. Well guess what? We no longer do the "just top it off" anymore, and now you have to decide between spending even more than you would have a couple years ago on actually dealing with the problem, or just don't have ac.
I’m curious, in case I ever get to buy a home someday. Do places typically do reasonable payment plans? I get the hesitation on the part of these homeowners, but I want way more not to be stuck in that position, so if I do find myself in the position where the tech is telling me the unit is on its way out and I should do it now, I’m hoping like hell that it wouldn’t put a big strain on the wallet.
Many places will have flexible payment or financing, but more than anything, just be reasonable with your expectations. A 20+ year old shitbox with a leak is not worth dumping money into. If it's 13 years or younger, you can explore fixes, but I'm mostly upset with those idiots that have a 30 year old system that they have already dumped refrigerant into twice in the past 3 years, the refrigerant is 2 generations old, and they refuse to believe that prices will go up.
Hell, starting next year, we are predicting a price increase as well since that's when the new refrigerant mandates go into affect, and not only is the refrigerant different, but they now require new safety mechanisms to be installed by mandate.
Maybe I’m reading that wrong, but it sounds like you’re saying some places sell used units. My brain does that to me sometimes. You can disregard that or tell me I’m reading that wrong, whichever you want lol.
I’m definitely never going to let it get to that point. My thing is just about being able to make that leap financially when it’s time to give up on a “shitbox” lol as you call it. Yeah, what I hate also is a unit with a condensate leak that put a towel under instead of a bowl or bucket or something to catch the water, rather than soak it up, especially over carpet. That sort of temporary solution lasts seconds. Over vinyl or tile, not as big of a deal unless it’s a lot coming out and they wait a long time to say anything. One of the last ones I had, I told her to put a bucket under it. She calls back saying she can’t just turn it off because then it would get hot in her place. Lady, I didn’t tell you to turn it off. You can run it with a leak until the tech gets there to fix it. In fact, I need you to keep it on so I know where the leak is. Just as bad is a unit that is not cooling enough, so they turn it waaaay down (past 70°F). Either it freezes, or simply keeps not cooling down enough. The worst is the ones who expect, after a repair, that it cools right away, then call you right after you leave, angry or confused why it didn’t cool down to the set point in one minute. Which is as bad as keep it set below 70°F on an old unit. Hasn’t happened to me a lot, but there is one guy who did this, who insisted he was right that the system should be able to handle it, and insisted we didn’t know what we were doing. I said no, you absolutely can’t do that, but then he pulls out his “I’ve been doing HVAC for XX years, so I know what I’m talking about” card. Well, KnowItAll Steve gets his way when he complains to management, because they then approved a new condenser install for him. This is in apartment maintenance, by the way, so we have to deal with this kind of politics. Yeah, manager boy, it’s easier for you, because YOU aren’t doing the actual work. Another resident, months prior, threatened to move out after transferring onsite if they didn’t get elongated toilets like they had in the apartment they transferred from. Management gave in then, too, and for the same reason. So the tech (thankfully not me) who had that work order had to replace them because the resident whined, and the manager didn’t want the extra paperwork.
100%
Got to manage your customers. Give them great service in a timely manner, but do it at a cost that you could sustain if you were paying great wages to a tech for after hours work. If the customer is gunna be disappointed, it's best for that to happen on the phonecall rather than at the point where they need to get their checkbook out! Pricing up front, during the initial phonecall, and make sure they know they have to pay even if the unit is too broken to repair.
Time to have "the talk". Even if they do go with another company, you'll have your weekends back and you'll be able to grow your business, too!
They will inevitably call you back and when they do, let them know you are not available. Then, block them.
lol those are the best! they walk me through, tell me everything they want, how stupid all the previous owners / builder were, and how everything should be. and they want this done immediately.
so i quote them a ridiculous price with details of all the things they will have to repair after we do this thing.
they say its ridiculous, they want a discount, i say no, they disappear for a month. then they call back all reasonable and pleasant asking when we can start.
oh no maybe the BEST is when they want a duct run inside the wall without cutting the wall open. thats always a good one. 'cant you just slide it in there?' hahaha. no.
>oh no maybe the BEST is when they want a duct run inside the wall without cutting the wall open. thats always a good one. 'cant you just slide it in there?' hahaha. no.
🤣 Some shit you can't make up
I grew up in Virginia and been here my whole life and I don’t really consider it the south, but it must be because every customer I’ve ever had on the weekend can’t stop thanking me for interrupting my weekend to come help them. I don’t think I’ve ever had a customer upset on the weekend. Just super grateful.
I'm on call too, in Nashville. Love the way you worded this, and keep your head up! Stay hydrated. Just walked a tenant through his AC issues over the phone 😅 caked condenser coils with no water access. He owns a wire brush and an impact tho. 😍 Stay hydrated my service brother.
I hate hearing the line “What do you mean I have to pay. The system has a warranty!?” Then I have to explain what the parts warranty is. And of course they never seem to understand why they have to pay labor. I imagine the kitchen is full of paste.
It never ceases to amaze me that clients will bitch and complain about how you don’t have anything available same day, then when you arrive to save the day…they want to dick around on the price. I’ve learned to walk away within 30 seconds if a client wants to haggle about price and give me a hard time.
Its 1045 and Im finally having dinner because of all the damn calls I ran today. By the 8th one I ran at 3pm I stopped giving a fuck. All yall are paying extra for my time because fuck you.
Give them 15% discount and charge them $350 service call fee and double your normal weekend rates. But write in big letters 15-20% discount and circle it in red
Yep I remember the days.
Now retired.
I do have Young bucks call me you only have book training and not hands training and I bill them.
Sometimes I'll go out for large companies that have chillers after the Young bucks have already screwed them up.
Other than that I don't miss the working days.
Any piece of equipment, if it’s older than 20 years old………i tell them I don’t worry on it and it must be replaced. If not then find someone else to work on it. My weekends are too precious to me to come out and work on your POS.
If the owner of the business subscribes to the “The customer is always right” motto then these are the ensuing issues the techs have to deal with. This is why the customer is not always right.
I am in the industry but not a technician. It may not make me very popular but I often say to the techs that complain about my schedule and income compared to theirs..."You weren't kidnapped, locked up in HVAC school and enslaved into the trade...if you hate the heat if you hate working weekends and you hate dealing with demanding customers you are in the wrong business "🤣
Set your "Emergency"/Weekend callout pricing at a rate that you're happy with, and let the customer decide if they're happy with it as well.
If you're not happy with the rates you're charging for this type of call, that is YOUR FAULT. If he's not happy with those rates, he can go somewhere else.
Yes, it's the customer's fault that every time he calls you, it's an "emergency" but if you're feeling "screwed" by what those emergency rates are, and the customer still finds it more economical to take your weekends from you than to be proactive in having you perform preventative maintenance on his system, that's on YOU.
What's so special about this cheapskate customer who is constantly "screwing you" and doesn't want to pay for your time, that you can't bear to let him go be someone else's problem? Is he your sole customer?
Sounds like that's ALSO on you.
Time to diversify your workload amongst a broader customer base, if your business relies so heavily on one terrible customer and three whole "emergency" visits in a year, for which you're not even being fairly compensated...
Bro, this is definitely your fault. People will treat you how you let them. Time to grow some self-respect, and a spine.
Nahhh, give em the sunday price. No such thing as cheap and now on weekends.
Always blows my mind people asking for a discount or cheap service while they want you out after hours.
Let them fire themselves politely with you giving them a price that would YOU are very happy to get to do that work and if they balk just say, "Call me when want the work done; right now I have another customer who is waiting for their new system to be installed as they are tired of their old system breaking down". "I would be glad to serve you at a future date".
TBF you guys barely do fair prices during the regular work days. So why not ask anyway, the worst thing that can happen is a no.
Only some places will screw you over. Shop around. Maybe try and find a good company BEFORE you have an emergency.
What is unfair to you?
I’m on call this weekend and my company doesn’t do after hours pricing. Everything is the same price as it is during the week. Even holidays are the same price as as a regular week day. Shit’s terrible.
Do you get paid more? We get 1/3 of the total bill instead of hourly on our after hours/weekend calls.
Same pay. Time and a half once I reach 40 hours for the week.
Yeah screw that. Your shop is ripping you off for your time.
I know. FML.
I'm in the same boat.
Go union my man.
Yeah, your company is ripping you off, it's all OT! I do commercial, anything after 4 PM (M-F) is all OT, doesn't matter if you hit 40 hours BS. And Saturday and Sunday 100% all OT pay.
Sunday is double time for me. Work just enough hours to pay my taxes for the whole week.
I know. My company kinda sucks. I’m waiting till I hit the two year mark and I’ll try to switch.
Fuck that. Our on call is double time from the moment we leave our house to the second we get home and you make $2 an hour extra on the week you’re on call and $5 an hour extra if it’s a ran call after hours.
I bet your company doesn't replace the trucks every 5 years either for this very reason, not enough charged to do so. The owner, as many tradesman owned companies are very poor businessmen not knowing the cost of operating a business and do not have the skills to look at financial statements every month to know if they're making money. It is easy enough to learn. That is why some companies make a very good profit and some other company owners it's just a job.
People who want cheap prices should never be your customer. Fire them and make a note in their account record not to work for them ever again.
8 hr of double time has weeded out what is really an emergency and what can wait until Monday
We charge a $100 "service charge" for going to any repair calls after hours in addition to overtime labor rates or doubletime labor rates on holidays. So, Mr. Customer, I can put you on my list for Monday morning & it will be $140 per hour with a 1 hour minimum, or I can show up after hours & it will cost you $310 for me to look at your system. I may or may not be able to fix it, depending on if I have the correct parts on my truck. If I don't have the part that it needs, then I'll have to come back on Monday anyway, and yes, that will cost you the normal $140 per hour rate to complete the repair. Digging into their bank account will often change their definition of an "emergency"
We’re $250 just to knock on the door and it’s double price from there. If it’s an emergency, it’s worth it.
We're $200 to show up on afterhours/weekends, until after 9pm, then its $300. Repairs are additional.
[удалено]
I'm in a non-union shop. It really is impressive when people realize how much more they would have to pay outside normal business hours. I get it for true emergencies but some just call for nuisance calls. Where they have heat/ac but it's just being louder than normal or 1 vent isn't blowing exact temperature out or some other thing that can wait.
Shits expensive no matter who you use 💀 Except someone's "I know a guy" but we all know what happens there
Same here. After 6 p.m., the pricebook automatically updates the prices to overtime rates. Same on the weekends.
I worked at a shop once that was $250/hr with an hour minimum, and a $250 travel charge. I was instructed not to give that information until after I was done. I did it once or twice and felt really shitty about it so I started telling them when they called. That was one of the worst shops I ever worked at.
$100 for after hours?? Holy crap, people must bug the living fuck out of you after hours. After hours, it's $255 plus tax just for me to show up, then all parts and repairs are time and a half.
Actually it's $100 in addition to the normal overtime labor rate. So $310 will get me to knock on a customers door after hours.
Ah, I misread that. I thought to myself for $100 on the weekends they probably kill this guy.
Had a dude with a system from 94 call in because his system wasn't cooling much anymore. Found the thing was MASSIVELY low on refrigerant. Didn't even get past explaining how we don't really work with r22 before he cut me off and swore that his unit wasn't even that old, it was brand new in 06. I went over and showed him the tag, and he insisted the unit was mistagged. I ensured him that wasn't the case, the tag was correct and that even the body style of the unit was correct for that age (high end trane with the boxy body and angular fan top hood). He refused to even talk about further measures with me and insisted he was going to call another company for a second opinion, even though I had pictures of my guages on the unit, he saw the guages, and obviously his unit wasn't cooling. The best part was, after we get through the paperwork, signatures, and payment for the call, he asked me if, in his words "the unit was mistagged, is it possible it used 410a?". Dude still refused to believe that his shitbox was 30 years old and it was just time. There have been a lot of these people recently, where they had always insisted they would baby it for "one more year", finding out that eventually things do break, and their refusing to just replace their shitbox has meant that now they have to deal with no ac during a heatwave, and even better, now prices have gone even higher then when they were originally quoted. These types of people I have no sympathy for. They insisted on putting their heads in the sand, and even when they have to deal with the consequences of their actions, they refuse to actually deal with the problem. Well guess what? We no longer do the "just top it off" anymore, and now you have to decide between spending even more than you would have a couple years ago on actually dealing with the problem, or just don't have ac.
I’m curious, in case I ever get to buy a home someday. Do places typically do reasonable payment plans? I get the hesitation on the part of these homeowners, but I want way more not to be stuck in that position, so if I do find myself in the position where the tech is telling me the unit is on its way out and I should do it now, I’m hoping like hell that it wouldn’t put a big strain on the wallet.
Many places will have flexible payment or financing, but more than anything, just be reasonable with your expectations. A 20+ year old shitbox with a leak is not worth dumping money into. If it's 13 years or younger, you can explore fixes, but I'm mostly upset with those idiots that have a 30 year old system that they have already dumped refrigerant into twice in the past 3 years, the refrigerant is 2 generations old, and they refuse to believe that prices will go up. Hell, starting next year, we are predicting a price increase as well since that's when the new refrigerant mandates go into affect, and not only is the refrigerant different, but they now require new safety mechanisms to be installed by mandate.
Maybe I’m reading that wrong, but it sounds like you’re saying some places sell used units. My brain does that to me sometimes. You can disregard that or tell me I’m reading that wrong, whichever you want lol. I’m definitely never going to let it get to that point. My thing is just about being able to make that leap financially when it’s time to give up on a “shitbox” lol as you call it. Yeah, what I hate also is a unit with a condensate leak that put a towel under instead of a bowl or bucket or something to catch the water, rather than soak it up, especially over carpet. That sort of temporary solution lasts seconds. Over vinyl or tile, not as big of a deal unless it’s a lot coming out and they wait a long time to say anything. One of the last ones I had, I told her to put a bucket under it. She calls back saying she can’t just turn it off because then it would get hot in her place. Lady, I didn’t tell you to turn it off. You can run it with a leak until the tech gets there to fix it. In fact, I need you to keep it on so I know where the leak is. Just as bad is a unit that is not cooling enough, so they turn it waaaay down (past 70°F). Either it freezes, or simply keeps not cooling down enough. The worst is the ones who expect, after a repair, that it cools right away, then call you right after you leave, angry or confused why it didn’t cool down to the set point in one minute. Which is as bad as keep it set below 70°F on an old unit. Hasn’t happened to me a lot, but there is one guy who did this, who insisted he was right that the system should be able to handle it, and insisted we didn’t know what we were doing. I said no, you absolutely can’t do that, but then he pulls out his “I’ve been doing HVAC for XX years, so I know what I’m talking about” card. Well, KnowItAll Steve gets his way when he complains to management, because they then approved a new condenser install for him. This is in apartment maintenance, by the way, so we have to deal with this kind of politics. Yeah, manager boy, it’s easier for you, because YOU aren’t doing the actual work. Another resident, months prior, threatened to move out after transferring onsite if they didn’t get elongated toilets like they had in the apartment they transferred from. Management gave in then, too, and for the same reason. So the tech (thankfully not me) who had that work order had to replace them because the resident whined, and the manager didn’t want the extra paperwork.
Was it an XL 1200?
Unsure, I'm personally trying to forget it. Was definitely one of the older high efficient tranes though.
You’re the one training him to think this is normal acceptable behavior lol what do you think the other companies said to him??
100% Got to manage your customers. Give them great service in a timely manner, but do it at a cost that you could sustain if you were paying great wages to a tech for after hours work. If the customer is gunna be disappointed, it's best for that to happen on the phonecall rather than at the point where they need to get their checkbook out! Pricing up front, during the initial phonecall, and make sure they know they have to pay even if the unit is too broken to repair.
Time to have "the talk". Even if they do go with another company, you'll have your weekends back and you'll be able to grow your business, too! They will inevitably call you back and when they do, let them know you are not available. Then, block them.
lol those are the best! they walk me through, tell me everything they want, how stupid all the previous owners / builder were, and how everything should be. and they want this done immediately. so i quote them a ridiculous price with details of all the things they will have to repair after we do this thing. they say its ridiculous, they want a discount, i say no, they disappear for a month. then they call back all reasonable and pleasant asking when we can start. oh no maybe the BEST is when they want a duct run inside the wall without cutting the wall open. thats always a good one. 'cant you just slide it in there?' hahaha. no.
>oh no maybe the BEST is when they want a duct run inside the wall without cutting the wall open. thats always a good one. 'cant you just slide it in there?' hahaha. no. 🤣 Some shit you can't make up
he’ll definitely keep doing it
Ain’t nuthin cheap, fast, AND good!
Pick 2
'Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.'
Truer words have never been spoken outside a dildo store
The customer has you well trained. Unless you’re getting paid in gold tell him it’s a Monday problem.
If this is the 3rd time they're calling you after hours then your company didn't hammer them hard enough with the first 2 bills
OP, allow hate into your heart.
hahaha if you want to see some blunt people slapping down some cold hard reality with not a care in the world its experienced nurses and hvac people.
I grew up in Virginia and been here my whole life and I don’t really consider it the south, but it must be because every customer I’ve ever had on the weekend can’t stop thanking me for interrupting my weekend to come help them. I don’t think I’ve ever had a customer upset on the weekend. Just super grateful.
Anyone else tell them “your booked out today” just to void this and talk about how much it it
Stop going then, or charge a weekend fee
I'm on call too, in Nashville. Love the way you worded this, and keep your head up! Stay hydrated. Just walked a tenant through his AC issues over the phone 😅 caked condenser coils with no water access. He owns a wire brush and an impact tho. 😍 Stay hydrated my service brother.
Why don’t you just do good work but take your time? It’ll piss off Mr. Fixit and you get that sweet, sweet OT.
I hate hearing the line “What do you mean I have to pay. The system has a warranty!?” Then I have to explain what the parts warranty is. And of course they never seem to understand why they have to pay labor. I imagine the kitchen is full of paste.
It never ceases to amaze me that clients will bitch and complain about how you don’t have anything available same day, then when you arrive to save the day…they want to dick around on the price. I’ve learned to walk away within 30 seconds if a client wants to haggle about price and give me a hard time.
"as you are not on our preventative maintenance program, Sunday emergency service is $350 cash to come out.
650
950
Its 1045 and Im finally having dinner because of all the damn calls I ran today. By the 8th one I ran at 3pm I stopped giving a fuck. All yall are paying extra for my time because fuck you.
Price according to your willingness to do it. "The price for service today is x. The price for the same service on (pick a day you wanna do it) is y"
Give them 15% discount and charge them $350 service call fee and double your normal weekend rates. But write in big letters 15-20% discount and circle it in red
Whoa! This is ninja weekend pricing... Slice em and dice em 😍
Yep I remember the days. Now retired. I do have Young bucks call me you only have book training and not hands training and I bill them. Sometimes I'll go out for large companies that have chillers after the Young bucks have already screwed them up. Other than that I don't miss the working days.
its good to be king
Comeon!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6s0RU-N1SQ
Any piece of equipment, if it’s older than 20 years old………i tell them I don’t worry on it and it must be replaced. If not then find someone else to work on it. My weekends are too precious to me to come out and work on your POS.
Good, fast, or cheap. They can pick any two.
If the owner of the business subscribes to the “The customer is always right” motto then these are the ensuing issues the techs have to deal with. This is why the customer is not always right.
How about people just take care of their shit they spent a ton of money on!
I am in the industry but not a technician. It may not make me very popular but I often say to the techs that complain about my schedule and income compared to theirs..."You weren't kidnapped, locked up in HVAC school and enslaved into the trade...if you hate the heat if you hate working weekends and you hate dealing with demanding customers you are in the wrong business "🤣
Set your "Emergency"/Weekend callout pricing at a rate that you're happy with, and let the customer decide if they're happy with it as well. If you're not happy with the rates you're charging for this type of call, that is YOUR FAULT. If he's not happy with those rates, he can go somewhere else. Yes, it's the customer's fault that every time he calls you, it's an "emergency" but if you're feeling "screwed" by what those emergency rates are, and the customer still finds it more economical to take your weekends from you than to be proactive in having you perform preventative maintenance on his system, that's on YOU. What's so special about this cheapskate customer who is constantly "screwing you" and doesn't want to pay for your time, that you can't bear to let him go be someone else's problem? Is he your sole customer? Sounds like that's ALSO on you. Time to diversify your workload amongst a broader customer base, if your business relies so heavily on one terrible customer and three whole "emergency" visits in a year, for which you're not even being fairly compensated... Bro, this is definitely your fault. People will treat you how you let them. Time to grow some self-respect, and a spine.
https://preview.redd.it/dj3zkohyz3ad1.jpeg?width=794&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95fc7799c467667b4ea08388429cfc6dfc868a65 I’ll say it again
Your username makes me think of a carb steak
Stop bending over. Or at least ask for lube.
Sounds like you're a bit of a tool for going out on Sunday and not charging accordingly lol
Cheap on weekends is going and not starting the clock at hen you start driving.