Asked by employer to look at my call out charge?
Discussion
This is an odd one for me, since I'm a bit dippy on the subject.
I'm a freelance AV tech (big screens, PA, LED walls, etc). I have a flat day rate for all work. If I do a 6hr install down the road or if I do a 5 minute repair job at the other end of the country; I charge the same. Obviously if the job is out of town then I charge mileage too. I don't charge hourly, and the only time my rate changes is if I end up pulling a 15hr day into the night and deem it reasonable to charge a day and a half.
Anyway. I do a lot of work for one particular company. They've been using me for about 18 months. They were actually my main source of income last year which is why I'm troubled by what was said to me. I got a call on Saturday afternoon asking if I could head up to Birmingham (I'm on the south coast) that night for a very quick repair job. The site is open to the public during the day, so I had to get there for around 11pm. I said sure and thought nothing else of it.
I went to their office to pick up the necessary bits, and I get asked about my call out fee? I said I don't know what you mean, I always charge the same, you know this. In this instance, it's nothing to do with the 10 minute repair job, it's more to do with the 5-6hrs I'll be spending driving through the night. He said he'd email me about it after the weekend.
I'm just a bit miffed. What was he getting at? Should I be charging more because it was a last minute call out for night work? Or should I be charging less because it was only 10 minutes work?
I'm a freelance AV tech (big screens, PA, LED walls, etc). I have a flat day rate for all work. If I do a 6hr install down the road or if I do a 5 minute repair job at the other end of the country; I charge the same. Obviously if the job is out of town then I charge mileage too. I don't charge hourly, and the only time my rate changes is if I end up pulling a 15hr day into the night and deem it reasonable to charge a day and a half.
Anyway. I do a lot of work for one particular company. They've been using me for about 18 months. They were actually my main source of income last year which is why I'm troubled by what was said to me. I got a call on Saturday afternoon asking if I could head up to Birmingham (I'm on the south coast) that night for a very quick repair job. The site is open to the public during the day, so I had to get there for around 11pm. I said sure and thought nothing else of it.
I went to their office to pick up the necessary bits, and I get asked about my call out fee? I said I don't know what you mean, I always charge the same, you know this. In this instance, it's nothing to do with the 10 minute repair job, it's more to do with the 5-6hrs I'll be spending driving through the night. He said he'd email me about it after the weekend.
I'm just a bit miffed. What was he getting at? Should I be charging more because it was a last minute call out for night work? Or should I be charging less because it was only 10 minutes work?
CasuallyDressed said:
This is an odd one for me, since I'm a bit dippy on the subject.
I'm a freelance AV tech (big screens, PA, LED walls, etc). I have a flat day rate for all work. If I do a 6hr install down the road or if I do a 5 minute repair job at the other end of the country; I charge the same. Obviously if the job is out of town then I charge mileage too. I don't charge hourly, and the only time my rate changes is if I end up pulling a 15hr day into the night and deem it reasonable to charge a day and a half.
Anyway. I do a lot of work for one particular company. They've been using me for about 18 months. They were actually my main source of income last year which is why I'm troubled by what was said to me. I got a call on Saturday afternoon asking if I could head up to Birmingham (I'm on the south coast) that night for a very quick repair job. The site is open to the public during the day, so I had to get there for around 11pm. I said sure and thought nothing else of it.
I went to their office to pick up the necessary bits, and I get asked about my call out fee? I said I don't know what you mean, I always charge the same, you know this. In this instance, it's nothing to do with the 10 minute repair job, it's more to do with the 5-6hrs I'll be spending driving through the night. He said he'd email me about it after the weekend.
I'm just a bit miffed. What was he getting at? Should I be charging more because it was a last minute call out for night work? Or should I be charging less because it was only 10 minutes work?
Did he say "now, about your - cough - call out fee"? I'm a freelance AV tech (big screens, PA, LED walls, etc). I have a flat day rate for all work. If I do a 6hr install down the road or if I do a 5 minute repair job at the other end of the country; I charge the same. Obviously if the job is out of town then I charge mileage too. I don't charge hourly, and the only time my rate changes is if I end up pulling a 15hr day into the night and deem it reasonable to charge a day and a half.
Anyway. I do a lot of work for one particular company. They've been using me for about 18 months. They were actually my main source of income last year which is why I'm troubled by what was said to me. I got a call on Saturday afternoon asking if I could head up to Birmingham (I'm on the south coast) that night for a very quick repair job. The site is open to the public during the day, so I had to get there for around 11pm. I said sure and thought nothing else of it.
I went to their office to pick up the necessary bits, and I get asked about my call out fee? I said I don't know what you mean, I always charge the same, you know this. In this instance, it's nothing to do with the 10 minute repair job, it's more to do with the 5-6hrs I'll be spending driving through the night. He said he'd email me about it after the weekend.
I'm just a bit miffed. What was he getting at? Should I be charging more because it was a last minute call out for night work? Or should I be charging less because it was only 10 minutes work?
Perhaps he is looking for a drink? Have you given him any, er, presents yet?
The Mad Monk said:
Did he say "now, about your - cough - call out fee"?
Perhaps he is looking for a drink? Have you given him any, er, presents yet?
Now that honestly didn't even occur to me. If all he wants is some booze as a thank you then fair play, I can do that. But tbh he is a very straight shooter and it seems out of character for him to ask for anything in return.Perhaps he is looking for a drink? Have you given him any, er, presents yet?
I'll bear this one in mind though
When do you normally get requests for work scheduled?
Perhaps their service schedule with the customer has call-out charges and they are looking to charge these or add margin?
They are also perhaps looking to mitigate any mis-match between what they charge the customer and what you as the sub-contractor charge as everyone knows the customer task to the person on-site.
Perhaps their service schedule with the customer has call-out charges and they are looking to charge these or add margin?
They are also perhaps looking to mitigate any mis-match between what they charge the customer and what you as the sub-contractor charge as everyone knows the customer task to the person on-site.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff