Hal, you are right about not trying to compete with handymen ( you can't, they don't have any overhead ). I think that learjet may be talking about certain commercial customers where you have to give T&M pricing up front before you can even get on the job. That's not really a problem if you keep your hourly pricing high. Then you add travel & administrative and late fees. I think most of these places are trying to keep you from working 30 minutes and sending in a $900.00 invoice. I make it clear up front that there is a 2 hr. minimum plus any fees but it's a lot better than them thinking that I'll charge what ever I want. Some of these places want a cap on price without authorization from the top. I don't see this as a problem, while they are making a decision , you are on the clock. If you need to come back, then that is a seperate service call. The customer needs to know that you are always using standard business practices for the industry.
