Got handed a memo on rate changes sent to a member of my family who works at a property management company... sent from a contractor (medium/large shop, I figure it would be bad form to name them here..) they use for some of their electrical service work on the houses they manage. How do these rates sound? By the way the reason for the rate changes, according to the memo, is due to rising fuel prices.. How many of you independent guys have felt the squeeze for long enough and have found you have to raise your rates? Are you just rinding out the fever of these high gas prices, expecting that sometime in the near future they will come back down from the stratosphere? This is the first rate increase I have heard of, but I am wondering if it isn't the first pinhole in the dike for all the shops in this area.. anyway, on to the memo (excerpts quoted for brevity's sake):

Journeyman level electricians will be charged at $85.00/hr and Apprentices will be charged at $70.00/hr.....there is a minimum charge for each call of $300.00...Any service call over a 100 mile radius (round trip) from the shop will be charged and additional $0.48 per mile for each mile over the allotted 100 mile range.. Service call rates will be charged from portal to portal.. from and back to the shop.....

Any service that is an emergency(unscheduled)... will be charged at a rate of $127.50/hr for the Journeyman and $105.00 per hour for an Apprentice... minimum charge for each call of $400.00...

.. Any work that goes beyond 8hrs up to 12hrs will be charged at $127.50 and $105.00 per hr. respectively....Any emergency call that runs beyond 8 hrs and up to 12 hrs will be charged at $170.00 and $140.00 respectively..Any calls.. that run beyond 12 hrs will be charged double their normal rates...

trollog, I find that quite interesting and helpful.

I assume that the prices you posted are for the San Diego area. Is this in the city or surrounding burbia?

If it is for the city, it would seem cheap to me.

If for suburbia, someone could calculate the cost of living, population density, and so on, and compare to the area that they are in. From there, you may be able to establish some type of "going rate" to be charging and not be out of line, or too cheap.

Dnk......

[This message has been edited by Dnkldorf (edited 10-10-2005).]

for where they are located in the county, the regular prices would apply to ~50% of the county which would be city and suburbs mostly.

Maybe electricians are finally starting to charge some reasonable rates!!

This is a skilled trade, and we should be paid as such.

Peter

well I was also wondering how many of you out there have had to increase your rates because of the high cost of gas. Whats been your bet? Wait for the high prices to come down or assume that these prices we've been paying are more or less here to stay. Also, does the $300.00 just to show up at the door seem a bit steep?

This is a skilled trade, and we should be paid as such. <-- I agree with you totally, especially on the service calls where most of the time you never know what mess you are going to find on the other side of that door..