If a customer requests that the work be performed on the weekend do you charge a higher rate ? I had a customer today ask when I could come out. I said, "Wednesday, 7am" She said no one would be home. "How about Saturday or Sunday ?", she asks.

So now I am scheduled for a Saturday at her house.

Opinions ?


[This message has been edited by sparky 134 (edited 11-22-2005).]

[This message has been edited by sparky 134 (edited 11-22-2005).]

Double the weekday price, that will get them to take off a Wed. morning.
If she wants someone to do work on a Sunday tell her that you are not a "moonlighter"

[This message has been edited by andyp95 (edited 11-22-2005).]

I think time & 1/2 would be fair. I don't think I have ever done it, but I haven't worked a Saturday in .... I can't remember when.......a year or two? I put in enough hours M-F.

I have had people ask me before, but I always tell them Sat. isn't an option. I may have offered 1.5 rate but I can't remember, if I did they must have opted for weekday.

As a matter of policy if you want offer Sat at reg. rates you could probably drum up some pretty good business, especially from those double income families, but just make sure you take a weekday off to make up for it. My kids aren't in school yet, so I wouldn't miss time with them. But if working Sat. means your customer is taking time from the kids, it better be worth it.

I wonder how many of your customers. would be willing to work on a sat for stright time?

Set your dispatch fee higher on the weekends and evenings. Assures you the clients you will see are qualified.

Offer your customers service agreements. This is a way to show the customer how to spend the least amount of money possible on the call, and also comes with a lot of benefits. One of them is no holiday or overtime surcharges. Some people prefer to just pay the double time on Saturday. Present the options, let them decide.

I personally prefer to catch calls on Saturday. Spouces are home, they're in a much better mood, they're impressed you showed up on time, and on and on. Saturday is a great day for service. My techs want the day off, so I don't force them, but I will run calls every Saturday. Its a great advantage to reach your goals.

Some People might feel I'm a "moonlighter" or I'm "undercutting the trade"; but I do work full time for a large commercial EC plus I work part time for myself doing Electrical work. I Do have my License , I do Have insurance, I do Pull permits, I will NOT cut corners, and as far as my rate, I am right in line with the local EC's and even higher then some so I don't feel I'm undercutting them. The difference is I do work on Saturdays to accomadate the customer. I live in an area that is two income and these people would rather pay higher to have it done on Saturday so as not to miss work. I am making extra house payments and putting away for the day when I call it quits. Besides I feel the company I work for full time is on the short list, right now we are on top of the world with work but Theres changes brewing in the managment and I feel the company will be going down in the next five years so I getting a jump on going my way.
Like Wilkie says " it's a great advantage to reach your goals"
This type of approach gets you alot of "word of mouth" work.

The company I work for charges double time for 'premium time' which is pretty much all time outside of 7 to 3:30 weekdays. Combine that with a 4 hour minimum, truck charges, mileage etc. and I think it becomes obvious we do not make 'house calls'.

We do a lot of premium time work but only for customers that can afford it.

I have no problem working saturdays. I charge my customers for an eight hour day, work until about 1:00 PM and cash is the only accepted form of payment. It's all about the sacrafice. I sacrafice my family time and they sacrafice more money.
Jim