I can't really say that I can find anything 'wrong' with someone charging higher rates than another.
"Flat rate" isn't about a price being high or low; all a 'flat rate' means is that the job will be accomplished for the same price, no matter what. That is, you'll charge a set price, without regard for how long, what parts, or what complications you encounter. It's the end result that counts ... job done, a set amount is due.
Customer service is another animal completely. The customer has to pay for a lot of invisible things ... like the hours you're not working, and the support you need to be able to operate outside 'normal' hours. The customer has also sacrificed the main leverage he might have: steady, repeat business, with a proven prompt payment record.
One thing most often overlooked by the customer is that those truly good at what they do make it look easy.
So you come out at the most inconvenient time, quickly find the problem, fix it promptly because you have the necessary parts on the truck ... all on the chance that you'll actually get paid when you're done.
That the customer sees you on site, actually working for 30 minutes, then leads to this line of thought on the customers' part: "Let's see, he worked 1/2 hour, I get paid $20/ hr, the parts cost $5 at Home Depot .... so the bill should be $15."
It just isn't right for such competence to be punished. Yet, somehow the customer thinks that the guy who spent three hours chasing false trails is somehow worthy of six times the pay. After all, the dolt was there six times as long!
Now, the matters of charging for unnecessary work, or work that is not performed, are something entirely different.
Different 'flat rate guides' are nothing more than attempts to distribute your expenses over the customers who use certain services. For example, a higher rate when using the scaffold than when using a ladder may seem silly - except that scaffolds cost money, and the job gets done a lot faster.
If I have any problem with these schedules at all, it is that the customer has NO need to know how you arrived at your price. The last thing you need is for him to start dissecting your methodology. The focus should be on the end result alone.
