I have walked away after a T&M job shaking my head at all the money I didn't make.
Leland, if it is any consolation, I have walked away after some flat rate calls shaking my head at all the money I didn't make either. It doesn't always work out, but by far it does based on percentages of times it does. Trick is do not "flat rate" at only what you think it will take to do the job and make a profit at it. Figure the worst case scenerio into it and flat rate based on that. Then you start making money at flat rate cause it will even out the ones you don't figure enough time into to get it done right and to super service. One thing about that Charlie Greer article , If you drop your trip charge and then bury it back into the primary task, isn't that the same thing as "free estimate" when in fact you end up charging for that free estimate in price of the job....
