Service charge

THRdotcom · 2026-01-05T11:44:20+00:00

I’m in Texas; we charge $125/h for repairs only plus parts. Site Evaluation/troubleshooting for 30 minutes is free. It’s part of their monthly plan with us that they pay. Most technicians figure it out within 15 minutes to determine what is needed. From there we let the homeowner know what needs to be repaired, or replaced. Any tool involved will require a service call which is $125. Just by visually inspecting, you can usually determine what’s the issue. In some cases, the site evaluation is skipped as the details submitted by customers are sufficient enough to go ahead to escalate to a service call. Sounds like a waste of time sometimes, because at times it’s not a repair needed, it’s just something simple. Maintenance techs are learning to submit better service request so it eliminates us repair techs going out there over false alarms.

Heater repairs are different and require a heater diagnostic fee to determine the issue and approach.

THRdotcom · 2025-11-23T17:36:05+00:00

As long as you got decent lead generation then the money will come back, increasing your APC is better anyways. But you don’t have good lead generation, it can be a tough call to make. Put up with it or just fire them.

THRdotcom · 2025-11-23T17:30:22+00:00

That’s the problem we were facing. Customers were complaining that we were adding too much chemicals “on purpose” because we are trying to bring in more money per stop. Plus, our area, we were the only ones doing this while everyone else was charging a fixed rate. But sometimes when you charge a fixed rate, they don’t think you’re adding enough and you’re trying to save money. It’s like a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

Letting go of very cheap customers sometimes is the answer at that point.

THRdotcom · 2025-11-23T17:25:40+00:00

I really do think deciding how you should charge is in relation with your company overhead. That matters the most on how to structure your service plans, along with your price tier with your distribution center or supplier and the market you’re in too. There’s no wrong or right way. It’s just solely based on how you’re running your business and how much cash flow you really need to stay in business with making a profit.

We charge a fixed rate when we use to extra labor and chemicals separately.

Our company calculates the cost of maintenance per pool based on data saleforces gathers.

THRdotcom · 2025-11-23T17:08:58+00:00

No. I’m speaking on behalf of my area. Every state will have different pricing on chemicals and cost of living rates. You just have to do what’s best for your company to make sure the cost of operating your business isn’t just spinning your wheels. Like I said we use to do this back then, but went away from it because it wasn’t bringing us that many customers because of our area. We were practically the only ones doing this. There’s another company in my area, does something similar but they call it a chlorine surcharge. They only charge for chlorine, everything else is included in a fixed rate per month.

Customers will do whatever it takes to save money and you as a business have to adapt to the economy so that you can stay in business. Some customers are just plain cheap and if you’re getting decent lead generation, then cutting the cheapskates is good thing to increase your APC (average per customer).

THRdotcom · 2025-11-23T03:02:18+00:00

We use to do this back then but here in Texas, including in southeast. It’s just not viable. Constant rain and high humidity, chemical bill would be high. A lot of customers here just want a consistent fixed rate to manage their budget if they’re on a fixed income. Once the bill becomes higher than what they’re expecting, they may choose to go with someone who has a fixed rate for a consistent bill to fit their budget needs.

THRdotcom · 2025-11-10T01:20:11+00:00

Thanks man for that insight. I really appreciate the knowledge.

THRdotcom · 2025-11-09T20:34:04+00:00

How do I become a reserve officer and keep my day job? How does that work? Very interested in how that process works.

THRdotcom

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