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Over the years I have been in business, I have tossed around several types of service agreements and plans but one plan that has always impressed me is the “FLAT RATE” Plan. And to tell the truth, it has impressed my customers as well. Here is how that works: First decide what your time is worth. Actually what I’m trying to get at is what would you charge for a “normal” service call? Most service calls last about (on average) one and a half to two hours. With the Xerox® Docutech, the average service call is about 90 minutes. At my rate of $ 150.00 per hour (time and material call), it would bill out at $ 225.00 plus parts. Ok, you have a starting point here, so lets say that you will do a service call on a Xerox® Docutech for $ 225.00 (plus parts). And we know that the average service call usually lasts between 1.5 to two hours on the Docutech, so you should have the problem resolved by then or at least be on the right track. So, my hypothesis is: if after one and a half hours you resolve a customer’s problem, you have made your money. Ok, some electrical problems could add more time to your call, but on average the calls are about 1.5 hours in length, and that’s what the customer wants to hear. Hey it’s a number, and when the customer has an approximate number, they can deal with that. Trust me on that one. In my experience, I was introduced to this product in 1985, and truthfully I still discover things that I never saw in the field as a Field engineer working for the Manufacturer. And the reason is quite simple: the family of copiers and printers was never expected to last for 20 years. And here we are almost 2008. So, it’s conceivable that things will “pop up” in areas we never expected.
The “Flat Rate” service call charge can be almost any number that you find comfortable working with. I have used the $ 225.00 number as a guideline. If the service call has to be broken for parts or supplies then the continuation service call would be an additional $ 225.00. Customers are always concerned about continuation calls for parts or supplies that have to be installed by the ISO. I would treat it as a regular service call at your posted rates. Your actual rates could be a lot more or a lot less; It’s your bottom line that counts. And sometimes you have to experiment with some numbers to see what your market will accept and / or reject. One of the things that made me think about pricing was the local Ford dealership close to my office. His labor, as it turned out charged $ 95.00 per hour plus parts. So if you have to travel to your customer and service his copier / printer, then it is conceivable that $ 95.00 per hour is not excessive (in the NYC tri-state area). What does your local new car dealer charge for hourly service?
The “Flat Rate” per service call has been somewhat of a success for me in the sense that customers know what the service call will be before they actually call me. What they don’t know is what parts might be needed to complete the repair. It’s something they can live with when they project expenses for repair. I think that the most important aspect of dealing with vendors (in the customers eye) is trying to determine what the service call will be. I think that might be on the mind of the decision maker most of the time when dealing with any vendor that offers service to any equipment that they have on premises.
The last plan “C” is something that was introduced to me about three years ago by a fellow (ISO) in the west and it had to do with timeshares. At first I did not pay any attention to it because it did not fit neatly into my plan, but gradually I looked at it from a different perspective and saw things that caught my attention.
“TIME SHARES”
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