The journey from there to here
Published on March 23, 2007 By Gideon MacLeish In Misc

A friend of mine presented me with a situation. Basically they have an employee who MUST learn basic computer skills that are lacking in order to retain their job. They asked me what I would charge for instructing that individual, I quoted a price of $25 for an hour's session, and I would charge less for additional hours if followup instruction was needed. I could tell they weren't crazy about the price, but I've learned to put a value on my time, and that hour's instruction must take into account transportation time and preparation time, which, in my opinion, make the offer a value.

On another thread someone asked about setting up someone's wireless service with third party hardware, and I explained the pitfalls. The individual wants to avoid paying $100 labor to the contractor the ISP uses. A $100 labor charge that, in my opinion, is also a value.

It is interesting that people will foot $65 an hour on up for a mechanic that demands they deliver their vehicle to the worksite, yet flinch at paying similar costs for PC repair that is ONSITE. The IT pro has similar costs to the mechanic's: we, too, must pay for tools, certifications, and must keep current with the newest technology. Yet the mechanic's time is more valued.

The person who wrote the article that started me thinking about this was certainly thinking; at least by asking, they are potentially avoiding pitfalls, but they may well be getting into it over their heads. Can they make a patch cable? Can they make a crossover if needed? Can they make them well enough that they won't have crosstalk issues once the cable is made? Can they crimp coax cables for an antenna? Can they find the best signal or the best tower with which to associate? These are all things they are buying with their $100 payment; someone who is already prepared to handle these things.

I'm the world's biggest cheapskate. But I came to realize long ago that sometimes being a cheapskate means you look for the best deal, which is not necessarily the lowest financial cost.


Comments
on Mar 23, 2007
I don't mind paying people for services. A couple years ago my PC got a virus, and for $100 someone came to my house and picked up my PC, repaired it, and returned my PC back to me.

That $100 saved me a lot of money in the long run and was *well* worth it.

LOL, I'm lazy and generally incompetent and would much rather just pay someone else and let them do things for me.

The only exception is child care. No one is more qualified than me to care for my children.
on Mar 24, 2007
They need to balance paying you $25/hour with the alternatives. They can either have another employee train this person (which would cost them the total of paying wages, benefits and taxes for both per hour); they could send her to get qualified through actual education and training (which would cost a bundle but also give them another qualified tech as an asset); or they could pay you (or some other "contract" help who comes in lower on the offer. The other option is let her go and hire someone with the qualifications they need... this is probably the most expensive option.

Either way you are offering the lowest cost they are apt to find for the training needed. If they balk at $25/hr to train her they are pennywise but pound foolish. Every hour they pay her before she is trained is basically wasted money.
on Mar 24, 2007
In my experience people will pay almost any amount of money for an "IT pro" who has no certifications but works for the local "PC Professional" (or some such name) shop; and who ten goes on to fix the problems that I would have expected with a PC bought in that same screwdriver shop.
on Mar 24, 2007
There's an old story about a guy who had a factory and how one day one of his machines broke down and production came to a screeching halt. The factory owner rushes to a phone and calls a mechanic, a guy known for his expertise in this particular piece of machinery. So the mechanic shows up, goes to the machine causing all the trouble, looks at it, and then opens his tool box and removes a hammer. With one strike he hits the machine in a certain place and the machine fires up and runs great! The mechanic then submits his bill and it totals three hundred dollars.
"What!" the factory owner hollars. "Three hundred dollars! Just for one tap with a hammer???"
The mechanic then takes the bill and tears it up and rights another one. This time it says:

Tap with hammer: $1.00
Knowing where to tap: $299.00

on Mar 24, 2007
$25 an hour to TEACH someone? You're charging way too less my friend...
on Mar 24, 2007

$25 an hour to TEACH someone? You're charging way too less my friend

No, I'm trying to offer it at an attractive rate, that's all. When this was suggested, I thought "what's the least amount of money I could justify rolling out of bed in the morning on my day off to help someone with their computer", and $25 was the figure I came up with. I could charge more, sure, but I'd rather establish a reputation first.

on Mar 25, 2007

$25 an hour to TEACH someone? You're charging way too less my friend...

I agree!  WHile not teaching, I am charging $65/hr, and my professional friends say I am too cheap!

Remember, out of that $25 you have to pay all your benefits and the employer part of the tax.  So the net rate to you is only about $18 or less.

on Mar 25, 2007

Remember, out of that $25 you have to pay all your benefits and the employer part of the tax. So the net rate to you is only about $18 or less.

There's a difference between a side job and a FT income.

I wouldn't post a shingle at that rate, but I would do it for a friend.

on Mar 25, 2007

There's a difference between a side job and a FT income.

Uncle SAM does not differentiate.

on Mar 25, 2007
I have a good knowledge of how a car works. I also have good knowledge of how a PC works. If I can't fix either, I am happy to pay for someone who knows what they're doing to fix it. I appreciate the time these folk put in to staying on top of their game.

On the other hand, if were to charge for my services, particularly for someone I know, I wouldn't be charging them top rates.
on Mar 25, 2007
On the other hand, if were to charge for my services, particularly for someone I know, I wouldn't be charging them top rates.


That's what I'm saying. Friends get a premium rate.

They're right about my time, certainly. And if I were doing this regularly, you bet my pay scale would go up. But for a friend, I give a premium.
on Mar 26, 2007
But for a friend, I give a premium


Isn't there as saying that goes "You don't make money off family or friends unless you don't want to keep them." I remember my father saying this, I think. I guess the point is if they're friends, a discount or something in trade shows respect for the friendship.
on Mar 26, 2007
I think Gid $25 an hour is more than a fair price. As for giving friends a break even that has to be monitored. We've had friends and relatives take advantage of us more than a few times. If you have alot of friends and relatives in need of your services, you'll never get ahead and it can get hard to break free of them.

We used to do alot of free tax returns. We did many individuals for over 10 years for free. Most of the time we only heard from our relatives at tax time just before they sent up their taxes, with maybe a thank you coming our way but nothing else, not even a card. After doing this about 10 years, even mailing their out of state taxes back to them at our costs, we told them we were going to impose a $50 charge to offset our expenses. Guess what? Some of them decided they could do their own!!! No hard feelings just decided they could save the $50. Good grief. Maybe we should have imposed that small fee from the get go.

I would never take advantage of any friend or relative. If we have anyone do anything for us, even move furniture I at the very least would give them some homemade goodies such as fudge or maybe a gift certificate at a nearby restaurant or pizza parlor. Just a little something even to show appreciation.