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Most N Miami HVAC Companies  Use Flat Rate Pricing Schemes - We Use Hourly Time & Material Here's Why

Why do certain HVAC companies use flat rate pricing, and others use hourly "time and materials" pricing? Lets look at each and you decide which is best for you.

First, what is flat rate pricing? When a technician from a flat rate HVAC company comes to your home or business, you'll likely get a low initial "inspection" fee that is made to sound almost like a tune up or maintenance, and possibly a travel fee. During my time working for flat rate AC companies, they used a 99$ inspection fee and a $40 trip fee. Inspections are the technicians opportunity to walk into your home or office and collect information about the equipment and evaluate what opportunities may exist to upsell the job. Flat rate companies train employees to quote a minimum of 3 things as  upgrades with options presented as "good-better-best". Using multiple price points makes  it more likely that the customer will choose one and gives flexibility to the technician's approach.  The technician will have been trained to include words like "safety issue" or "health concern" and the effect usually leads to a quick sale. Price book's in these companies are built to conceal the hourly rate that is usually so high it would be nearly imposable to sell honestly. Instead, the technician is trained to believe it is  the cost of operation of the company that  requires they sell a minimum amount of hours per day. It is a cardinal rule never to reveal the actual break down of "time or materials" in this bool, but instead,  to sell the idea of a price system that is not based on time but is one "flat rate" for all. They are told to show how it costs the same no matter how long it takes, and explain how it is the same price for everyone.

This sounds good however looking inside one of these price books you will find each task has a time value in hours  sold and  cost of material assigned to it. Every task performed by the company is in the price book. So why cant the flat rate technician reveal the allotted time for a task or its labor cost? It's because the actual hourly rate of most flat rate companies is very high, and customers of these companies would fall over if they knew the hourly rate that this translates into. See, all flat rate technicians have a daily quota of hours they must sell to hit his required sold hours that week, or face certain scrutiny from the service manager. A ride along with the trainer or service manager is scheduled if a the underperforming technician doesn't meet his goal 3 weeks in a row.  The trainer can then observe the interaction between customer and technician. After advising the tech of ways to bring their numbers up, they will likely loose their job if  they can not sell the required minimum amount of hours after a month or so. Conversely, a tech who hits his numbers, is rewarded with bonus pay and profit sharing,  enticing the dishonesty needed for the system to be implemented successfully.

Most of these companies have member plans that claim to offer express service, discounted price points, and yearly visits. It is essential these plans be sold, however, it is not to benefit the customer. In  reality, when a valuation of any service company is done, its value is based on the number of clients it has on retainer, not yearly sales figures. These plans are sometimes referred to as "service contracts" or  "maintenance agreements". The reduced price the plan reports to offer is the companies regular pricing. Without the plan you are actually paying a premium. Don't be fooled. This is just another part of all flat rate companies operational play book. The technician gets a bonus usually if he sells a certain number of these plans weekly, monthly, etc. The air-conditioning service company wont service your account after hours if you don't have a service plan. Possible plan benefits are things like extended warranty or expedited service response time. Every effort is made to get customers on a plan. Without a plan, a customers value to a flat rate company is almost nothing.

I can go on for hours about the structure of these companies, instead, lest now look at "time and material" pricing and it's pro's and cons.

On a time and material system of pricing, an air-conditioning service company will charge a customer for the time it took to perform the task they are there to perform. In addition, the materials are added to this labor cost, and the final bill reflects the individual jobs cost. Customers are given a break down of the companies labor rate and their cost of material, usualy with a mark up of 20-40 percent. Labor is one amount during normal hours , and a higher amount after normal hours or on holidays etc. There is no hiding the reason behind the cost of the job in a rime and material price system. A 2 hour job with a material cost of 50$ is labor rate x 2 + materials. This is as transparent and honest as it gets. Service companies that will not give you this information are not your friend, and may even be the enemy. At 24 Hour AC Repair Miami we charge $90 per hour during the day, and $150 per hour for emergency after hours calls. Our material mark up is 30%. No plan needed. We service all air-conditioning equipment brands in the residential and commercial market of North Miami. If you have any questions about our services or offerings, please call 561-343-9846 24 hours a day 365 days a year. We take pride in our work. We are honest and dependable. Years of experience have made us some of the best HVAC service technicians in the area. Please feel free to call us anytime. If you feel as though you have been paying too much for AC repairs, you probably have. If its been with a flat rate company, maybe you'll enjoy the experience of working with a time and material company like ours. God bless you and your family, please pray for all those affected by the tornadoes and hurricane we just experienced. M Lyons Co Owner www.24-Hour-AC-Repair.com

561-343-9846