Electronics > Repair
Charging by the hour is unfair!
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m k:
My earlier car analogy, passenger and cargo.
Both stop in the middle of a trip.
Passenger car is towed away, but truck service comes to check the cargo vehicle.

The truck service is an independent third party, just a part of a pool of services.
Just like tow truck, a truck service van has a limited operation radius.

If truck is finally towed away what will happen to the cost of truck service?

Other way around.
You bring in a box and ask if it can be fixed.
You expect this looking for an answer is free, for how long, an hour?

The beginning of this thread is very simple.
High expectations and low results.

Many consumer electronics repair shops around here have all kind of labels, big and small, indicating how things are priced.
If I go there I can't guarantee that I see any of them.

Here repair shops used to have some obligations, to give a guarantee of three months for the work they did, to store stuff for three months after they are ready to pick up.
They also had some rights, after three months the ownership of not collected items were shifted.
I predict that those are not less today.
fmashockie:

--- Quote from: SteveThackery on July 07, 2024, 08:48:38 am ---
I'm sorry for being rude, but it really pisses me off to be accused of being a "troll" when I am no such thing.  I am arguing for something I believe in passionately, and every statement I make - including the critical ones - is heartfelt and genuine.

So for those who continue to label me as a troll, kindly piss off. 

The "political" stuff you refer to is completely on-topic. It became clear that the practices most people on the thread find completely normal and acceptable, I find the opposite, and I was wondering if there could be a cultural basis to our different attitudes.

You asked about dollars.  I got the impression that most people in this debate are American, so I used dollars as a small courtesy.

I'm also pissed off by people misrepresenting my position.  I am not advocating open-ended working for free.  I am putting forward an argument that - just as you sometimes expect the customer to pay for nothing*, sometimes it might be morally appropriate for you to work for nothing. This would be rare, but sometimes fair.

(*) And no: the argument that the customer is paying for your labour, not the fruits of your labour, is self-serving and so full of holes it's laughable.  I don't feel the need to spell all that out again for you - we've done it to death.

I hope that has clarified the matters you raised. And again, I'm sorry for being rude, but I am NOT a fucking troll, and if anyone reading this is tempted to accuse me of such, either piss off or try to read and understand what I am actually advocating.

--- End quote ---

Now see had you stuck to being polite, calm, and patient, like you were in this post, I would have gladly entertained this continued discussion without calling you a troll or anything else someone might deem offensive or personal. 

But when you start assuming that because we do not advocate for "no fix, no fee" that we somehow lack empathy for the customer, or that we approve of anyone ripping customers off by selecting any hourly/fixed rate they want without the expertise/skill to back it up, then you're being an asshole.  And that is exactly what you were doing. 

Everyone here (at least from what I read) was already in agreement with you in some respect.  You stated several times that you think "no fix, no fee" is fair as long as the customer is aware beforehand that is a possible outcome.  And that is exactly what people who work independently stated they do!  It wasn't until you started being a dick by putting words in our mouths, quoting/paraphrasing wildly incorrectly, and throwing insults that people started calling you a troll.

I've done this kind of work for over 5 years.  I'm passionate about 'Right to Repair'.  And empowing the customer/end user to fix things themselves.  Thats one of the reasons I started a YouTube channel which has now garnered attention for me to consider taking on some independent business.  Because the repair preventation strategies that equipment manufacturers employ in my industry are absurd and they piss me off.  So to have someone like you assume I don't care or would advocate for ripping the customer off when I am diametrically opposed to that, really pisses me off.  That is why I take it personal.


--- Quote from: SteveThackery on July 07, 2024, 08:48:38 am ---You asked about dollars.  I got the impression that most people in this debate are American, so I used dollars as a small courtesy.

--- End quote ---

You do realize that there's a little flag next to each member's name with the country they are from?  I see people from the UK, Australia,  Netherlands, and Germany all in disagreement with you.  So not sure how you arrived at that conclusion. 
fmashockie:
In addition to that, I can't help but think your reason for starting this thread was a little bit personal because it was I who renewed a thread called 'How much should I charge my customers for component level repair?' asking for advice on going into business as a private entity.  And shortly after that, you started this thread.

This is from a quote for an OEM in my industry for repair of a piece of lab equipment:


* Base charge, 6 hrs labor/travel $3246.00
* Fine Print: If additional time or materials are needed based on findings while on site the purchase purchase order amount will need to be increased accordingly before further work is performed
So that is what my competition charges.  And they don't even do component level PCB repair.  They just swap boards.  I'll go head-to-head with the OEMs any day.  With half the resources.  So yes, I do think I'm worth the hourly rates I am considering charging privately.
PlainName:

--- Quote ---You do realize that there's a little flag next to each member's name with the country they are from?
--- End quote ---

And fmashockie is your real name.

Let's not be too naive about the answers to arbitrary privacy-intrusive questions.
fmashockie:

--- Quote from: PlainName on July 07, 2024, 01:15:07 pm ---
--- Quote ---You do realize that there's a little flag next to each member's name with the country they are from?
--- End quote ---

And fmashockie is your real name.

Let's not be too naive about the answers to arbitrary privacy-intrusive questions.

--- End quote ---

actually mashockie is the phonetic spelling of my last name.  And f stands for Frank, my first name.  So yea it kinda is.  Also, if you think incorrectly picking what country you're from on this website is some concrete way to maintain your privacy, I would think that the definition of niave.
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