u/Ok_Cardiologist1183

Landline phone has not worked for almost 3 weeks. Noisy line, no dial tone. Took a week from when I first requested a repair ticket for the first available date which was a Friday. Tech didn’t show up, rescheduled for the following Monday, that was also a no show. Picked the next soonest date which is Monday. Then found a customer service number and called it and a live agent answered right away. She proceeded to tell me that the approx $130 per month we’ve been paying is way more than it should be. You have to call in yearly or so to get them to knock the price down or they’ll automatically overcharge. Then says they’re short handed on techs and there’s no guarantee one will show up. Started the process of sending a box that will run off cellular towers which needs to be plugged in to electrical power. Is this what we’re left with? I’m not convinced that this new system is better than a landline if they would repair it.

I’ve been doing small engine repairs out of my garage for a few years. Not full time by any means, word or mouth advertising. Basically the guy down the road that can fix it. I’ve been having trouble coming up with fair pricing on labor. I’ve been charging $50/hr which is probably less than I could be. Something’s it seems like if I bill out actual time at $50/hr it wouldn’t be feasible to repair the piece. Some weed eaters, cheap push mowers etc. Others seem like the job can be completed quick enough I’m underselling my skill. Example, just replaced blades and spindles on a Deere rider. I had the deck off, washed, parts changed and deck reinstalled in about an hour and 20 minutes. $66 labor seems less than most would charge for such a job? Raise the rate, or would a flat rate per job type system work better? What is a typical charge for such job?

I’ve been doing repairs out of my garage for a few years now kind of a side hustle type gig. Majority of the work is small engines, riding mowers, push mowers, 2 cycle equipment. But also have done some automotive and farm equipment repairs. Word of mouth for locals, been wondering if I’m cutting myself short on pricing. I’ve been pricing at $50/hr. Some stuff it seems like I could increase that, others seem like charging too much wouldn’t make the repair worthwhile. Recently I serviced a pressure washer, replaced the hose and pump. Total bill was $250, seems like you can’t charge too much more when the entire pressure washer can be bought new for $4-500. On the other hand I just replaced deck spindles and blades on a John Deere E130 riding mower. Took a little less than 1.5 hrs to complete. $75 seems like quite a bit less than a shop is going to charge? I have for the most part the same repeat customers, a few times have been asked if that was all I wanted $$ wise. Not looking to turn away work, looking for opinions I guess.