Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Fera Technologies

["Vern Green" <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

I think the amount you can charge depends greatly on who your
clientele is. Best Buy is doing pretty good with geek squad, and have
you seen Geek Squad prices?

True, there is little margin in selling hardware, the industry is
service, that is the business my company is in.
http://www.cpisolutions.com/ Granted we are based in California where
there is more money.

In the service industry, it is all about how you treat the customer.
If you have good people and you pay attention to undercommit and
over-deliver, your service based business will flourish. I would also
say, charging $25 dollars per hour for service is actually selling
yourself short, even in Missouri.

Our technicians get charged at over $200 per hour. You might think
that at that price we would be hardpressed to get business. You would
be completely wrong, we are so busy right now we are turning work
away. I think a lot of our business is coming from customers who
started out paying $50 - 65 dollars per hour and found out they were
getting crappy service and solutions that were not up to standards. I
have had a number of customers who I have talked to and given them a
price who thought the price was too high. They went to another
provider and in weeks they would come back to us.

Its all about preceived value, our customers pay us that amount
because they know they are going to get great service and their end
solution is going to work for them.

That brings me to people. You cannot provide that level of service
unless you take care of your people. High employee turnover equals
crappy work as you are always training new people, and the people you
get for that low pay just are not going to have the attitude you need
to create a successful business. It really takes a very special person
who will work for $10 per hour AND perform a quality job for that
price. The old saying, "You get what you pay for" is applicable here.


On 7/14/06, Jerry Gamblin <EMAIL:PROTECTED> wrote:
> > Oh.  Now I remember what that is:
> >
> > https://mlug.missouri.edu/list-archives/discussion/2004-04/msg00434.php3
> >
> > Sorry to hear this.  I hope Mikhail is doing well in whatever he is doing.
> > So maybe he should have gone with "Misha's House of Microchips" after all!
> >
> > Mike
>
> I remember seeing an ad for them that said they were open 24 hours a
> day and figured that had the silliest business idea I had heard in a
> long time. Who is awake at 2:30AM and decides that they need to get
> their computer fixed? It can't be that big of a market.
>
> As for Vern's comment I think that "not specialized computer
> consulting" works on very thin margins with most small business only
> willing to pay at the most $25 an hour for pre-purchased hours and
> $30-$35 for on demand hours. So if you are only charging someone $25
> an hour for a service and they have to keep a business solvent it is
> hard to pay an employee more than $10 an hour (I am not saying it is
> right but it is the market right now).
>
> My experience is that these small computer consulting companies turn
> into "experience mills" for their employees who stay for a year or so
> to build a resume and then move on to a more stable job.
>
> --
> Thanks,
>
> Jerry Gamblin
>
> _______________________________________________
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> EMAIL:PROTECTED
> http://mlug.missouri.edu/mailman/listinfo/discussion


--
Thanks
F Vernon Green

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