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Question about charging customers for onsite visits vs remote fixes

I went to a client's office last week in downtown Austin to fix a network switch that was dropping packets. Got there, found out it was just a loose cable. Charged them $150 for the onsite visit. My buddy says I should have done it remote first and saved them the money. But I think onsite builds trust shows you're serious. Which side do you lean on for situations like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_jones3914d ago

Ask your buddy if he's ever had a client who needed hand holding and just wouldn't trust a voice on the phone. I've dealt with two different owners in the last month who straight up said "I don't get tech stuff, I need you here so I can watch you do it." Do you think those clients are gonna pay you for a remote fix and actually feel like you solved their problem?

charles_henderson14d ago

I charged a client $75 for a remote fix last month that took ten minutes, and they were happier than if I had shown up in person. You came across as the guy who bills for driving time and pretending to look busy. Do you really think a client feels "trust" when you charge them $150 for wiggling a cable? You could have walked them through checking that over the phone in five minutes flat. Now they're going to tell their buddies "this guy charges a fortune for nothing" instead of "this guy saved me money." Your buddy is right, you should have tried remote first and only gone onsite if that failed.