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Setting a benchmark at your company will increase the number of satisfied customers By Glenn Mellors
24
Plumbing & HVAC – July/August 2020
For nearly 25 years now flat rate pricing systems have been “inching” their way into our service world. “Inching” being a play on words. For contractors in Ontario, the name Gerald Inch, of Roy Inch and Sons Service Experts, London, Ont., is synonymous with flat rate service pricing. Roy Inch’s pricing system was my first exposure; however, I am sure there must have been other pioneers in the creation of such systems. In my 40-plus years in the industry, I have found two things that are common when I speak to HVAC business owners: 1) They want to price every job themselves down to the smallest nuts and bolts; and 2) They still want
to shop around to buy the least expensive nuts and bolts. It is here where we devalue our own worth and that of the company; it is also here where we build a culture with our staff that price means everything. Now, I am not saying that price is not important; what I mean to say is that great service for a fair price is even more important when it comes to building a profitable company. Your time is too valuable to be pricing service work orders and trying to save 10 cents on an elbow. Efficiency and profitability are further compromised when your field staff are all doing the same thing, pricing and shopping for parts.
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