After Hours Charges?

When a poster asks about the appropriate surcharge for emergency service, pumpers reply that time is worth money, especially when a job takes you away from family.

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Question:

What is your surcharge for after-hours or Saturday and Sunday pumping? I don't have a surcharge for Saturday because I'm always pumping on Saturdays. But I do on Sundays and after hours. After 5 p.m. I charge an extra $75. People tell me that's not enough. I know all the big outfits around me are at $100 to $125.

Answers:

Wow. We only charge $50 extra. Most times when faced with the additional $50, people can wait until business hours. Sometimes I don't think $75 is enough. But I guess it all depends on the area where you live.

A guy called me on a Sunday and asked for me to come out. I told him it would be an extra $75. He said OK. When I got to his house, he wouldn't let me on the driveway. I had to pump it from the street and used all 180 feet of hose. It would have been about 30 feet if I used the driveway. I wish I told him $175.

We have tiered pricing based on time of the night, holidays, etc. It's $50 extra after 5 p.m. weeknights and all day Sunday, $65 past 9 p.m., and $75 to $100 on holidays. A year or two ago people didn't want to pay it, but now people are complaining a lot less. Signs of a rebounding economy, maybe.

We charge $75 after hours and weekends, $100 on holidays. Most of the time the customer will wait until the next day if it's after hours. On weekends they usually pay. A couple companies here don't charge extra, but I think it's worth a little more to be working in the dark or on weekends. We are in this to make money.

Customers do not like to pay surcharges anymore than we like to pay airlines for our luggage. Over the past 40 years, I can count on one hand the customers I helped out on an after-hours emergency who ever called me back. Most just went back to their regular pumper who they could not reach the day they called me.

It's better to get their name and address, tell them you would really like to help them but your trucks are full and you cannot service anyone until the plant opens so you can dump. Then send them a card or letter a year or two later reminding them they should have service to avoid the same situation. I know this goes against the grain of everything you read regarding acquiring more work, but this is the way to go. I already put in at least 10 hours a day, sometimes six days a week. I value my time off to spend with my family.

If you're considering whether you should charge extra, the chances are pretty good you should adjust your price to change your frame of mind. If you're not charging enough so that you're ready to go whenever the phone rings, you should! Now in the extreme, say 2-3 a.m. or Christmas Day, I always give a flat price, and it's naturally very inflated. My personal method has always been to give them a flat price big enough that I would jump at the chance to go and if they turned me down, do it cheaper during
regular hours.

Unlike some pumpers, I absolutely love getting these calls. Some of my most loyal customers came from such situations. I have several restaurants that quit the guy that wouldn't come and pay my rate because I saved them in a moment they will never forget! I also work for a large corporation that was stopped up and shut their whole plant down until I got their problem solved. Today I take in over $100,000 per year just for monthly work I do for them! I service more than a few nursing homes because they had problems and their guy wouldn't come. My very best jobs all came from places that needed immediate service and I filled that need.

Have you ever wondered why one guy charges a cheap price and the next guy charges twice as much for the exact same job and gets the higher price? He asked for it! Yes, it really is that simple. I built my company from the ground up and struggled for many years until I finally realized this.

Outside of normal hours, never be afraid to ask for a reasonable surcharge. If your customer base does not like surcharges, quote a flat rate including the "surcharge." The call met with the response, "that is too much money" is probably not one I want to answer. If the phone rings at midnight, it is normally someone who needs service and hang the cost. I see an emergency job as an opportunity to make a long-term customer.



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