Is it just me or?

[Ricco1]

If you meet another liveaboard, have a chinwag, find out that they earn their living from doing work on other boats on the canal. E.g. electrics, or whatever. Then they tell you that they charge £35 an hour or thereabouts. Car servicing in a garage paying rates etc. with lots of machinery doesn't cost much more. And yet the rusty boat with multimeter and a few screwdrivers charges near enough the same.

 

£35.00 an hour is top money. Are they having a laugh?

 

[nigel carton]

No it's just you. ;-)

I would say the average for a garage is £60 an hour.

[Grace and Favour]

Have a gander at this

[Ange]

No it's just you. ;-)

I would say the average for a garage is £60 an hour.

Yep, I was the accountant for a car franchise at one point in my former life and £60 per hour rings true.

 

Mind you that's the rate charged out, not the rate the mechanic earned.

[nigel carton]

Ricco, if you can get somebody competent to work on your boat for £35 an hour, I would say that is very good value

[tjderby]

If you meet another liveaboard, have a chinwag, find out that they earn their living from doing work on other boats on the canal. E.g. electrics, or whatever. Then they tell you that they charge £35 an hour or thereabouts. Car servicing in a garage paying rates etc. with lots of machinery doesn't cost much more. And yet the rusty boat with multimeter and a few screwdrivers charges near enough the same.

 

£35.00 an hour is top money. Are they having a laugh?

 

No just you. If he's a skilled electrician then he is entitled to earn suitable income. Regardless of being a boater. It's not a charity you know.

[Peter X]

The going rate for a top insolvency practitioner in one of the big accounting firms is around £800 per hour; they charge £120 for the support staff, e.g. a secretary who might be paid £25 of that. Makes your electrician look pretty good value, but only if he's competent to do the job well and safely.

[kevinl]

Ricco, if you can get somebody competent to work on your boat for £35 an hour, I would say that is very good value

My bold, italic and underlined in Nigel's qoute, £35 for someone who can fix a problem not answer his/her phone, look around and comments about other things, in short just shuts the feck up and get's on with it is a bargain. Like anyone else in this world you have to pay then for their knowledge but as Nigel says " competent " is the key word.

K

[Naughty Cal]

People think nothing of paying upwards of £80 an hour in some dealerships for their servicing. Yet complain loudly when the OH mentions £35 per hour for bodywork repairs!

 

As for boat work hourly rates our marina is £60 per hour IIRC!

[jam]

And yet the rusty boat with multimeter and a few screwdrivers charges near enough the same.

 

£35.00 an hour is top money. Are they having a laugh?

 

You are not paying for the condition of his boat or the type of tools he uses, you are paying for years of knowledge, qualifications and competence. That rate is a very good rate for someone who is readily available.

[John V]

 

If he is properly insured etc and is running as a business with all the associated overheads then that's fair, if however he is "under the radar" he's having a laugh

[Phil Ambrose]

Reminds me of the company that called out a techy to fix their computer. The techy comes in examines the pooter and then thumps it. The boss of the company jibs at the bill for £90-00 saying "that's a bit much all you did was hit it" to which the techy replies "its not for hitting it,its for knowing where to hit it"

In my mind £35 sounds OK

Phil

[Barry]

Yep, I was the accountant for a car franchise at one point in my former life and £60 per hour rings true.

 

Mind you that's the rate charged out, not the rate the mechanic earned.

 

 

My daughter's chap is a car mechanic who used to work for a Ford dealer. I offered him twenty quid an hour to service my car on my drive and he snapped my hand off.

 

That's a deal we are both very happy with.

 

If a guy has to earn a living then he has to pay tax, superannuation, insurance, etc etc so I suppose 35 quid an hour isn't so unreasonable

[Staarek]

If you meet another liveaboard, have a chinwag, find out that they earn their living from doing work on other boats on the canal. E.g. electrics, or whatever. Then they tell you that they charge £35 an hour or thereabouts. Car servicing in a garage paying rates etc. with lots of machinery doesn't cost much more. And yet the rusty boat with multimeter and a few screwdrivers charges near enough the same.

 

£35.00 an hour is top money. Are they having a laugh?

 

 

£35.00 is not bad. It's £50+ in London.

[Guest]

If you meet another liveaboard, have a chinwag, find out that they earn their living from doing work on other boats on the canal. E.g. electrics, or whatever. Then they tell you that they charge £35 an hour or thereabouts. Car servicing in a garage paying rates etc. with lots of machinery doesn't cost much more. And yet the rusty boat with multimeter and a few screwdrivers charges near enough the same.

 

£35.00 an hour is top money. Are they having a laugh?

 

Perhaps if he charged the going rate he'd be able afford a shinier boat??

[RLWP]

I must up my rates

 

Richard

[patty-ann]

I had an electrician in my flat, he spent ages dismantling a dodgy alarm system to find that the installation had been c..., and although it needed renewing he managed to repair and charged me £30, deal is when he comes he comes en route elsewhere then no call out. I never hassle for specific time/date slot, this has worked on several occasions--alarm system still holding.

[Jim Riley]

Have a gander at this

according to that we earn nowt in Rochdale.

[cheshire~rose]

If the guy is an electrician why should his boat not be rusty? He is not a painter. If the job only requires a multimeter and a few screwdrivers then why does the rusty boat make him any less competant?

 

I would be far happier paying someone the going rate if they are time served and competant.

 

Oh.. and remember the decorator syndrome - they never get around to decorating their own home... so if an engineer turns up in an ageng vehicle with a back seat that has oil stains (assuming you can see the upholstery), a fan belt, 5 oil filters 3 empty pop bottles, a box of fuses, a tin with assorted springs in it and a random assortment of second hand components I am far more likely to want him to work on my engine that the guy in the flashy signwritten van!

[magnetman]

I wouldn't think you could do a great deal with 'a multimeter and a few screwdrivers' but if this person can and get that rate for it he must be doing something right I suppose. Maybe he had some other tools which aren't visible for obvious reasons.

 

I am also intrigued about the rust comment. Why would this be relevant in any way even if he was a painter he can have a rusty boat if he chooses,can't he ??

[Machpoint005]

If the guy is an electrician why should his boat not be rusty? He is not a painter. If the job only requires a multimeter and a few screwdrivers then why does the rusty boat make him any less competant?

 

I would be far happier paying someone the going rate if they are time served and competant.

 

Oh.. and remember the decorator syndrome - they never get around to decorating their own home... so if an engineer turns up in an ageng vehicle with a back seat that has oil stains (assuming you can see the upholstery), a fan belt, 5 oil filters 3 empty pop bottles, a box of fuses, a tin with assorted springs in it and a random assortment of second hand components I am far more likely to want him to work on my engine that the guy in the flashy signwritten van!

 

I'd want a mechanic, not an engineer, to work on an engine.

(Speaking as an engineer).

[Neil2]

A few years ago I did an out of hours job for a local cafe in town where the manager had to pay two assistants to stay back after work, it was something to do with the company safety at work policy.

 

Unusually the manager had arranged to pay me in cash, and I saw the two girls look at each other as they handed over £120 for two hours work. I knew exactly what they were thinking, given that it would have taken either one of them half a week to earn that, so what followed was a little lecture on what it means to be self employed. Even if you do work on an hourly rate, and I never did, people forget that you have to dilute it by adding all the hours you spend answering the phone, dealing with emails, doing quotes for free, keeping accounts, cleaning and maintaining equipment, buying supplies and all the rest of the stuff that "wage slaves" take for granted.

 

The add on on all the overheads you have to carry. premises costs, fuel costs, compulsory insurance, etc. Plus, there's no sick pay or holiday pay for the self employed. Do I have to go on?

 

For a sole trader with low overheads £35 an hour is actually at the low end of the scale.

 

In reality, most self employed people don't charge enough for their work.

 

 

 

 

[cheshire~rose]

 

I'd want a mechanic, not an engineer, to work on an engine.

(Speaking as an engineer).

 

I was thinking of a mechanical engineer (usually shortened to mechanic)

 

I will get back to my domestic engineering and shut up!

[RLWP]

In reality, most self employed people don't charge enough for their work.

 

 

True

 

Richard

[magictime]

It's just you. £35 an hour is certainly not 'top money' for skilled labour.