Re: cost of installation- hard wired panic buttons

["Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms>]

> In Southern California, from my experience,
> the rate is a good indication of how legit
> any technical service is...

Perhaps.  I agree that, given the cost of living
in SoCal, it would be difficult for a company
to offer service at $20 per hour.  How about a
lone wolf, just getting started?  He might be
as honest and legitimate as the day is long
but with limited overhead he might also be
willing to work for sub-par wages.

When I was first getting started I did the
same thing.  I charged what the hardware
cost plus $xx per hour.  As I landed more
sales and revenues became better I slowly
raised my rates until I was charging about
the same per hour as many of my
competitors.

> If we have somebody charging $20 an hour for ANY technical service, I can guarantee
> you they don't have a license, nor a bond,
> nor a liability policy.

I charged $25 an hour for several years with
a license and liability insurance.  Bonding
isn't required in CT.  Of course, that was
a long time ago.

However, we're concentrating on $20 an
hour as though that was the only option
below whatever the industry average is in
your area.  Suppose that average is $70
(just picking a number at random) per hour.
Would someone charging $85 an hour be
more legitimate than someone charging
$70?  Would someone charging $65 be
less legitimate than the guy charging the
average rate of $70?

> How "legit" is somebody charging $20
> an hour in Southern California? I mean, even if we take away all those things,
> how are they making a living at that rate?

I think $20 an hour is too low to be a valid
barometer.  How about someone charging
$55 an hour?

> I don't want to take what you said out
> of context. In my mind, being "legit" means you have all your ducks in a row
> when it comes to taxes, licenses, and insurance policies to protect your home,
> assets, and business...

That's a valid definition.  Another might be
that the dealer does good work and stands
behind it.  If he has the required license
but doesn't have a bond is he illegitimate?
What if a bond isn't required?  If he has
$2M in liability coverage, is he more
legitimate than a smaller operator who
only has $500K of coverage?

Do you see what I mean?  I'm not saying
that fees are not and indicator of how
stable a company is.  Only that there
isn't necesarily a direct correlation between
fee and legitimacy.

> That, to me, is an indication that you're
> serious about your business, that you're
> not a flake, and that I have recourse if
> the job goes bad...

I was serious about my business when I
got started.  I did the best I could and
installed the most reliable hardware I
could find.  I made it my business to learn
everything I could about the systems and
technologies in the trade.  However, in
the early years I had little money for
insurance.  I got a license but I had to
hire a licensed tech until I had enough
hours to take the test.  I never needed
bonding because I didn't do banks.  Yet
I spent 24 years building a fine, small,
independent alarm company.  Some
salesmen from a few of the bigger firms
used to poke fun at my little alarm
company.  But I killed them on sales
fairly consistently and they knew it.

> All in all, that's going to be reflected
> in the rate.

No doubt about that.  Where we differ is
in the degree to which the rate reflects
legitimacy.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
941-925-8650
4883 Fallcrest Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34233
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
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