Re: Gas prices

[JoeRaisin <joeraisin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert L Bass wrote:
>
> "JoeRaisin" <joeraisin@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:CmWUj.1550$Ua5.1505@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Robert L Bass wrote:
>>> "alarman" wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Uh, yeah, I'd say you struck a nerve. Most of us here ARE struggling
>>>> with increased fuel costs, and not just the gas we put in our tanks.
>>>> You see, we actually have to make a living in this business. If you
>>>> don't get that, then perhaps YOU are the one who is not in tune with
>>>> what the true costs of running a business are. And, OBTW, we have,
>>>> so far, rejected your socialist bent and the taxes that support it.
>>>> So track that, Bob.
>>>
>>> Stevens missed the point.  Sure, gas prices are up.  But that's such
>>> a small portion of the overall budget of an alarm company as make it
>>> trivial. Suppose the average installer gets only 20 mpg in the
>>> company van and the average job is within 20 miles of the office.
>>> That means he uses 2 gallons or less per day driving from the office
>>> to the jobsite.  If gas goes up $1, the added cost is $2 to a day's
>>> overhead for the employee and truck.  A good truck probably cost
>>> $20,000 plus $5,000 for racks, shelving, tools, etc.  Insurance can
>>> cost upwards of $1,000 per year.  Say the truck gets retired in 5
>>> years and the tools inside last about the same time (obviously some
>>> tools last forever and others break or disappear frequently but this
>>> is just for illustration). There are 240 work days in an average
>>> year.  Do the math.  You're spending $125 a work day just to have a
>>> truck full of tools and parts.  Now you whine about an extra dollar
>>> or two.  Get over it.
>>>
>>
>> I now do testing and PM's for my company.  Take a look at a map of
>> Michigan - I cover everything from US-10 north, to include the Upper
>> Peninsula.  I routinely put at least 1000 miles & often 2000 miles per
>> month (occasionally more) on my truck (Chevy Colorado).
>>
>> I get about 300 miles from a 16 gallon fill up.
>>
>> While the install guys don't move around too much during an average
>> day, we got some service guys who can match my numbers mile for mile...
>
> OK, let's examine those statistics, Joe.  300 miles on 16 gallons is
> 18.75 mpg.  Taking your figures, let's "guestimate" you drive 1,500
> miles in an average month.  That would mean you buy 80 gallons a month
> to visit customers. I don't know how many customers you visit in a
> typical work day, but suppose it's just two locations.  There are 20
> work days in the average month.  If you spend an extra $2 on a gallon of
> gas (I figure it's going to hit $5 a gallon before we get rid of G W
> Idiot) that's $160 divided into 48 locations.  A proper surcharge would
> be $1.67 per customer to recover the extra gas cost. If you were a
> utility company the surcharge would probably be $22.95.  :^)
>
> Needless to say, the above is based on guesses as to the actual daily
> average and the number of customers you see in a typical day.  If you
> were Leuck, the $80 would be divided into 120 customer visits (roughly
> $0.67).  If you were Cracker you'd have to charge the full $80 for the
> one client you mustered up the courage to visit.  If you were Olson your
> calculator would display "E" since it can't divide by zero.

Four or five customers a day, sometimes more, sometimes less depending
upon the size of the system I am testing.

This month I will be seeing three of the Great Lakes and actually
dipping well south of US-10.  I've managed to get my schedule so that I
make fewer long trips during the winter months but that means during the
summer I spend long stretches watching bugs go splat.  I typically fill
up twice a week during this time and some weeks more.  So right now I
would say its closer to 9 tanks of gas a month rather than 5.  In the
winter it is probably 4 or 5.