Re: Gas prices

["Robert L Bass" <RobertLBass@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

"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.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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