Originally posted by FASTFRAME of La Jolla:
We offer free delivery/hanging services for clients that frame with us.
Hmmm....I don't recommend this at all. Unless, of course, you have built it into your pricing. You should at the very least charge your hourly shop rate. I know how tempting it is to throw in free installation to get that frame job because it doesn't really cost anything anyway, right? But think about it....is it any different than giving away free mats made from scrap? How about every frame job comes with a free 5x7 or 8x10 photo frame made from the leftovers? I mean it doesn't cost anything, right? You'd just be throwing the materials away eventually anyway, right?
Let's face facts here people....all we sell is our time. The time to take semiraw materials and turn them into beautiful picture frames for our clients enjoyment. All our fancy equipment, shop space, education, etc, is just to increase our profficiency and efficiency so we can make more $'s/hour to pay for that ever increasing overhead for our shops and our lives. Giving away my time is not an option. Giving away installations is leaving money on the table. People who can't or won't hang their own pictures are overjoyed to find someone who will and they will gladly pay the price.
Ron's advice on what he charges is excellent. Why should you make less when doing an installation than what you would make working in the shop? There is also the question of liability. Once you walk onto your customer's property if you damage anything in any way you are liable. YOU pay for it, so you should be compensated for the additional risk. Even if your insurance covers you (make sure you check) you still have to pay the deductable. How about if you get injured while hanging a piece of artwork? It happens...scared the **** out of myself the other day when I tried for a fourth step on a three step ladder and kicked it out from under myself landing on my side. Luckily all I had in my hands was a drill not a piece of artwork. Also lucky that I landed well without injury. (Scared my clients too...I weigh over 250lbs...the whole house shook, they thought it was an earthquake! So did their neighbors.) Who pays if you get hurt and how do you make money while you heal? You need to be compensted for this additional risk too. It just doesn't make any sense to give it away free.
Now, having said all this I have to admit I don't charge as much as Ron does. I'm at $45/hr with a $55 first hour minimum, and I do charge for driving time. My prices are going up soon though. The reason I can get away with charging less is simple...I don't have his overhead. I'm not paying for a retail location...just a garage. I don't advertise, I work by referral only. I'm also experienced and have learned how to limit my mistakes and can usually fix the ones I do make. Oh, and I don't have employees which really helps elliminate a lot of problems, of course it also limits my growth which is another thing I have to look at.
Occasionally I do take on larger jobs by the piece or by bid. Each case is a little different as in: single thickness sheetrock, double thickness, plywood backing? Concrete? Lath and plaster? Steel bulkheads (boats)? Hook and wire or security hrdw? Who's doing the placing? Groupings? How are the pieces packaged? For figuring these, from experience I know about how may pieces/hr I can do (4-12) which I divide into my hourly rate plus drive time and a 20% fudge factor. I don't get many bids but I do well on them when I do.
Oh yeah...commercial, residential, interior designers makes no difference to me...I charge them all the same. Works out...residentials take more hand holding so installs take longer and they end up paying more than designers. Almost all my commercial jobs come through or at least start from an interior diesigner so needless to say my attitude towards them is a little better than most of our fellow grumblers.
Ron:
So THAT'S why I keep getting calls from Wisconsin. I keep hoping that one of them will bite and pay the drive time charge but so far no luck...
