How much for a service?

[Frankie Lawrence]

Less the rates, rent, tools, insurance, admin, computers, office staff, vans, etc...

 

Exactley I wonder if there is a seperate forum for dealers who moan about people coming in and wanting servicing for cheap.

 

Remember people expect arborists to be rip off merchants and think we charge alot until the overheads are explained, its no different for anyone else.

[elfinwood saws]

here,s the manuals for your 020t cheers Mark.

020T IPL.pdf

020T.pdf

[J Scott]

Cheers Mark!

[Les Cork]

Exactley I wonder if there is a seperate forum for dealers who moan about people coming in and wanting servicing for cheap.

 

Remember people expect arborists to be rip off merchants and think we charge alot until the overheads are explained, its no different for anyone else.

 

Here here !

 

In my 30 yrs selling to chainsaw dealers all over the country i have seen a great many of them pack up/go bust/lose their houses due to not making enough money. If the trend continues you will all have to travel across your counties to the one dealer left per area who charges enough to survive, for those who moan about prices this will be the result.

There is a vast difference across the country in workshop rates and sharpening prices which reflect rates, rent, mortage values etc. Just the same as a pint in Newcastle is over 1.50 cheaper than in Kent.

 

Arborists without good tools are the proverbial Ferrari without wheels, so support the guys that keep you running, like paying a good accountant 2k with a smile if he's just saved you 10k.

 

BMW dealers in the south charge a minimum £80.00 an hour and plug a laptop in most of the time, a chainsaw mechanic has been trained has an expensive tool box and has to diagnostic, check, repair, check and tune and this often means cleaning the crap out to enable the strip down to be effective. The dealer must carry parts and or have credit lines to order fast express delivery and must dispose of waste/fuel/oil to standards.

Thanks to the trend of dealer robberies insurance is sky high and costs of alarms and defence, then theres staff NI, Tax, etc etc

 

Hey, get real even if you do your own repairs you still need to get the correct parts from guess where ?

 

Now there are approx 1500 dealers in the UK of which only about 30 are specialised Arb/chainsaw specialist centres. There used to be over 50 of these just 10 years ago but sadly we have lost them.

 

I for one want to see the industry grow not decline

[Ian F]

Completly agree Les

 

The other factor to keep in mind is that with new engine developments with in our industry Stihl and other manufacturers are already talking about the use of Laptops and some very expensive software to keep Saws tuned correctly. This is where factory trained mechanics will be so valuble to Dealers, and this sort of mechanic will not come cheap.

[bob]

£50 per hour is £800 per day for 2 guys working with danger and shed loads of gear.

I think they take the proverbial

Servicing should be about £25 per hour max

 

and how much would you charge an hour with a couple of saws and a taty pickup compared to a big bonafied shop with rates,heating and all the other costs

[Matthew Arnold]

Becuase we are fairly central in the county we can buy kit from dealers and not have to travel 15+ miles to get to the dealer. Our chainsaw, brushcutter dealer is o nthe same industrial estate as our council yard. Our heavy duty mower dealer is only 3 miles out of town. So it is easy to go and order parts and collect them. Most of the time i do the engine tuning on the chainsaws. We had problems with our MS260. It would have cost us/taxpayer £46 to sort the idle out at the dealer but it took me about 5 mins. What i normally do is have the chain brake off and move the idle screw until the chain begins to creep then move the idle screw backwards until it stops creeping but doesn't stall.

[Mesterh]

and how much would you charge an hour with a couple of saws and a taty pickup compared to a big bonafied shop with rates,heating and all the other costs

 

Surely though thats per man per hour.

 

 

£25 aint bad.

 

I have rates, heating water, elec etc etc.

 

£50 ish is taking the pee a bit I think.

[Mark Bolam]

Here here !

 

In my 30 yrs selling to chainsaw dealers all over the country i have seen a great many of them pack up/go bust/lose their houses due to not making enough money. If the trend continues you will all have to travel across your counties to the one dealer left per area who charges enough to survive, for those who moan about prices this will be the result.

There is a vast difference across the country in workshop rates and sharpening prices which reflect rates, rent, mortage values etc. Just the same as a pint in Newcastle is over 1.50 cheaper than in Kent.

Arborists without good tools are the proverbial Ferrari without wheels, so support the guys that keep you running, like paying a good accountant 2k with a smile if he's just saved you 10k.

 

BMW dealers in the south charge a minimum £80.00 an hour and plug a laptop in most of the time, a chainsaw mechanic has been trained has an expensive tool box and has to diagnostic, check, repair, check and tune and this often means cleaning the crap out to enable the strip down to be effective. The dealer must carry parts and or have credit lines to order fast express delivery and must dispose of waste/fuel/oil to standards.

Thanks to the trend of dealer robberies insurance is sky high and costs of alarms and defence, then theres staff NI, Tax, etc etc

 

Hey, get real even if you do your own repairs you still need to get the correct parts from guess where ?

 

Now there are approx 1500 dealers in the UK of which only about 30 are specialised Arb/chainsaw specialist centres. There used to be over 50 of these just 10 years ago but sadly we have lost them.

 

I for one want to see the industry grow not decline

 

Well said Les.

 

Even if you obviously haven't been for a pint in Newcastle recently!

 

£2.50 for a bottle of broon in my local back home, mind!

 

Jonesies price seems nearer the mark to me, and I know how good his lads are in the workshop.

 

Gustharts in Northumberland are the same. You will save money because their lads are quick and have seen it all before.

 

£50/hour?

 

Depends how much and how well they can do it in an hour.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Mark Bolam
Syntax

[Taupotreeman]

After reading this thread the other day I had a quick yak with my local Stihl shop owner. He charges about $60 (that's dollars) for an hour's work but stuff like bar dressing, tune ups and minor work he doesn't charge for. He doesn't charge to pull your saw apart and tell you what the problem is and, so far, his service is excellent. He will get me up and running with my gear again as soon as possible rather than putting it in the que. I don't mind paying over the odds for anything as long as I get the service. I wanted a new air rifle for xmas and tried several shops to find out what would do the job. All of them were quick to offer me a deal etc but only one took the time to let me shoot several different rifles, help me site them and show me how they all worked along with spending half an hour giving me advice as to which was the best for me. He got my business. Same with the Stihl shop; he gets my business because he looks after me. Sometimes things are a bit expensive but, swings and roundabouts, the next thing might be cheap or free. As part of this good relationship he recommends my services to his customers and vice versa. If you find someone who provides that good service stick with them and help em out a bit.