Higgy-"Its always a struggle for the honest Independent chap who wants to do the right thing, High rents for workshop space /Business rates, Are the highest in Europe, A mate of mine calculated that with rent/rates/workshop tools/Diagnostic equipment/Staff wages etc..... It cost him £240 a day just to unlock the workshop Door, What Chance have you got ?......
Having been on both sides of the fence I agree......
Ag Main Dealer I ran a workshop for had a workshop retail rate of £80.00 hr ....this was years ago so likely more now..... it cost us with putting the guy in a van , training , special tools and diagnostic kit ( we had to pay a £1500 licencing fee a year on every laptop for the manufacturers diagnostics and software etc ) running the workshop such as cleaning tanks etc not far short of £40.00 per booked hour and at best they were around 80% efficient so had hrs that were "lost" and couldn't be booked to the customer... our warranty work recovery rate was around £60.00 and bear in mind not all the warranty work we carried out was eventually covered by the manufacturer but also wasn't paid by the customer as he rightfully thought it should all be warranty in the first year on his £300K combine or £180K tractor.... we didn't make a fortune and the average "profit" from the sale of a £150K tractor was less than £1200 in many cases....
I'm a now self employed independent mobile technician , van based with no workshop..... my average day is 60-70 % chargeable ... today I have driven 120 miles and managed to book 5 hrs of chargeable work in a day that started at 07.30 and still isn't over.... my hourly rate is half that of a main dealer yet I still have to run a van , buy tools , insure my self , tools and van ...
Being honest and reliable gets me work but also means I often don't charge the customer for every minute/Hr I spend sourcing parts and info.....
The original poster has highlighted the one key thing many get wrong and that is communication with the customer.... I've dealt with the people mentioned in the thread for parts etc and found them OK but Be$%* isn't the easiest guy to talk to and not a great listener....shame as their business should do well .