[TenTec] Service Rates

[Jim Brown]

On Mon,7/13/2015 12:52 PM, Steve Berg wrote:
> Back in 1979 Motorola was billing $65.00 an hour for my efforts. So, 
> what Ten Tec is charging is not really out of line.

In the 70s, I had jobs doing both field and bench service, as well as 
managing the service department of a sound and video contractor. We were 
charging $60 then, and that rate was needed to cover our costs. In 
addition to the hourly wages of the service tech, there are taxes and 
various benefits like health insurance. Then there's the real estate 
needed for the service shop and to hold spare parts -- at least a couple 
of rooms -- test equipment, the stock of parts itself, utilities 
(electricity, heat, telephone), an accounting person to do billing, and 
so on. For field service, there were the added costs associated with 
travel, including a vehicle equipped with test equipment and spare parts.

At a 3% average rate of inflation, $65 in 1979 translates to $188 in 
2015. For 2% average, it's $132.60.

73, Jim K9YC