What does call out charge mean in terms of service industry
2 Answers
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call-out, estimation, survey or inspection are used by the Services Industry as a standard norm.
I was a plumber for a few years and we had a call out charge, it was 1hour labor if we showed up to a site.
This charge has crossed over to the IT sector now, if a technician repairs or services an online EC , some charges may apply. Is like if your cell phone stops working, a technician punches a fey keys to activate or re-activate the user account and a service fee could be charged, that is a read the fine print thing.
It works like this, I am the owner of a plumbing company, you call one of my trucks out becuse you suspect a leak, my driver in my van on that I have to pay by the minute arrives at your house and discovers that the water pressure is low because a neighbors line or pipe is busted. That is a call out fee.
No work was done, or needed, by you, but you called, and I have to pay for the truck, gas, time of the driver.
Many companies offer free estimates, that is like a loss leader, once you are on-site, you will most likely get the job and the charge will be for the drive-time to and from the house. It is a little sneaky, but the bill will either have that or just mad markup on any materials used, which is even more sneaky.
With fuel prices at the rate that are, and are always rising, expect to see these charges and sur-charges more and more.
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The call-out charge is what service companies charge just to have a technician come to your house, even if no work was performed.