Talking to a retired sweep made me reconsider how I price my work

Met this old timer named Frank at a supply shop outside Pittsburgh last Tuesday. He was picking up brushes for a job he said he's been doing for 41 years. We got to chatting and he told me he charges by the hour, not per job, which threw me off since I've always done flat rates. He said the flat rate punishes you when a flue turns out to be a nightmare, and it rewards you when things go smooth, so clients get mad either way. I've been doing flat rates for 3 years now and honestly never thought about it that deep. He also mentioned he never upsells a liner unless he's got photos to show the homeowner, which made me realize I've been sending quotes blind sometimes. Anyone here switched from flat rate to hourly or found a middle ground that works better?

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amyr572mo ago

Think about what Frank's hourly rate really tells you about trust. If you charge by the job, you're selling a finished product, so the client is always watching the clock against the result. But hourly flips it, now you're selling your time and expertise, and the client has to trust you're not dragging your feet. That works great for Frank because he's got 41 years of reputation, but for a newer sweep, flat rate might be the only way people say yes in the first place. Maybe the middle ground is a flat rate for the inspection and then hourly for any actual cleaning work, so you get paid for the hunt and the fix. Have you tried keeping a log of your average job time to see if your flat rate is even close to what hourly would give you?

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