[lit-ideas] Re: The Cat At Whom He Has Hissed
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 12:57:04 -0500
THE FOLLOWING IS AN UNPAID ADVERTISEMENT
ATLAS AIR CONDITIONING COMPANY charges $68 per hour, one hour minimum
charge. However there is no service charge, trip charge or truck charge and
the meter starts ticking when I get to the job site, not on the way there.
The one hour minimum is waived in cases of customer stupidity -- such as the
piece of equipment not plugged in, the water turned off to the ice machine
or anything that lets me get my kicks by humiliating the customer. Also I
very seldom charge my good customers any overtime or time and a half
charges -- something I now regret.
I service some residential customers, but most of my customers are
independent restaurants. I repair all types of cooking equipment and
commercial refrigeration equipment as well as air conditioning. I do a lot
of illegal electrical and plumbing work as well (illegal in that I'm not
licensed to do those trades). I do quarterly maintenance on AC and
refrigeration equipment and seasonal start ups. I gladly take any air
conditioning installation jobs as long as the customer realizes that service
is my bread and butter and the installation work might get bumped at any
time. I make it clear that my doing the job will take 2 to 3 times longer
than any company with a crew, but then they charge quite a bit more and
besides I usually do the electrical as well if the owner doesn't want to
pull a permit. Kant would frown on that, I know. So would the city and the
various trade unions. So sue me. Because time is very much the issue in
summer and winter, most of my installations occur in spring or fall when
temperatures are far more temperate and service work slows.
I am Atlas Air Conditioning Co. I'm the whole enchilada. I'm the President
and janitor. I'm the hasn't-got-a-clue boss and the laziest, most
recalcitrant employee and I like being them. If I were a go-getter, I could
be rich now. I could have a fleet of service vans with my name emblazoned
on them. I could-a been a contender. Maybe next go round.
Gas prices are killing me. I'm going to either have to raise my rates or
start charging a trip charge. I think I'll raise my hourly rates to $70
(it's been 68 for three years now), and it's been my experience that
restaurant management types think the world is out to screw them. They
question tacked on fees. They like things simple.
Mike -- What's your hourly service call rate? It might be cheaper for
me to drag you from Mississippi than to call local servicemen.
Dear Julie, I live in Memphis, TENNESSEE, not Mississippi. I know that
Faulkner said the Delta starts in the lobby of the Hotel Peabody (in
Memphis) and I know that some people call Memphis the capitol of
Mississippi, but the state line is at least 8 miles south of where I live.
You're a Midwesterner, you should be vaguely aware of where Memphis is.
When I lived in Seattle some guys kept asking me what it was like living in
Louisiana or Alabama. They had no idea where Memphis was -- somewhere down
there, they would even confuse Memphis with Nashville -- but they were
Seattleites, you have no excuse.
Mike Geary
Memphis
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