Service Pricing @ Frasers

[soxy]

Nev, It will be interesting to hear what Mitchel says once he gets back to you. As I stated earlier I dealt with Mitchel when I bought my Monster and I cannot talk higher of him. Maybe Mitchel should take over the servicing department? If anyone else out there knows any other place that will service a Duke within the Illawarra / Sydney areas please let me know.
Soxy

[The Judge]

Guys its an interesting situation to be sure... on one hand you want to make sure your bike is properly looked after and on the other hand you dont want to be treated like an open wallet.

Now to illustrate what I mean....based on a $110 per hour and a 40 hour week Steve could bring in up to $228800 per year to the Frasers coffers... Now lets say only 80 % of his time is charged out at $110...that brings the figure down to a little more than $180K....now Im pretty close to the issue of what salaries are paid to what professions and if Steve gets 50 percent of that amount then I wouldnt be surprised to see the Loch Ness Monster shagging a donkey in the crown streeet mall. !!!

So by my estimates Frasers make about 100K a year or more after paying Steve...lets say there is an annual cost of about 15 to maintain the workshop....means they make about 85K or more...seems like good revenue to them....but Im sure there are a lot of other hidden costs

No doubt about Steve Pryors skills...no one else touches my
belts....much in the same way that only Mike Soderland from Gowanlochs is the only guy I will let touch my beloved bevel.... In fact I dont know why Steve doesnt strike out on his own.

My dealings with the shop have always been cordial but agree the serving costs seem out of proportion when balanced against the Ducati's competitors...even if you take into account the rice burners generally have 6 K service intervals.

I cant thank Frasers enough for their support of our club. They have done whatever we've asked and they still pay the first year membership for anyone that buys a new Duke.

I will do a ring around on serving costs and then go and talk to Mitchell to see if they can cut members some slack ..... but dont hold your breath!

[Nev]

Hi Alex
Your calculations on paper are sound.... But thats if you base the calculations on a 8 hour day charged at $110 per hour.
But it is not how a service business works...


If a service department charges 6 hours labor for EACH bike serviced and he services 3 in a day, on paper that serviceman has charged 18 hours of labor for that days work, = $1980 labor charged out for the one serviceman in a day.and so on 1980 x 5 days x 48 weeks =approx $475200 a year. but we all know that this is all hypothetical. It is standard pratace that time is placed on each part of the work. For instance replaceing the front breake pads might take 20mins in real time but the shop charges 1 hour for this work.and so on..

All service related business do this in one form or another..
It's normally not so blatant.

I would like to add that when i did bring up the point that 6 hours labor to do what was required to finish the service on my bike was a bit much Mitchell did the right thing and spoke to Steve and the labor was reduced to 4 hours. But even that compared to all the other Fraser shops is expensive.
Nev

[honestjohn]

retail service hours also need to cover expected down time .generally you may have to consider sick days and holidays in your equation,such that 12mths may come down to 10 months work. also need to consider non chargeable/non productive staff.service manager as an eg. would not have hours that are chargeable yet all franchises would require one.same with possible warranty clerk.retail time may only be 50% of chargeable time.rest could be internal[sales pre-delivery,used recon etc},warranty hourly rates from manufacturers likely also lower.rework,nonchargeable.insurance .workers comp. for workshops are outrageous due to high injury risk[no distinction between automotive workshops,doesnt matter whether its truck/car/bike]. a fair portion of rent would also need to be chargeable to service dept. just some of the realities that many dont consider.undoubtedly they make money,but thats not a crime,just dont presume its as huge as some may think...hj

[Nev]

HJ I really did not wont to go down this path of posting, or start guessing how much they make or earn as to be quit honest it really has nothing to do with us or even about the original post...

Apart from the mark up on clothing, accessories, parts, memorabilia, toys and motorcycles (which i am happy to pay) the $110 per hour per mechanic covers the costs associated with the points you mention such as sick days, holidays, administrative staff etc.Not just the hourly rate they pay Steve (possibility $35 per hour). And please don't forget Steve is not the only mechanic they have in the workshop.


And again... I'm not whining about the quality of work or the people. Just the over all standard flat 6 hours charged for a service no matter what model bike and no matter what they do in the service. Which is reflected in the price compassion between F/M Fraser's and their sister shops.

I wont Fraser's to be around for a long time..To be there in the future they need to be profitable today. Yes it's not a crime to make money. but to be out of touch with the current charge rates and not be informed about this while customers just disappear and not come back would be wrong of any club member not to at least talk to Mitchell about your concerns.

As a cabling manager in a very competitive Field I would apprecate any feed back that helps me keep my customers let alone win new customers.

P.S you can not cover down time. If you know how to do this, please let the rest of the service industry know your secret.

No business i have been a member of or have dealt with expects down time ...it's a cost you can not predict or charge for to your customers.

If you did charge no one could afford you or would not come back a second time.
Nev

[2dogs]

I bought a Monster S4R Testrasetta from Fairy Meadow at the start of the year, and for various reasons opted NOT to have them service at 1000ks.

Went to Frasers at Homebush and can't remember exact amount as I also bought some parts, but price was about $350, which I thought pretty reasonable.

Worthwhile visiting there just to see their state of the art workshop facilities.

[Nev]

Hi 2dogs
Welcome to our forum.... and yes i agree it is a state of the art facility at Homebush.. and the workshop is like an operating theater with big windows you are invited to look through. Have they got the Coffee shop open yet?
cheers
Nev

[honestjohn]

nev,not being critical,just outlying the alternative view.you are from a service industry so are aware but many others may not be as clear or have given it any thought.everyone wants value for there hard earned dollar and agree the general perception is that we are not getting it.they should be aware of this if they chose to track their retained service business...hj

[Nev]

Yep.. no worries HJ.. i do appreciate and value your opinion.

We where heading in the same direction but on different roads.
cheers
Nev

[2dogs]

thanks Nev,

The coffee shop was about to open when I was there.

Further to my experience at Homebush, the guys also spent about an hour tuning the suspension to my preference. This was included in my servicing costs.

Sept 7, 2009 3:20:35 GMT -5 Nev said:

Hi 2dogs
Welcome to our forum.... and yes i agree it is a state of the art facility at Homebush.. and the workshop is like an operating theater with big windows you are invited to look through. Have they got the Coffee shop open yet?
cheers
Nev