Recently I had a discussion with one of my friends, who's active in the trucks service business, concerning the workshop technician and field technician labour rate.
Some say, the field technician labour hour rate should be higher, because this gives the customer the comfort of controlling the repair, TOA (Truck Out of Action) factor is usually lower, the technician must be highly equipped and trained.
Other say, the workshop technician labour rate should be higher, because of the cost of the facility, medias (electricity, water etc).
In my company, we charge an equal rate for the workshop and "on site hour, but recently, one of my friends from south decided to raise the workshop rates, claiming that his calculation shows higher costs of workshop repairs. My analysis shows similar results (the workshop hour is about 5-8% more expensive, mainly because we rent a facility, and the rental rate is pretty high), but it's hard to convince the customer he should pay more for the job which is done in "friendly conditions", under the roof (not always happens on site) in warm room etc.
Additionally, he has to pay for the truck transport, which is usually more expensive than the technician travel cost, the replacement truck etc.
Please share your experience. What are the accepted standards on your markets?