The average labor rate for car audio installers is $77.50/hour and there’s headroom to raise it, says Mobile Solutions.
Labor rates depend on the region and some dealers prefer to charge by the “piece” rather than the hour, but generally retailer rates span from $45 to $135 an hour, said the installation training company and tool supplier.
Dealers also charge on average 8 to 10 percent of the install fee for “consumables” like alarm wire and tape, based on a Mobile Solutions survey of almost 50 installers.
Bryan Schmitt of Mobile Solutions recommends that retailers charge between $70 and $100 depending on whether you are in a rural or city market. And he found that most retailers can up their rates by 5 percent without any push back from customers.
“I’ve talked to a lot of groups of retailers and said if you went home and raised your labor rate 5 percent or your shop supply fees, would your customers say a word? Almost all said no,” Schmitt said.
He added, “Labor is something that gets discounted.” Sales people often don’t appreciate the work involved. They don’t actually see how long it takes. But “putting an amp in a Mercedes is a big deal. Making a custom fiberglass box takes time. And to do it right, you’ve got to charge for it.”
In Mobile Solutions’ training classes for custom fabrication, he teaches retailers to break down their installations into specific time increments and charge for them, just as a body shop or a IT specialist would. Dealers can make their own spread sheets starting with a popular head unit they carry and then adding steering wheel controls, Bluetooth and a sub level control; then putting it on an oscilloscope and tuning it and adding an amp and then speakers. Then with each unit of labor you assign a time for the installation based on a range of your slowest and fastest installer.
Now everyone from the floor salesman to the installer knows exactly the labor involved for any job.
Too often, said Schmitt, “We’re just cowboys giving out a $3,000 figure for a job and it ends up taking 3 weeks.”
Source: CEoutlook
Hell YEAH…
Raising rates requires two convictions…
ONE: We are damn good and we are worth the charges which means we are the best “value”.
TWO: The retailer must know the cost of operating the shop to insure that the installation revenues cover cost plus margin and profit expectations.
If you’d like help developing the systems in your business to make this happen, I can help…
Ray Windsor
949-600-8195
When a bicycle shop charges 80 an hour it should be easy to charge at least the same. With falling margins on products , the back room can make it up if you do it right !
All very true. Everyone struggles with labor rates. “My customers won’t pay it”. All that really means is that the retailer has not demonstrated the value and skill he provides. The ONLY way the 12V industry will attract higher skilled techs is if we can afford to pay them!