atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General Request a Telephone Technician Wiring Vendor Needed/Cost of Wiring

Do we have anyone in the North East Wisconsin (Fond du Lac) area who would like to be my wiring vendor?

We have an Avaya Definity G3si version 11 with Definity Audix 3.2. I need someone who can be on site within a week for general wiring or within 24 hours for an emergency issue.

I have full Avaya maintenance on my switches but do not hire Avaya for wiring.

Currently I am paying 75.00 per hour which I think is awful high. My guy isn't the best at this an I was just billed for 4-hours of labor to move an analog jack from one room to another.

I had an independent guy at 45.00 per hour but he retired. What is everyone paying/charging out there for general jack wiring?

Thanks, Rhonda

Is everything on patch panels? That would explain why it takes so long.

Well, I don't know the technical terms for it but I recall the words "wiring block" used around it. They appear to be white plastic, long narrow holders of neatly organized wires. The issues is this particular wiring guy who has very little time in with phone system wiring. My other guy would take 30-60 minutes for such a project.

Probably using 66 blocks then. Adding extensions to existing areas if single pair should be quick.

Is the wiring and jack in place and all he had to do is change the cross connect or did he have to run new wiring and install a new jack?

-Hal

75.00 isn't bad depending on the area but 4 hours to run a cable and jack sounds wrong.

No he had to put in the jack and the wire. I just received the bill today. To move one analog jack it ran 351.53. I think that's high.

What is a normal hourly wiring charge running out there?

Thanks, Rhonda

Rhonda, what I would do is approach him with that bill and question the time it took to run a cable...

Show him that you are paying close attention to his billing times, if he doesnt clean up his act....wave bye bye to him.......

I acutally did question it as he originally charged me for 6 hours of labor. They do charge me for some drive time but he took lunch and I know 4 hours was the max I could have paid for. I guess there isn't much I can do. He just isn't meant for this type of work as I hear he was asking non Telecom and non IT staff technical questions. I am just going to pay it and find another vendor. I don't even mind the hourly charge as much as I mind paying someone who doesn't know what they are doing. I've had this same job done many times and I've paid for 2 or less hours of labor. I tried to give him time to learn but after many single jack moves it's not getting better. I have found another local company and am going to hire them for a while to see how it goes. Thanks for the help. Rhonda

Hmmm, well 4 hours isn't inconceivable depending on the difficulty of the run and the fact he was working alone. I too would suggest that you ask him why it took four hours, he should be able to tell you. Without knowing the specifics of the job it's impossible for anybody here to say if this is unreasonable.

Seems to me that your issue here is with cost rather than service and the quality of work. Most people who "pay the bills" only see the bottom line and don't understand what's involved.

I don't know the economy in North East Wisconsin but I suspect $75 per hour is more than reasonable. In Westchester County, New York we charge $135 for the first hour (gas is $2.50/gal) and $55 per half hour after that. If you asked me how much it would be to install wiring and a jack I would look you in the eyes and say "if you have to ask you can't afford it".

If this guy is responsive and does the work properly and neatly I would say you don't have a beef. That's a rare commodity these days and I wouldn't nickel-dime him.

-Hal

Sorry, seems I was writing while you posted. It does point out what I was saying though, techs that know what they are doing are hard to find. When you do reward them with your loyalty.

-Hal

I do appreciate everyones assistance.

I'm feeling a little under attack here as I though I would use this site to hire someone to wire for my company.

My job is to find quality work yet keep costs down. Some companies do have to ask the price... that's just part of the business world. I am the switchboard operator, Telecom Administrator and I choose wiring vendors and dialtone vendors. I can't afford to pay someone while they go to lunch. I also am not going to pay for 6 hours of labor when I owe 4. Plus if I had a good tech. I would have paid for 2. I'll pay whatever it takes to get the job done correctly. If a tech. had a mess and needed more time, that's not a problem for me. But I also want to feel comfortable with the vendor.

Our customers feel the same about our company. If we don't treat them well or if we make a bad product, they will go shopping for someone else. His company knows how I feel about him. I'm sure they'll understand when I release them.

My point of mentioning this wiring guy wasn't because I want to nickel and dime him. He just isn't good at the job. I neglected to mention that he has left after doing work only to have left other ports out of service, causing me to call him back in again. He over billed me, maybe by accident or maybe not I called him on it and he corrected it. I have had no issues with any other wiring vendor in the past.

My post was to simply find out if 75.00 is reasonable in all of your eyes and if someone out there is in my area and wants to take on a new company.

That point was taken off track with nickel and diming and work ethic. Apparently no one is in my area that I can hire so I will look elsewhere.

Thank you. Rhonda

Yes, $75/hour is reasonable. $45/hour is way to low. It's been years since we charged that amount.

Look at the cost of other trades in your area. How much does the plumber charge?

We've all seen shoddy work from cable guys. Good luck on finding someone!

$75.00 is reasonable, 4 to 6 hours to install one jack is debatable, like the others said, there's not enough info to know why it took so long. If I see I'm going to have a problem with a cable pull, I'll let the customer know up front. Saves the wear & tear on my nerves, I don't have to duck when I hand 'em the bill.
Vern

That point was taken off track with nickel and diming and work ethic.

Rhonda, sorry if I ruffled your feathers with a pet peeve of mine. I'm not suggesting that you or your company fit this description, it's just that the question about $75 hour set me off. Again, nothing personal.

We are a company that always tries to give our customers 110%. I always get insulted when customers, especially those who have been with us for years, nickel and dime. I realize the need to control costs, but when a company spends a total of less than a couple of thousand dollars per year on our services yet their executives have summer homes, yacts and luxury cars I really don't want to hear that you can't afford to pay us what we are worth.

-Hal

$75 Per Hour is Cheap!!

$90-$150 per hour is average in the Chicagoland area.


Rick

The reason for my leaving was that the guy who did good wiring for me was too busy to come so his company sent a guy who knows very little about telecom wiring. He would inadvertantely take other ports out of service, pull wires off the block and put people out of service which I would know about until he was out the door. I discussed this with my good wiring guy and he fully understood as he has been put on large out of the area jobs and just can't get here. He is actually going to come in today and show my new wiring company all the wiring runs and things he had a hard time trying to figure out. Now that's a great wiring guy!! I'd never leave him, no matter what the cost as he did good work.

As for watching costs, we have to. We're under new owners and they are cutting staff right now. I could go out the door today for all I know. Anything I can do to save money on my end is my job. I fight with dialtone vendors for cost, not wiring companies.

I just want someone who can wire that I don't have to worry about. I've hired a new company and I assume they'll be with me for many years to come.

And just so you know, we (customers) do appreciate your (wiring staff) hard work. We know you have to crawl around all over in our buildings, in places we'd never imagine going. I've seen my guys come upstairs full of dirt and years of gook within an hour of starting. Please don't tell me that I expect the world for nothing. I am at my companies beck & call all day, go home mentally exhausted and you wouldn't believe how little money I get for that. We're all just trying to make a paycheck and maybe enjoy a little bit of our day.

Happy Friday!

Okay, Here is my list, see if $75 per hour is too much?
Rhonda, this is not targeted toward you, just anyone who thinks this is much.

A good service tech/ installer small business owner needs.

A Van- $25000.00 Average

Van Insurance - $600 per year

Tools - $500- $5000 average

Gas - $2.50 Per gallon

Laptop- $1200

Business Insurance- $900.00 Per year

Accountant to process monthly paperwork- $150 per month- Optional

All Business Forms, Invoices,Business Cards,
Envelopes, Stamps,$$ Hundreds per year

Vehicle Plates, Maintenance,etc. $$Varies

Fresh Parts, Inventory $$$Thousands

Cell Phone $$$

Business Lines $$

Training on new technology/Systems $3000 last year alone

Get this today was trying to get Family health insurance for 4 members, 1 diabetic
$2500.00 per month.

Hundreds of Customers that always want free advice, and how to prog. info.,
And will once every few months throw a service call your way

I have been in this line of work for almost 22 yrs.
Running my own business for 3 years.
Some Companies, I won't metion names, want
$750.00 min on a Nortel service call.

And a Good tech, charging $75.00 per hour hears that is -- Too much!!

A few weeks ago had a dishwasher minor repair, and was charged $100 labor for 15 min.

Sorry, Had to vent!!

I could go on and on.

Have a great Day!!

Rick

VAN INSURANCE $600.00..........

IM PACKING MY BAGS AND MOVING OUT TOWARD YOU.......

Mitch,

That was with my home and two other vehicles on the same policy.
But still, all the other expenses, not to mention Sub help, parking, man the list goes on, I don't know how, wihtout the Lords help,
I could have made it this long.

Time to increase my rates.

Get a load of this one:

Gothels Bridge (staten island to NJ) $6.00
Verizano Narrows Bridge (SI to Brooklyn) $8.00
Brooklyn Tunnel (Brooklyn to NYC) $4.50


Those 3 tolls are less then 5 miles from each other........

Welcome to the NJ/NYC way of Business...

Don't forget to mention that those 3 tolls are all within 15 miles and it can take you 2-3 hours on some days to travel between them.

2-3 hours........WHAT TIME WAS THAT???????

Thats great timing........

4 AM Sunday

Thats the time I leave NJ to get to my job in the city.......LOLOLOLOLOLOLO

Rhonda

There are many good companies in the area with extensive experience with telecom.

CC&N Appleton Office 920-830-6706
Tel Link Communications Oconomowoc 262-587-6049

There are others too! I suggest doing a switchboard.com search and see how many other vendors are out there.

Thanks for the suggestion. I did search the area and found Town & Country. They came in and did a walk through and quoted me a good prices. They're out of Appleton but there is a guy in my area town working on a long term project who can break away when needed. It all worked out in the end.

With the exception that my good wiring guy that I couldn't get anymore will be missed. We actually became pretty good friends. I'm taking him out to lunch soon when he gets on the big jail extension project in town.

I checked around and their are very few wiring crews in my immediate area that do phoen systems. But Town & Country also known as Faith Technologies has wiring guys of all types. It all worked out.

Thanks again for everyones ideas/suggestions.

Rhonda

Ps... stay cool out there. Up here in the "Frozen Tundra" we are going to be 100 degrees + with heat index of 107 this weekend. But Cheap Trick takes the stage tonight, it's Friday, it's quiet in London and Brett Favre is back on the field... so everything is okay in the world for the moment.