Let me preface this by saying that if this is an a1181 model, it's not a crazy difficult repair. Most of the difficulty will be in finding a working magsafe. Everything is used and old and cruddy at this point. Anyone selling a claimed new part is selling you a cleaned, but very much used, 5 year old part.
So, I went to a local laptop repair shop and the guy is telling me it's going to cost 80$ to fix the magsafe connector. I've been doing some research on how much one costs and most of them online are between 15$-30$...so why is this guy asking me for 80$? Labor costs? I was going to try and fix it myself but I'm afraid I'll mess it up..
Any ideas or suggestions, opinions as to why he wants to charge me 80$??
Because he wants to make money. That
"I'm afraid I'll mess it up" is what you pay for when you pay $50 to the other guy to do it. You give him $50, he gives you the freedom from fear of messing it up. I find it to be a fair exchange. I will discuss at the end of this post when I do not find it to be a fair exchange.
We get the thing for under $5, and charge $100, because we run a business, and the goal is to make money.I see no reason to pay $20k in payroll and rent only to take on 45 minute repair jobs for $5 in profit. It makes no sense. You pa for several things here. A professionally done job; the fact that we do not destroy the machine as we open it, the fact that we clean out the machine as we open it, the fact that we offer sub-1-hour turnaround from the time it is dropped off. Convenience, etc.
The idea with labor is this. One's time is worth what people are willing to pay for it. One's labor rate is NOT set based on the simplicity of the job. Many people get this one wrong, and assume labor rates depend on the difficulty of the job.. it really doesn't.
Let's say I have eight hours in a day. 12 people contact me willing to spend $100-$400 for an hour of my time. I work 10 hours a day.
ALREADY, I am over-booked! I will have to either give two people the heeve-ho.
If you ask me to do something that will take 45 minutes of my time, I would have to charge you in the neighborhood of $100 -$400, even if it is a job that many others can do for $10. I cannot accept the $10, just because it is easy. None of the static expenses of my business change as a result of it being easy, and it's downright business suicide to turn away the people willing to pay the $100-$400 for the other advanced jobs to get the $10 one. The landord, employees, insurance company, all do not care how easy a job you perform is. They just want to get paid. The only sensible option is to deny the job, refer the job elsewhere, or to take it on within the confines of standard labor rates.
You set up your business to take on a specific type of clientele, and you do your best to service them.
Great example. The regular vet charges me $30 to change my cat's bandage. While bluepearl veterinary hospital charged over $100. Why?
They are a hospital that reconnects broken achilles tendons when every other hospital tells you your cat won't walk again They do advanced surgical work no one else wants to do. On one hand, I was irritated that I paid $100 for a bandage. On the other hand, I'm a god damn dumbass for asking them to take time away from $6000 surgical procedures to change my pet's bandage. I did, and they charged me accordingly; because it is distracting them from work that pays them more money. Their labor rate did not change just because I requested something simple of them.
The same is true of an ambulance. Even if the ambulance does not provide you with any care and solely transports you to a hospital, you are getting a $900 bill for that ambulance - even if a cab ride to the hospital only costs $17.
When I do NOT find it to be a fair exchange is when;
a) Difficulty of the repair is exaggerated by a service provider to discourage DIY work.
b) Service provider is dishonest about the availability of services from other providers.
Like,
"you'll never be able to do that yourself." , or
"good luck finding someone else to do this." I've sent people to other places countless times, or told them to do it themself, if I felt it made more sense. Not because I'm some mother theresa of business owners, but just because it made logical sense to not torture myself with the ramifications of lying to get business not meant for me, when I already have enough.
I frequently tell people when I find something to be simple vs. difficult, and I frequently tell people when someone else may be a better choice for the specific job due to the pricing structure I've set up at my business. I have a clear conscience as a result, and I certainly can't fault other businesses that want to profit $50-$80 off of replacing a power jack.
If you know how to replace the power jack, know how to source the proper power jack for your machine from a reputable vendor, do not mind the risk of potentially messing up the machine, and do not have anything better to do for a specific period of time than to learn the procedure, then it makes no sense to use the repair man. If the machine is used for mission critical work, if you have more money than you do time, if you have no idea what model power jack goes nto your machine, then it makes sense to use the repair man. It's as simple as that.
I do not understand why people who have all the knowledge of how to perform a repair & source the parts with unlimited time on their hands come in and get offended when I ask for $50 to do the job. I equally do not understand why people who have no idea what they are doing choose to experiment on a mission critical device when they have the money for professional service.
Be realistic about your ability, skillset, and priorities, and use this to choose whether to do it yourself or have someone else do the job. Sometimes doing it yourself makes the most sense - sometimes having someone else do it will make more sense. It depends on your particular situation.
I hope this has been insightful.
