How should I handle after hours and emergency pricing?
Short answer
Charge a clear premium, quote it before you roll, and never let a tech negotiate it on the doorstep at 11pm.
Set the premium before the phone rings
A common range is time-and-a-half to double the standard service call fee for nights, weekends, and holidays. Whatever number you pick, it needs to be fixed and published, not negotiated call by call. A dispatcher who can waive it under pressure trains every future caller to push for the waiver.
State the emergency fee on the phone before dispatching, not after the tech arrives. Nothing damages trust faster than a customer finding out the after-hours charge on the invoice instead of the call.
Not everything that feels urgent to the customer is an emergency
A no-heat call in January at 2am is an emergency. A dripping faucet at 9pm on a Saturday can usually wait until Monday at standard rates. Give your dispatcher a short, specific list of what qualifies for emergency dispatch so the decision isn't made on the fly by whoever answers the phone.
Quoting the after-hours fee
Customer
“Can someone come tonight? Our AC just died and it's 95 out.”
You
“Yes, we can get someone out tonight. Just so there's no surprise, after-hours dispatch is $189 instead of our normal $89, and that covers the diagnostic. If you move forward with the repair tonight, it comes off the invoice same as always. Want me to send someone?”
Customer
“That's fine, just get someone here.”
Do not say
- “Don't let the tech quote the fee in person after arriving, if the customer wasn't told on the phone, they will feel ambushed even if the price is fair.”
Setting the after-hours multiplier
| Standard service call | $89 |
|---|---|
| Night differential pay to tech | 1.5x wage |
| After-hours fee (2x standard) | $178 |
| Covers extra labor cost plus disruption premium | yes |
The math: Set the after-hours fee to at least cover the wage differential you're paying the tech, then add a premium on top for the disruption to your team's night. If it barely covers the extra wage, you're not being paid for the inconvenience, you're just breaking even on it.
Where owners get this wrong
- Letting the fee be a soft suggestion that dispatchers waive to book the job.
- Sending techs on genuine non-emergencies at emergency rates, which breeds resentment when the customer realizes it could have waited.
- Not paying techs enough of the premium that they resent taking the call.
Ask your version of this question
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