Gasoline surcharge

[Seascape]

Has anybody thought about adding a fuel surcharge to invoices due to the increase of fuel. I notice my fuel costs sky high . Not so much mower fuel but truck fuel. However it used to cost about $6 to fill up a gas can now i pay around $8. I was thinking about a $1 surcharge on each cut. What do you think.
mike

[dancom]

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I think its Bad Business. Are you going to reduce prices when fuel goes down. A fuel surcharge is just a reason to raise prices you don't use that much gas to cut grass and drive the trucks compared to what you are charging. you will give a bad impresion to your customers. Gas was only 3% of my total sales last year. i could fell up both trucks and all the equipment on those trucks for about 15.00 a day and make 1,000.00 for the day can't realy justify charging a surcharge even if the total gas for the day went up $5.00

[GrassMaster]

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Hello Seascape:

I Honestly don't think that's a Good Idea, Just Figure it in your Pricing & Adjust for it as soon as you can. Because When Gas Goes Down, Are you going to Adjust the Bills for Lower Priced Gas?

I had a Dumpster Company that Dumps our Dumpster & Last Year they Tacked on a Fuel Surcharge & I Dumped them? The New One I got has Just done the Same thing.

When my Safty Clean Vat (Charges for Changing Fluid & Filter Service) at my Shop went from $33 to $180 because of some Kind of New EPA Regulations. I dropped them & so did Ft.Benning that had over 180 of them Vats Too!

Everybody is Paying more for gas & I feel it would Upset People if there was an Extra Fuel Surcharge added to the Bill? Times in the US is getting Harder Daily & I'm trying to figure out ways to Keep the Customers I got Now. Without Raising them & Praying I can Keep them until Times get Better!

What would you do if Your Cable Company or Phone Company sent you a Bill with an Added Fuel Surcharge in there? That Should be figured into the Cost of Doing Business?

These are Just My Thoughts on this! []

[CCLS]

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That isn't going to fly with your customers, they will drop you in a heartbeat. Not because it is only a dollar, but because they feel that you are soaking them for every penny and ripping them off. You have to figure fuel expenses into your operating costs when bidding a job. This spring when you bid jobs, make sure you tag on a little extra for your added gas expense, if nothing else consider it inflation.

[Phil Nilsson]

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Surcharge on gasoline may cause resentment from customers because they themselves have the same problem.

[mariner]

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These are all very excellent points!

[Seascape]

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Well so much for that theory. I fill 2-3 trucks and sometimes 7 mowers a day. Its very easy to exceed $100 when they are drying up. We actually do complete fillups about every day and a half. Gas out here runs about 1.65 for the crappy stuff. A customer actually suggested this to me. I guess it does sound pretty petty and after the feedback i got ill have to think of another alternative. Maybe its just me but i hate jacking up prices. I just thought people might accept a charge like that.
mike

[Phil Nilsson]

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Maybe just go for a "general" price rise (modest) because if you peg it to a certain expense like fuel ... you can draw arguments like the amount of the increase or what happens if fuel prices drop later on ... price rises in the neighborhood of around 3% to 5% might "go down" without much resistence.

[Scaper-S2k]

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I personally wouldn't do it either. However, if you are worried about it, don't just tack on a surcharge out of the blue. Mabe send them a letter stating that if fuel prices rise over $2.00 per gallon, a surcharge must be added, but that it will be removed once the price drops back down.

That way, they won't be begging for a lower cost because fuel prices drop.

But that's IF you decided to do it at all.

I have a mulch supplier that just states that a surcharge is added because of high prices. It's been over a year now. To me, that is bull because prices have come back down. Now had it said "Surcharge only when diesel goes over $1.60" Then I might understand it.

[Galashiels]

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Hey stop your moaning on your cheap gas, wait till you are paying $1.15 a litre or $5.17 a gallon as thats what is is down under here.
My gas bill is approx $600 a month, one pick up!
You don't know when you are well off, a good push 21" mower(Honda) is $1400 and the w/b 21" $2000, or a 16 hp Walker $25,000
The price per cut seams to be the same, so you have it easy[8D]
Quit the Moaning, if only gas was $2.00 a gallon I'd be over the moon.
[]

John

[dancom]

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You know I have been driving since 1982 and gas has been more or less the same price since then. It goes up a little and it comes back down but I bet the the average price since then is about the same. it funy how we complain about paying 1.50 a gallon of gas but we buy bottled water and pay about 5.00 per gallon.

[tipptop]

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Dancom what are you filling up for $15 a day. My ZT alone takes $13 to fill and then a 48'' w/b another $4, and that's before I gas up an F150.

[dancom]

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thats an average. I fill up Two pick ups, two walk behinds, two ztr and 3 push mowers. pluss my 2 cycle stuff. i don't go through a complete tank on those everyday. Do You? i average about 15.00 per day for my gas.

[tipptop]

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Dancom, no I wouldn't go thru the two tanks on the ZT each day but even for a guy like me who is part-time I find gas is a sizable overhead. However I would never add surcharge to a customer for high gas prices, definetly bad for business.

[dancom]

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tiptopp
i just did my taxes and thats what it came out to. i have a station that i have a charge account with and it is the only place i gas up at. i schedule my accounts so i drive a little as possible. most days i stay in one general area i am sure that helps.