Trip charges and diagnostic fees are the cost of getting a licensed professional and their equipment to your door and the fee you pay to figure out what's wrong with your electrical, plumbing, or HVAC equipment. The trip charge, also known as a service call fee, is the cost of travel and reserving time with a certified professional. The diagnostic fee covers basic investigative services.
In this blog, we take a close look at trip charges and diagnostic fees, answering questions like:
- What Is a Trip Charge?
- What a Trip Charge Includes
- Why Are Trip Charges Necessary?
- Burgeson's Honest & Upfront Approach
Learn more about why trip charges are industry standard and what you can expect when you book service with Burgeson's.
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What Is a Trip Charge?
A trip charge covers the cost of getting a licensed plumber, electrician, or certified HVAC professional to your home when you have a problem, along with all the needed equipment. There are ongoing operational costs involved with maintaining a fleet of work vehicles, and these fees help offset those costs. A work van requires maintenance, gas, insurance, and a highly skilled tradesman to do the work at your home.
What a Trip Charge Includes
Trip charges vary depending on the company. At Burgeson's, our trip charge includes the initial diagnostic assessment. In plumbing and electrical, an additional fee may be added for tracking down a specific leak, particularly if it isn't easily visible during a preliminary inspection.
HVAC trip charges include the cost of transporting specialized equipment and heavily regulated chemicals to your home. Our HVAC trip charge includes the time needed to test the system and track down whatever issue is causing the problem.
Why Are Trip Charges Necessary
Trip charges are an industry standard as they provide for licensed, bonded, and insured technicians to arrive at your home in vehicles that are fully stocked with the parts and tools needed to complete most repairs.
Convenience, peace of mind, and faster repair service does come with a little bit of a premium. Since you're under no obligation to accept a repair estimate, it is fair for companies to have some compensation for the time and work they do when driving to your home and generating an estimate for services.
Burgeson's Honest & Upfront Approach
At Burgeson's, we want to be upfront about what you can expect. Companies offering no trip charges may hide the fees on your invoice. Diagnostic fees are generally rolled into the repair costs if they aren't part of the original trip charge. What that means for you, the customer, is that you pay them no matter what.
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