How much does your store pay per visit if/when a maintenance person comes in and exchanges blades and plates for the grinder and minor maintenance on the band saw (guides/scrapers, etc.)?
I don't know our exact cost. They tell me it's about $400.00. If that's true, isn't my store getting a terrible deal? Am I in the wrong business? I think I could make a good living doing that.
I was a route sales/ service mechanic from 1976-2010.The cost of service depends on the amount of equipment you get.The price of hard tip band saw blades is between$ 9.00 - $ 10.00 each, boneless blades are more. Grinder plates and knives depends on the size grinderhead,22, 32, 52, 56 and larger plates and knives are priced accordingly.The bigger the head the more they cost per set.Typically the 4 month rental on a set of 32 p+k is around $ 50.00 per set, regardless of hole size.Repairs are usually billed for parts as needed, first half hour labor free on scheduled service, billed at quarterly increments after that for extended repairs. So a small shop using 1 set of 22 p+k with 2 blades a month would pay less than a larger shop using several sets of 32 or larger plates and 2 or more blades a week. The best way to compare your costs is to check your price per item rather than the total cost. Emergency service calls are billed separately. Pay is on par with union butchers for top repairmen, with knowledge of mechanics, electronic and electrical ( including 3 phase ) trouble shooting and repair abilities. Entry level deliveryguys get less while they train. Benefits packages vary widely. Like any other business, the client only sees what happens in front of them, not all the prep work to make it happen. It’s a lot of hard work, and it looks easier when someone else is doing it. I used to think that butchers had it easy, now I know they don’t
From my experience he usually comes once a month. You pay for what you needed. They bring saw blades, grinder plates and knives, labels and sausage seasoning. You can order knives from them too. Those boxes of scale labels probably cost 100 each. There are 60 rolls in a box and I might order 3 for 3 different scales. The product adds up but for the guy delivering it. Probably 50 dollars goes to that service. Then that goes to his gas. When he brings replacement part for something broken I would usually put it on myself so no maintence fee. If I needed something repaired an hourly fee will be charged. 1 hour minimum. They probably make 5 to 10 dollars out of every item purchased from them. The real money comes from fixing things. 50 an hour up here I believe.
I think it's a good business prospect I had been considering myself. There is no shortage of stores needing supplies and service. The problem however is getting them to switch to you. Most stores had the same guy or company for years. They trust that service. If i could find enough stores who are dissatisfied with their guy I would get into this business for sure.
20 years ago I was paying $22 each/$44 per set. The route driver told me I was getting screwed as a single store owner, so he would hide me in with the gateway stores and bill me those rates. He has since retired and now I have found a company I can ship my knives and plates to and have them back in two days. I just paid him $20 set, and the job he does is fantastic, you could cut yourself on the plate. He did a slicer blade for me for $55. I'm VERY happy with his work and the price is darn good too!
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I'm not a vegetarian, but have eaten many animals that were.
I have worked a few markets where they only used one blade and plate, never touch the rest, the driver would pick up what was there, go out to his truck and come back with a new set or more than likely got one blade and one plate and came back in to make fast money.
