We've heard this too many times to count:
"Vendor B is only charging $25 an hour, so we have hired them."
Wow! You're saving a ton over our hourly rates, right? Not so much...
Turns out that Vendor B sent along their junior technical team to do your work, and they spent 49 billable man-hours total fixing a problem that should have been solved in less than three by a more experienced engineer.
Them: $ 1,225.00
Us: $ 600.00, or less.
That math stuff is pretty easy, huh? Reminds us of a story:
'A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. They then brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young one. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away.
The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."
The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer....................... $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap.......................... $ 9,998.00'
"Vendor B is only charging $25 an hour, so we have hired them."
Wow! You're saving a ton over our hourly rates, right? Not so much...
Turns out that Vendor B sent along their junior technical team to do your work, and they spent 49 billable man-hours total fixing a problem that should have been solved in less than three by a more experienced engineer.
Them: $ 1,225.00
Us: $ 600.00, or less.
That math stuff is pretty easy, huh? Reminds us of a story:
'A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. They then brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young one. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away.
The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."
The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer....................... $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap.......................... $ 9,998.00'