Great thought

Great policy suggestion! Weeds out the cheapskates and sets a floor for what you’ll make per appointment.

The market for mobile work usually means 1.) The car cant drive, and the person cant afford a tow, so they call a MM to look at the car where it is, or 2.) Its seen as an "alternative" to a regular mechanic shop, and alternative usually means the expectation of it being cheaper, or 3.) a combination of both 1 and 2. Always have a Diagnostics Fee or a Service Call charge. That may result in a lower appointment rate in the short term, but it will weed out the appointments that are a waste of your time and $0 being made.

@@thediyproject2286 Yup, a lower appointment rate wouldn't be a problem considering the appointments that wouldn't happen wouldn't be paying you anyway. That's the unfortunate part... a mobile mechanic service is a PREMIUM service, but it's treated like a lower cost service. Sure, there are a lot of guys who do it because it's easy money and they don't charge much, but that usually means a less experienced mechanic who ends up just throwing parts at the car. The way I look at it is if the person is too cheap to pay for a tow, they're too cheap to pay for diagnostics. I get asked to come look at cars all the time, and I tell people they need to get the car to my shop. It's not worth my time when I'm working on other things at my shop. If I have to leave to go work on another car, I can't be getting anything else done. Not to mention having to scatter around tools that I would need to bring with me. That's why mobile mechanics are typically strictly mobile, it's too much of a pain to go back and forth!