Maintenance Contracts

DD_5

I want to set up maintenance contracts for boiler and solar systems. Anybody have any advice/experience with these types of contracts?

Jean-David Beyer

Point-of-view?

Are you asking as a provider or a customer?

DD_5

Maintenance Contract

I'm a provider...plumbing & heating contractor. I want to service the systems I install.

Jean-David Beyer

I am a costomer, not a contractor.

As a customer, I had a very good experience with my contractor, who is also a heating oil dealer, garden supply provider, all the suburbia stuff. They also do oil tank removals, etc.



Their service department always did good work for me. Their annual contract as about $200/year. This included an annual inspection that always got me a new oil filter and nozzle for the Beckett burner. IIRC, it also included "little" items like ignition transformer every three years or so in the early days and a solid state one that ran for 20 years or so and was still working when I converted to gas. Once they could not get it to burn right during their inspection, so they pulled the burner, and thoroughly cleaned everything inside, and put it back. All included.



It also included priority service; i.e., If I called for service, I would be served before someone without a contract. And a 10% discount for parts.



So you might offer a contract like that. I do not say you should charge the same price. It seems to me that you should at least break even on such a thing, and probably make a reasonable profit as well.