Appreciation post: The hail job from hell in Phoenix last month

Got a call for a fleet of six delivery vans that got absolutely pounded by a hailstorm. Every single panel had dents, some the size of golf balls. We had three guys on it for a full week, just popping and filling. The worst part was the roof on the lead van, it was like a metal golf ball. Anyone else had to deal with a full fleet repair like that? How do you even price it?

3 comments

3 Comments

terry12mo ago

Man, that sounds brutal. Honestly, calling those golf ball sized is selling it short, that roof damage sounds way worse. For pricing a fleet job that big, you really gotta go by the hour, not just by the dent.

barbara_hall926d ago

The problem with hourly billing on big hail jobs is it rewards slow work. Terry1, if a shop quotes 40 hours for a roof, they have zero reason to finish in 30. A fair per-panel price covers the real time for good work. It protects the fleet owner from padding and pushes the tech to be efficient. I've seen the same damage get a 20-hour quote from one shop and a 35-hour quote from another, just based on their speed.

diana_grant2mo ago

Going by the hour on a fleet job can really bite you though... what if the techs drag their feet? I've seen shops charge for eight hours on a roof that should take four. A per-dent price, even for bigger damage, makes the cost clear up front. It pushes the shop to work fast and well to make their profit. The customer isn't stuck paying for someone else's slow day.