OTOH -- the superfast pro

Conversely... What about someone who knew exactly what to do, had invested in superfast machines, owned an extensive collection of software and plug-ins, and could do the job well and quickly? Would that pro be justified in billing more than the actual hours it took? I say yes.

When I bought my house, I complained to my uncle about the huge commission the realtor got for just a few hours of work. The uncle (also a realtor) defended the fee; my realtor, he said, had invested many hours learning how to match client and house, and keeping up with the available inventory. I should have been all the happier that he got the job done quickly, for my sake.

Later, I looked for another house with another realtor, who spent dozens of hours with me, and never did find me a house. He wasn't a very good realtor, he got ZERO fee, and I got ZERO house. I paid nothing. But it took me weeks to spend nothing, so in a way, the second realtor turned out to be much more expensive.

I think a seasoned pro who does a "two-hour job" in 30 minutes would be justified in spending an hour doing computer maintenance, and billing for 1.5 hours.

Bob C

MacPro 2 x 3GHz dualcore; 10 GB 667MHz
Kona LHe
Sony HDV Z1
Sony HDV M25U
HD-Connect MI
Betacam UVW1800
DVCPro AJ-D650