On 18 Sep 2006 19:30:39 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "Ether
Jones" quickly quoth:


Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Ether Jones" wrote in message
ups.com...

wrote:

Pumping out a septic tank is CHEAP.

Is $140 cheap? That's the going rate around here, if the owner does
the digging to expose the access cover. It's all relative I guess.

How much do you earn?

Now, go buy a truck and insure it, drive to the customer's house, pump out
the tank, drive to a disposal area and pay a fee. With the left over
money, pay the 15% self employment tax, medical insurance, business
overhead, fuel, liability insurance, property tax on the business assets and
then pocket the rest. Do you think the guy is getting rich at $140?

You need to get back on your meds. The question wasn't whether or not
$140 is a REASONABLE fee (it is). The question was whether it is CHEAP
(it is NOT). As you have pointed out, the operator has a lot of
expenses. These must be passed on to the consumer if he is to stay in
business.

When I bought the old farmhouse in LoCal in '75, the pumper charged me
$35 to empty it. The second time it was $55, ca '89. The third time,
ca '01, it was $180 (most wanted $200-$250). Most of that increased
fee was due to different fee structures at the newly-categorized
hazardous dump location. The rest was a decade and a half of COLA.

BTW, I'm single and easy on septics if you noticed the long spans.


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