How do I charge a telephone call? Thread poster: lena_m (X)
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lena_m (X)
Local time: 03:45
Hi,
Could someone tell me what will be the rates for a telephone call (abroad) in order to get some info for a client.
Thanks a lot to all !!!!!
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| phone book or their website | Mar 6, 2006 |
Check up the rates with your or the client's phone company and then time how long your phone call(s) are - multiply the time and the rate and voila!
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| Maybe calling over IP? | Mar 6, 2006 |
You might consider calling your client over the Internet like skype.com or other providers. They have pretty good long-distance rates.
Good luck...
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| How do we know? | Mar 7, 2006 |
Lena Seip wrote:
Hi,
Could someone tell me what will be the rates for a telephone call (abroad) in order to get some info for a client.
Thanks a lot to all !!!!!
How do we know? We don't know what your phone company is. We don't know where you're calling. As mentioned before, I recommend Skype.
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Hi Lena,
I'm inclined to think it should depend on the circumstances. If you're just looking to cover the cost of the phone call, then I think the others have already answered your question. If this/these phone call(s) get(s) in the way of your work, you might consider a fixed rate.
I have a client (agency) who will quite happily phone a few times in the day, and ask me to phone their clients because they don't speak the language. As a one off, this was fine, but it ... See more Hi Lena,
I'm inclined to think it should depend on the circumstances. If you're just looking to cover the cost of the phone call, then I think the others have already answered your question. If this/these phone call(s) get(s) in the way of your work, you might consider a fixed rate.
I have a client (agency) who will quite happily phone a few times in the day, and ask me to phone their clients because they don't speak the language. As a one off, this was fine, but it got to the stage where I was repeatedly interrupted while in 'full flow', and had to drop what I was doing and then pick up again where I left off. I don't know how others feel, but this can be extremely annoying. The calls were often quite complicated and were sometimes for chasing unpaid bills (which I don't even like doing for myself, let alone for someone else!). I felt like telling them to get a **** secretary, and I'm sure many would say 'why did you accept?' - but it's not always easy saying 'no' to an otherwise decent work provider.
I ended up charging a fixed rate of 10 euros per call - the agency was happy with this, it covered the price of the call, and made me feel it was probably worthwhile despite the disadvantages!
Good luck!
K. ▲ Collapse
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Wenke Geddert
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:45
Member (2004)
English to German
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| Don't forget your own time... | Mar 7, 2006 |
I agree with Katherine - don't forget to charge for your own time! Depending on the circumstances either a set fee or your standard minimum rate (which may prove too expensive if it is just a very short call though). Maybe even your hourly rate on a pro-rata basis (e.g. charged per 15 or 20 minute chunks). Just another factor to take into consideration in addition to the actual call costs... Good luck!
Wenke
P.S. And by the way, make sure that you have an itemised bill... See more I agree with Katherine - don't forget to charge for your own time! Depending on the circumstances either a set fee or your standard minimum rate (which may prove too expensive if it is just a very short call though). Maybe even your hourly rate on a pro-rata basis (e.g. charged per 15 or 20 minute chunks). Just another factor to take into consideration in addition to the actual call costs... Good luck!
Wenke
P.S. And by the way, make sure that you have an itemised bill of the call(s) made. ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 03:45
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Phone the phone company, or check your bill | Mar 7, 2006 |
Lena Seip wrote:
Could someone tell me what will be the rates for a telephone call (abroad) in order to get some info for a client.
Phone companies sometimes have the service whereby you can call them before or after you've made a call, and then they'll tell you what the cost of the call was.
Alternatively, you can't run a business without getting an itemised phone bill at least once a month, and you should be able to see the amount on that bill, right?
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