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A customer at my bench in Tucson asked why I charge $45 to clean a lens, then watched me do it
Had a guy drop off a Canon 50mm 1.8 last Tuesday saying he could just wipe the glass himself with a microfiber and save the money. I told him sure, but asked if he wanted to watch me do the first one free so he could see what the $45 actually covers. Took the front ring off, pulled the nameplate, and lifted the front element out so I could get at the haze on the inner surface, because that stuff on the outside is the easy part. He went quiet around the time I showed him the fungus threads creeping in from the edge, which no amount of wiping was going to fix. So for the folks here, how do you usually explain a labor charge to someone who thinks the job is just a cloth and some breath?
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wrenwilson8d ago
The "just a cloth and some breath" line is what gets me every time, because that works great until it doesn't. What I usually do is ask them one question: can you see the screws? Usually they say no, because the screws are under the nameplate, the nameplate is under the trim ring, and none of that is coming off with a microfiber. Then I tell them the honest truth, which is that the outside glass is maybe five minutes of the job and the other forty come from getting inside without scratching anything. Fungus is the part that sells it though, same as your guy. Once someone sees those little threads eating into the coating, they stop asking about the charge and start asking if it's too late to save the lens.
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