Here's where I can't understand how my fellow CFI's think... You are providing a service to someone whether it is in the airplane or on the ground. What makes CFI's any less professional than a doctor or lawyer? Not charging for ground is like not paying a doctor for the pre and post surgery visits; just paying for the surgery. I don't understand this mindset...? Working full-time in the legal field I see bills from lawyers all the time. Ironically they bill to the tenth just as we do. If they make a 2 minute phone call they bill .1/hour. Think about this the next time you don't bill someone for ground. Not only are you screwing yourself. You are screwing another CFI in the future b/c customers will think that this is how the system works. "Well Bob didn't used to charge me for ground time." I gets old! (rant over! :banghead: )
Several folks in this and other threads have made this point about doctors/lawyers...I am a lawyer and I can tell you I don't always charge on an hourly basis for every tenth of an hour that I'm remotely involved...it all depends on the facts of the particular situation.
Lawyers who charge every nanosecond whether or not they are providing a valuable service to the client can and do get their bills cut and/or lose clients all the time. Just because a person is "a professional" does not magically allow him to charge fees if the client isn't getting a tangible benefit. It might be different with doctors because the patient is more of a "captive audience" and it's harder to shop rates. I think CFIs are more in the same boat with lawyers.
I would suggest this to CFIs: get paid for your time and don't give away free services, but don't tack on time "just because".
Case 1: A pre-solo PPL shows up at 10:00, you have to remind him for 0.1 what maneuvers you're doing today, then he preflights for 0.2 while you get a weather briefing, you go fly for 0.7 hobbs and then spend 0.1 critiquing the flight; he leaves at 11:06. Hell yes, charge him 1.1 hours.
Case 2: Another pre-solo PPL shows up at 12:00 with his King lesson plan book filled out showing he is on lesson #6. It takes him 0.1 to describe to you the contents of his weather briefing and his "go" decision based thereon. He preflights while you chill in the FBO (or stuff down your vending machine lunch) for 0.2, you go fly for 0.7, then you go back in the FBO while he ties down. he walks in the FBO, you say "good job, see you for lesson #7 on Thursday". He leaves at 13:00. I vote that's 0.8 for the "pre" + flight time.
If you're worried about getting screwed on P&P, I think Midlife Flyer's concept of the "block lesson" is a good idea, as long as the student knows about it up front.
