iPad rental charge

[Diane Farrell]

When providing an iPad to the attorney for RT, do you ever charge for

both the RT and the "rental" of the iPad for the day.  I recently saw

this on a servcies requested portion of a firm's job info sheet and it

made me wonder if some reporters

do this.

Thanks,

Diane

[Quyen]

I don't.  IMO, providing iPads/laptops/netbooks is just a part our job/services provided.  Plenty of money could be made providing RT, and attorneys pay good money for it already.  Charging for equipment rental seems petty and appears to be gouging the clients. Even on a short job, RT is nice "extra" money, in my view. The only time I charge for equipment rental is when the CR firm wants to Skype/do a videoconference depo and asks me to bring an extra laptop on which to stream the video (that's extra weight I have to carry and setup time that I'm not paid for).  The way I look at it, the iPads pretty much pay for themselves with one or two RT jobs -- and many times over during the iPad's lifetime (I've had mine for years) -- so I don't feel a need charge for equipment rental.  But . . . that's just my opinion/approach.  Another way to look at it is, if you are one of a few reporters to charge for equipment rental for RT and another reporter does not, there's a good chance the RT job goes to the reporter who does not charge for it.

[Diane Farrell]

The agency IS charging a rental fee.  In that case would you bill for it?

It's my equipment that is incurring the wear and tear and maintenance.

Just curious what people would do in that situation.

[Kellie Zollars]

If the agency charges a fee to the attorney or pays you for that, then yes you definitely charge the agency.  Though I do the same thing as Quyen because I hate the hassle of dealing with the client's computers for realtime.  

The idea that you'll get the job if you charge less - especially if the CR firm is charging for it either way - is a slippery slope, as attorneys like to say, that could lead to lower rates.  

It's a real mix of opinions on this one among reporters so do what you feel comfortable with.   

[Quyen]

As to Kellie's comment, "The idea that you'll get the job if you charge less . . . ," I didn't mean to suggest that you lower your fees (I wouldn't do that) in order to get the job.  What I meant is that I believe most reporters probably don't charge equipment rental for RT, and if you do, that might put you in the minority and could impact whether you get the job or not.  If the agency is going to charge the rental fee anyway, then why not? But like Kellie said, do what makes you comfortable.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I don't charge either.  What Quyen said....

[Diane Farrell]

Thanks, Kelli and Quyen for sharing your opinions.  I decided not to charge

for the iPad.  I just feel like since I am charging for RT, that if I charge for

the equipment I'm double charging.

Diane

[Lindsay Pinkham]

Ditto to what Quyen said.  I now have four iPads, two in my case and two in my trunk.  They're so quick and easy to set up.  BTW - I got them all used and about half price, via Amazon and Craigs List.  You don't need the fanciest, newest model.